East Point, GA Sewer and Drain Service: Local Rules

Georgia Sewer clears, inspects and repairs the private side of sewer and water lines for homes served by the City of East Point Water & Sewer Department in East Point. Overflows from the city's mains and manholes are the department's to answer, so call the city for those; the line on your property is the part we work on.

East Point runs its own utilities, including water, sewer, electricity and solid waste (Customer Care), so the city's code, not Fulton County's or Atlanta's, decides who handles a sewer problem at your house. Here is what that code and the city's Water & Sewer Department say.

The city code commits East Point to providing water, electricity, sanitation and sewer services to its residents and businesses (§ 8-2001). The Water & Sewer Department's field operations staff of about 55 serves more than 11,000 customer accounts, and the system includes more than 153 miles of sewer mains (Water & Sewer). Its Sewer Line Maintenance Division installs, repairs and maintains the mains and manholes, locates and installs taps and stubs, and runs closed-circuit TV inspections of new and existing lines.

To confirm you're a city sewer customer, check your utility bill. The Customer Care Department handles electric, water, sewer and solid waste accounts, and new service is set up through its office (Customer Care). City code charges a monthly sanitary sewer maintenance fee to every water customer whose property has sewer service available (§ 8-2312).

The department also posts public notices of major spills. In September 2025 it reported that a collapsed 18-inch trunk line sent about 18,800 gallons of untreated wastewater into the South River (Water & Sewer).

Plumbing permits come from the city's Planning & Community Development department. Applications go through the city's BS&A online permitting portal, no work may start before the permit is issued, and the permit holder is either the homeowner, who must provide a tax bill or deed, a homeowner's affidavit and a state-issued ID, or a contractor with a current business license and state certification (plumbing permit application). Walk-in application hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Permits), and next-day inspections must be scheduled by 3:30 p.m. (Building Inspections).

Any sewer work that requires opening the street goes through the city, which alone may make the cut (§ 8-2307). Request a locate through Georgia 811 at least three business days before digging, as it asks; for work with powered equipment, state law makes the request mandatory (Georgia 811; Georgia dig law). If the job needs a permit, we tell you before work starts.

East Point's Water & Sewer page says about 85 percent of grease-related sewer blockages and overflows start in residential areas, and that grease buildup leads to backups that can overflow into homes and streets (Water & Sewer). Its advice: pour cooled fats, oils and grease into a jar and put it in the trash, keep foods such as dairy and meat out of the kitchen drain and garbage disposal, or take used grease to one of several Fulton County transfer and recycling centers.

The city's grease ordinance covers commercial kitchens and other commercial generators, not residential users (§ 8-2352). For wipes and other things that shouldn't go down a drain, see what not to flush or pour.

The city's Applications & Forms page links a Report and Proof of Claim form that lists sewage as a claim type and asks for the amount and a description of the claim (Applications & Forms; claim form). The form says the city doesn't admit liability by accepting it, and that you must keep damaged items in case city staff or an insurance adjuster needs to inspect them.

Georgia law sets the deadline for claims against any city: a written claim to the city's governing authority within six months of the event, stating the time, place and extent of the injury and the specific amount of damages sought, served on the mayor or council chair in person or by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery (O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5). The city then has 30 days to act on it. An attorney can tell you how it applies to your case, and sewer backup insurance in Georgia covers your own policy.

East Point's code leaves the sewer on private property to the owner, and that is where our technicians work. We handle drain cleaning and main sewer line cleaning for backups, hydro jetting for grease buildup in the line, sewer camera inspection to show where a problem sits, and sewer line repair or replacement on your side. For a backup in the house, see emergency sewer and drain service, then call Georgia Sewer at (404) 482-2527 or request service.