Bostwick GA Septic & Water Lines

The short answer

Does Bostwick, GA have sewer?

No. Bostwick runs a city water system, about 186 connections on purchased surface water, but no public sewer: the city lists only water service, the county names Bostwick only as a water provider, and EPA shows no municipal wastewater permit there. Every home and business uses septic, permitted by Morgan County Environmental Health in Madison.↗↗↗↗

Reviewed by A Class Septic Services · Last updated October 13, 2026

At a glance

County: Morgan County
ZIP codes: 30623
Sewer: None documented (on-site septic, permitted by Northeast Health District Morgan EH)
Water: City of Bostwick water system (PWSID GA2110000)
Population: 378 (2020 Census)

The Bostwick story

A cotton town laid out in 1908, still draining into its own back yards

Bostwick is the town John Bostwick Sr. built. He put up a cotton oil mill in 1901, helped run a rail spur over to the Central of Georgia line at Apalachee, and in 1902 built the brick Susie Agnes Hotel with bricks from his own clay. In 1908 he had 122 house lots surveyed in a grid south of Main Street,.↗

Those lots were laid out long before anyone sized a drain field. The county's plan describes the historic neighborhood southwest of downtown, between Highway 83, 2nd Street, Nunn Lane and Malcolm Road, as big lots with mostly pre-war homes. Every one of those houses now sends its wastewater into a tank and field somewhere on its own ground.↗

So a septic repair in Bostwick is often detective work: an old tank that may not be where anyone thinks, field lines that have been driven over or built beside, and a city water line crossing the yard that the new field has to respect. Out past town, along SR 83 toward Madison and Monroe and back the farm roads, the work turns to new systems on open ground for houses going up on family land.↗

On the record

In 1908 John Bostwick Sr. had 122 residential lots surveyed in a grid south of Main Street, laying out much of the town's residential core.↗
The Susie Agnes Hotel, built in 1902 with bricks from John Bostwick Sr.'s own clay, was given to the city in 1993 and listed on the National Register in 1999.↗

Sewer or septic?

Sewer or septic in Bostwick? Septic, every time

Three separate records agree. The city's own utilities page covers water bills and nothing else. Morgan County's service delivery strategy lists Bostwick as a water provider for its own area and nothing more. And an EPA search for Bostwick turns up stormwater permits only, no wastewater plant.↗↗↗

City water does change the septic math. Morgan County's plan cites a 0.6-acre minimum lot for a septic system on public water, against 1.2 acres when one house needs both a well and a septic system. Most in-town Bostwick lots are on the city meter; farm parcels out the county roads often are not.↗

Local facts

Bostwick's water, ground and houses

Each row links to the agency, code or publisher it comes from. Tap a source to check it yourself.

Every row links to its source.
Topic	What it says	Source
City water	Bostwick Water System (GA2110000): about 186 connections and 484 people, purchased surface water	EPA Envirofacts SDWIS: Bostwick Water System (GA2110000)
Water system plans	2022 work program: list aging water infrastructure, replace outdated lines, add lines to serve more residents	Morgan County & Cities of Bostwick, Buckhead and Rutledge 2022-2036 Comprehensive Plan (GA DCA)
Soil at the town center	Cecil sandy loam, 2 to 6 percent slopes, moderately eroded	USDA NRCS Soil Data Access: map unit at Bostwick town center (33.7377, -83.5139)
Housing	Median home built 1984 (small-area ACS estimate; most historic-district homes predate WWII)	Census Reporter: Bostwick, GA (ACS 2024 5-year)
Where the town drains	Bucks Creek to the north, Beaverdam Creek to the south, all in the Apalachee River watershed	Wikipedia: Bostwick, Georgia
City office / ZIP	5941 Bostwick Road; clerk 706-343-0065 / 30623	City of Bostwick: City Information & Utilities

More about Bostwick

When the city fixes water lines, check where your field lines are

Bostwick's 2022 community work program calls for a prioritized list of aging water infrastructure, replacing outdated lines and running new ones to serve more residents. New service lines mean trenches across yards that are full of tanks and field lines nobody has mapped.↗

Georgia's septic rules are specific about that crossing. A water line that crosses or comes within 10 feet of an absorption field has to sit at least 12 inches above the top of the gravel and be sleeved in a single length of larger pipe, and a septic tank must stay at least 10 feet from any pressure water line. Before we trench a new service line from a Bostwick meter, we locate the tank and field first, and Georgia 811 gets called at least three business days ahead for the buried utilities.↗↗↗

Bostwick's 2022 community work program calls for a prioritized list of aging water infrastructure, replacing outdated lines and running new ones to serve more residents.

