Tyrone, 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 Town of Tyrone Public Works in Tyrone. A problem in the public sewer itself is the town's, and the town makes the connection from the property line into that sewer; an emergency is reported through 911, as the town asks. For the building sewer between your house and the property line, call us at (404) 482-2527.

Tyrone has a town sewer system, but it does not reach every street, and the town's code is written for a place where some homes are on public sewer and others are on septic tanks (Sec. 38-59). Which group you are in decides almost everything below.

If you are on town sewer, the rules are clear about ownership: the pipe from your house to the public sewer is yours. If you are on septic, the code spells out when a sewer line nearby can force a connection.

Tyrone's Public Works Department is responsible for the town's sewerage system along with its streets, buildings and stormwater pipes, and its environmental specialist oversees grease trap pump-outs and related programs. The town extended its sanitary sewer system in a 2019 construction project (Town of Tyrone).

Billing runs through the county. The Fayette County Water System says it does not provide sewer service but issues sewer bills on behalf of the Town of Tyrone, among others (Fayette County Water System). A sewer charge on that bill means you are on the town system; customers apply for sewer service in person at Town Hall and pay a cash security deposit set by the mayor and council (Sec. 38-58).

The town's Building Department issues residential building permits as well as plumbing, electrical, mechanical and low-voltage permits, reviews plans and performs inspections. Its forms list includes residential plumbing, a grease management form and a wastewater discharge survey.

Sewer work has its own requirements. Uncovering, connecting to or altering a public sewer takes a written permit applied for on a town form, with a permit and inspection fee (Sec. 38-81). If the job needs a permit, we tell you before work starts. Under Sec. 38-85, the building sewer must be at least 4 inches across at a slope of at least one-eighth inch per foot, any part within 10 feet of a water service must be cast-iron pipe, trenches stay open until the work is inspected, and connections are made at a Y branch, which the town installs on smaller mains that lack one. Every building needs its own building sewer, with an exception for a rear building on an interior lot (Sec. 38-83). Contact Georgia 811 at least three business days before digging, as it asks of everyone (Georgia 811); the law requires a locate request before digging with machines (dig law).

The code keeps runoff out of the town's pipes. No one may connect downspouts, exterior foundation drains or other sources of surface runoff or groundwater to a building sewer that drains to a public sanitary sewer (Sec. 38-85), and stormwater, roof runoff and subsurface drainage must go to storm sewers or an approved natural outlet rather than the sanitary sewer (Sec. 38-114).

Grease interceptors are required where grease or other harmful wastes call for them, but the code exempts private living quarters and dwelling units. At home, the burden is on habits: keep cooking grease, wipes and paper towels out of drains, as described in what not to flush or pour.

Tyrone's code requires buildings constructed after its effective date to connect, at the owner's expense and before a certificate of occupancy, when a public sewer line is within 250 feet and can be reached by gravity. Where sewer cannot serve the property, the town issues no building permit or certificate of occupancy until the Fayette County Board of Health has issued a septic permit (Sec. 38-59).

Existing septic homes face a trigger: once a public sewer line comes within 250 feet and the septic system fails, no permit will be issued to repair it, and the owner must connect and remove or fill the old tank. Septic permits and records for Tyrone homes are held by the Fayette County environmental health office on Stonewall Avenue West in Fayetteville, according to the Department of Public Health (DPH). We don't pump septic tanks; septic tank pumping in Georgia covers maintenance that can delay a failure. When a connection becomes necessary, the building sewer from the house to the property line is the owner's to build, and that trench and pipe are work we do.

If your septic system is struggling, ask Tyrone Public Works whether a public sewer line lies within 250 feet of your home before you pay for a septic repair. If the answer means connecting, we handle the private side through sewer excavation and sewer line replacement, built to the town's size, slope and cast-iron rules. Homes already on town sewer call us for drain cleaning and a sewer camera inspection when the building sewer slows, and for emergency sewer and drain service when it backs up. Call Georgia Sewer at (404) 482-2527.