Smyrna, 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 Smyrna Water and Sewer Division in Smyrna. A backup in the city's sewer main goes to Smyrna Public Works, which maintains the main and says it makes all repairs within the right-of-way itself; for the lateral running from your house toward the street, call us at (404) 482-2527.

Smyrna runs its own water and sewer utility, but only in parts of the city, so two Smyrna neighbors can have different sewer providers. Where the city is the provider, its Public Works pages are clear about who owns the lateral, and the city offers to share the cost of a backwater valve for homes most at risk of a backup.

The City of Smyrna's Water and Sewer Division has 21 employees who maintain 250 miles of water lines and 140 miles of sewer lines. They handle emergency and routine line repairs, install water and sewer taps, run the lift stations and replace older lines, and they camera-inspect and clean sewer lines as preventive work (Smyrna Water and Sewer).

The city says it provides water, sewer and sanitation service "in certain areas of the city." Its residential application starts water, sewer and sanitation together for addresses in its service area, or water and sanitation only for a home on a septic tank (Smyrna service applications). City code names the other provider: for larger developments it accepts a letter on water and sewer availability from either the city's public works director or the county water system (Smyrna Code § 1502.9).

So check who bills you. A City of Smyrna utility bill means the rules below apply; a Cobb County Water System bill means the Cobb County page does.

Smyrna's Community Development Department accepts every permit application through its online portal; in-person submittals are no longer accepted. A homeowner may pull a permit only for a property that is their current permanent residence and listed in their legal name, and a landlord may not do the work on a rental home unless they are a Georgia-licensed contractor. Inspections are scheduled in the portal, and requests received by 4 p.m. are set for the next business day (Smyrna Building Division). If the job needs a permit, we tell you before work starts.

Tapping into a city water or sewer line without a permit and a final inspection of the tap is unlawful (Smyrna Code § 102-2). When a building sewer is ready, the connection and testing must be done in the presence of the city's department director or a representative (Smyrna Code § 102-53).

A repair near the street means digging, and Georgia 811 asks for a free locate request at least three business days ahead; state law makes the request mandatory before digging with mechanized equipment (Georgia 811; Georgia dig law). Under that law, Smyrna helps mark a lateral only as far as the edge of the public right-of-way.

Smyrna's code bars connecting roof downspouts, foundation drains or any other source of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer that drains to the city system, unless the connection is approved under a discharge permit (Smyrna Code § 102-52). Every user of the city system must also keep infiltration and inflow down as far as reasonably possible, starting with watertight pipe in the private parts of the sewer (Smyrna Code § 102-44(f)). Grease, wipes and other household habits are covered in what not to flush or pour.

City code allows septic tanks on residential lots of at least 80,000 square feet with county health department approval, and a home already on septic before sewer became available may stay on it while the system works properly (Smyrna Code § 102-44(c)). In Cobb County, septic matters go to the environmental health division of Cobb & Douglas Public Health, which notes that the owner, not the utility, maintains a septic system (Cobb & Douglas Public Health). Septic pumping is not work we do.

Smyrna publishes a cost-sharing program for backwater valves rather than a claims process. It defines a susceptible location as any building with a plumbing fixture, such as a floor drain, toilet, shower drain or washing machine drain, lower than the lowest manhole lid near the building. For property owners in those at-risk locations, the city reimburses plumbing fees actually paid for installing a backwater valve, up to a cap stated on its page (Smyrna Sewer Backups). The steps are:

1. Write to the Public Works Department before the valve is installed, so the city can decide whether the location needs one.
2. The valve is installed by a plumbing contractor, who handles the city permit and inspection.
3. After installation, permitting and inspection are complete, send proof of the paid invoice for reimbursement.

The same page notes that the plumbing codes require backwater protection for fixtures below the overflow point of the sewer main. Backwater valves explained covers how they work and what maintenance they need.

If your home has a basement bathroom, floor drain or laundry drain below the nearest manhole lid, write to Smyrna Public Works about the backwater valve program first, because the city has to receive the request before the valve goes in. The lateral itself is the part we work on. We restore flow with main sewer line cleaning, then run a sewer camera inspection to show you where the lateral is blocked, cracked or letting water in, since city code expects watertight private pipe. A damaged section gets sewer line repair, a failing lateral gets sewer line replacement, and a backup in progress is handled as emergency sewer and drain service. Call Georgia Sewer at (404) 482-2527.