Stockbridge, 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 Stockbridge in Stockbridge. City code keeps the sewer up to and including the cleanout at the edge of the right-of-way in the city's hands, so a problem at that cleanout or in the public main goes to the city's Public Works Department; for the line from that cleanout to your house, call us at (404) 482-2527.

Stockbridge has grown well past its original town limits, and its utilities have not grown evenly with it. The city runs its own water and sewer system in the older part of town, while newer areas may be served by a county water authority. Before you rely on any rule below, confirm that the City of Stockbridge is the one billing you for sewer.

If it is, the city code is specific about where the city's pipe ends and yours begins, down to the cleanout at the edge of the right-of-way.

The city's Public Works Department handles water distribution, sanitary sewer collection and storm sewer repair, among other services. Its water and sewer page describes a water system covering the older portion of the city, about 3.2 square miles with roughly 2,500 service connections, supplied partly by city wells and partly by water bought from the county authority. The city's Water Reclamation Facility treats wastewater from the city system, up to 1.5 million gallons a day, and discharges to Brush Creek.

City code states the intent to offer sewer service to users within the corporate limits, not to add new users outside them (6.04.1280). Not every address in town is on the city system, though: the city's permit page lists both the Henry County Water Authority and the Clayton County Water Authority among the outside agencies that review building projects. If HCWA bills you, see the Henry County page instead.

Plumbing and building permits come from the city's Building, Permitting and Inspections division, which processes residential permits, reviews plans, inspects work and verifies contractor licenses. Applications go through the city's online portal, and an owner-as-contractor affidavit is on the forms list for homeowners doing their own work. If the job needs a permit, we tell you before work starts.

Connections to the public sewer need written approval from the city engineer or sewer superintendent after a permit application and fees, and the superintendent can require that work stay uncovered until inspected (6.04.1230). Every building needs its own building sewer, with a narrow exception for a rear building under the same ownership. Georgia 811 asks everyone, homeowners included, to request a locate at least three business days before digging (Georgia 811); the law makes it mandatory before digging with machines (dig law).

The city's flushing rule is short: only human waste and toilet tissue in the toilet, and anything other than toilet tissue and water goes in the garbage (City of Stockbridge). Its grease brochure calls fats, oils and grease the number one cause of sewer backups in homes. It suggests pouring cooking oil into an old carton or other non-recyclable container for the trash, wiping greasy dishes before washing, and keeping meat trimmings out of the garbage disposal.

Roof downspouts, foundation drains, yard drains and other surface runoff may not be connected to a building sewer or service lateral (6.04.1230). For other habits that protect the line, see what not to flush or pour.

Future buildings inside the city must connect to public sewer, but the code allows a case-by-case waiver for a single-family lot when the nearest sewer connection point is more than 200 feet from the property line, with documentation for local public health officials (6.04.1260). Septic permits and records in Henry County are kept by the county environmental health office, which the Department of Public Health lists at 137 Henry Parkway in McDonough (DPH).

The Public Works page links a city damage claim form that can be completed and signed online with attachments. No separate reimbursement policy for sewer backups appears on the city's water and sewer pages. For deadlines on claims against a city and how insurance fits in, see sewer backup insurance in Georgia.

Find the cleanout at the edge of your front yard: under city code, everything from that cleanout to the house is yours. If your drains run slow, we check that stretch for you. We open it up with main sewer line cleaning and follow with a sewer camera inspection to look for roots, sags or joints that let in the groundwater the city's code says a lateral must keep out. A cracked or buried cleanout on your side gets sewer cleanout installation and repair; a leaking lateral gets sewer line repair or, when the pipe is past saving, sewer line replacement. Call Georgia Sewer at (404) 482-2527.