Soil & terrain

Red Cecil clay on a ridge at 761 feet

Bostwick sits high for Morgan County, about 761 feet, and the soil at the town center maps as Cecil sandy loam, moderately eroded. Cecil is the classic Piedmont red clay: very deep, well drained, with a thick clay subsoil under a thin sandy top that erosion from the cotton years has worn down.↗↗↗

Well-drained clay is workable septic ground when it is handled right. The state manual says trenches in clay must not be dug wet, because the walls smear and seal, and it requires fields to be protected from roof and storm runoff. On a Bostwick lot where every gutter dumps toward the back yard, that runoff is often what drowns an old field.↗

Cecil sandy loam, 2-6% slopes, moderately eroded↗
Mapped at the town center.
Cecil series↗
Very deep, well drained, red clay subsoil from weathered felsic rock.
Soil series · USDA NRCS

Permits · Morgan County EH, Northeast Health District (Madison)

Septic permits for Bostwick property

The city of Bostwick does not issue septic permits. Morgan County Environmental Health in Madison handles every new system and every repair, and we build to that permit and its inspections.

01
Get a construction permit (new system) or repair permit from Morgan County Environmental Health before any digging on the system.↗
02
The county acts on a complete application within 20 days; the permit lasts no more than 12 months.↗
03
A new single-family tank holds at least 1,000 gallons for up to four bedrooms, plus 250 gallons for each extra bedroom.↗
04
The Environmental Health Specialist inspects before backfill and issues written approval.↗

Published fees

Residential repair permitEffective 2024-08-01$200.00↗
Residential septic tank inspection (new system)Effective 2024-08-01$350.00↗
Residential addition/modification inspectionEffective 2024-08-01$175.00↗
Septic system location plan reviewEffective 2024-08-01$50.00↗

Services here

Bostwick work we take on

Septic first, because that is what every Bostwick house runs on, then the water and dirt work around it.

Also available:Underground Tank Removal Stump Removal Dump Truck & Hauling

Who to call at the county

Offices that matter for a Bostwick job

Septic permits & records

Morgan County Environmental Health (Northeast Health District)

Address: 2005 South Main Street, Suite 200, Madison, GA 30650
Phone: 706-752-1266 option 3
Hours: Specialists in-office 8:00-9:30 a.m. on select weekdays; call ahead.

Office website

City of Bostwick (water) City water service and billing through the city clerk, 706-343-0065; no sewer.↗

FAQ

Bostwick septic questions

Straight answers, with the rule or record behind them. Still unsure? Call and ask the crew that digs.

(678) 863-5620

Is there any sewer in Bostwick, GA?

No public sewer is on record. The city provides water only, Morgan County's service delivery strategy lists Bostwick only as a water provider, and EPA's facility search shows no municipal wastewater permit.

Source: EPA ECHO Clean Water Act facility search: Bostwick, GA

Who do I call about Bostwick water service?

The City of Bostwick, at 5941 Bostwick Road. Water bills and service go through the city clerk at 706-343-0065.

Source: City of Bostwick: City Information & Utilities

Who permits septic systems in Bostwick?

Morgan County Environmental Health, part of the Northeast Health District, at 2005 South Main Street, Suite 200, in Madison (706-752-1266, option 3).

Source: Northeast Health District: Morgan County locations (Environmental Health)

How much is a septic repair permit for a Bostwick house?

Morgan County's fee sheet effective August 1, 2024 lists $200 for a residential repair permit and $175 for an addition or modification inspection.

Source: Morgan County EH fees, effective August 1, 2024 (Northeast Health District)

Can a new water line cross my drain field?

Only under conditions. Georgia requires a water line that crosses or comes within 10 feet of an absorption field to be at least 12 inches above the gravel and encased in a single length of larger pipe.

Source: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-3-1-.07, Absorption Fields (LII)

Is the soil in Bostwick good for septic?

The town center maps as Cecil sandy loam, a deep, well-drained red clay that can carry a conventional field when it is sized right, dug dry and kept clear of storm runoff.

Source: USDA NRCS Soil Data Access: map unit at Bostwick town center (33.7377, -83.5139)

Where does Bostwick's water go after it leaves my yard?

North of town it runs through Bucks Creek to Jacks Creek; south of town through Beaverdam Creek to Big Sandy Creek. All of it is in the Apalachee River watershed, which feeds the Oconee and Lake Oconee.

Source: Wikipedia: Bostwick, Georgia

Nearby areas

Near Bostwick

Guides

Guides for Bostwick owners

Sources

Where these facts come from

Rules, costs and local facts on this page link to the agency, code or publisher that states them. Cost figures are third-party market ranges, not our prices — estimates are free.