10% offfor military & first responders
Call
Orange survey flags and a soil auger marking out a proposed drain field on a wooded red clay lot under tall pines.

Septic System Installation · Madison, GA

New septic system installation for homes around Madison, Georgia, outside the city sewer lines.

Madison, Morgan County. ZIP code 30650.
Call (678) 863-5620Free estimate
  • Lake Oconee & Lake Sinclair
  • Residential & commercial
  • 10% off: military & first responders

Get a free estimate

or call (678) 863-5620

Property type
What do you need?
Rather talk? (678) 863-5620
Where's the property?
Is it a lake lot? (optional)
Who should we call?

By submitting, you agree we may call or text you about this request. Privacy.

The short answer

Who permits and installs a new septic system in Madison, GA?

Outside Madison's sewer lines, a new septic system is permitted by Morgan County Environmental Health, part of the Northeast Health District, at 2005 South Main Street. The county reviews the site plan, issues the construction permit and inspects the open system before it is covered. A Class Septic builds the tank and field to that permit.↗↗

Reviewed by A Class Septic Services · Last updated

At a glance

County
Morgan County
ZIP codes
30650
Sewer
City of Madison Utilities (Indian Creek WRF GA0038741; Southside WPCP GA0023141)
Water
City of Madison Water Department (PWSID GA2110002)
Population
4,447 (2020 Census)

Local facts

Morgan County new-system numbers

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

What Morgan County Environmental Health charges and requires for a new residential septic system (fees effective August 1, 2024).
TopicWhat it saysSource
Permit officeMorgan County EH, 2005 South Main Street, Suite 200, Madison; 706-752-1266 option 3Northeast Health District: Morgan County locations (Environmental Health)
New residential system inspection$350 (5 or more bedrooms: $400)Morgan County EH fees, effective August 1, 2024 (Northeast Health District)
Site plan review / location plan review$75 / $50Same source as above
Re-inspection if the first visit fails$175Same source as above
Well location inspection (new well on the same lot)$50Same source as above
Subdivision plat review / per-lot review$300 / $100Same source as above
Minimum lot cited in the county plan0.6 acre with septic; 1.2 acres with a well and septicMorgan County & Cities of Bostwick, Buckhead and Rutledge 2022-2036 Comprehensive Plan (GA DCA)

Sewer or septic?

Will your Madison lot need septic at all?

Madison Utilities supplies water, sewer and gas to city residents, and its wastewater runs to the Indian Creek Water Reclamation Facility on Indian Creek Road, permitted to discharge up to 1.0 million gallons a day to Fourmile Branch.↗↗

Step past the city limits and that changes fast. Morgan County's water service strategy lists only Madison, Rutledge, Bostwick and Buckhead as water providers; everyone else is on a well and a pump house, and almost always a septic tank too.↗

How to tell which one you have

  • Ask Madison Utilities whether a sewer main runs along your road frontage.
  • Check a recent survey or plat for a sewer easement within 200 feet.

The Madison story

Pasture tracts, county roads and the north end of Lake Oconee

Most new septic permits around Madison fall into two groups. The first is the farm and estate tract off US 441, US 129 and US 278, where a new house goes up on old pasture and the county wants room for the well, the tank, the field and a full replacement field.↗

The second is the lake lot. Morgan County holds roughly 25 miles of Lake Oconee shoreline on its southeastern edge, and much of it is access subdivisions where weekend houses go up one lot at a time. A wooded 0.98-acre Oconee Shores lot on Apalachee Woods Trail, mailing address Buckhead 30625, was listed with public water and a septic tank.↗↗

On those lake lots the field cannot sit closer than 50 feet to the lake's normal water level or 100 feet to any well, and the tank needs 25 feet from the water. Slope and those three distances decide the layout long before anyone picks a tank.↗↗

Most new septic permits around Madison fall into two groups.

Soil & terrain

Madison ground: red ridges and eroded slopes

Madison sits on a ridge, with Sugar Creek draining the south side and Mill Branch running north to Hard Labor Creek. NRCS maps Cecil sandy loam on gentle 2 to 6 percent slopes at the town's mapped center and severely eroded Lloyd clay loam on 6 to 15 percent slopes a short way off.↗

Eroded farm ground matters for a new field. Where decades of row crops stripped the topsoil, trenches end up in dense red subsoil, and the soil report and percolation rate drive trench length. On lots under 3 acres the slowest allowable perc rate is 90 minutes per inch.↗

  1. Cecil sandy loam, 2-6% slopes↗

    Well drained; mapped at Madison's center point.

  2. Lloyd clay loam, 6-15% slopes, severely eroded↗

    Red clay close to the surface on old cropland.

  3. Soil series · USDA NRCS

Permits · Morgan County Environmental Health (Northeast Health District)

From raw lot to approved system in Morgan County

Nothing gets dug for the system until the construction permit is in hand. Here is the order the work follows.
  1. 01

    Soil work and a site plan go to Morgan EH for review ($75), showing the house, well, tank, field and replacement area.↗

  2. 02

    The county issues or denies the construction permit within 20 days of a complete application; no part of the system may be installed before it.↗

  3. 03

    We set a two-compartment tank sized at 1,000 gallons for up to four bedrooms, plus 250 gallons per extra bedroom, with an effluent filter on the outlet.↗

  4. 04

    The Environmental Health Specialist inspects the open installation before approval; nothing is backfilled or used until written approval is issued.↗

  5. 05

    After approval, keep later grading and fill off the system, because work that may affect it voids the approval.↗

Published fees

  • Residential septic tank inspectionEffective 2024-08-01$350.00↗
  • Expedited service, residentialEffective 2024-08-01$75.00↗

What it costs

What new septic systems cost (published ranges)

National ranges from HomeAdvisor and Today's Homeowner, plus the Morgan County fee. These are not A Class prices; we quote each lot after walking it.

What moves the price

These are third-party typical market ranges, not our prices. Every job is quoted after we see it — estimates are free.

Free estimate: (678) 863-5620
  1. 01Bedroom count, which sets tank size
  2. 02Perc rate in eroded clay versus sandy loam
  3. 03Whether the field sits uphill and needs a pump tank
  4. 04Distance to your well or a neighbor's
  5. 05Clearing and access across pasture or woods

Services here

Work that usually rides along with a Madison install

FAQ

New septic questions from Madison and Morgan County

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

(678) 863-5620

How big does my lot need to be for septic near Madison?

Morgan County's comprehensive plan cites 0.6 acre for a septic system and 1.2 acres when the same home also needs a private well.

Source: Morgan County & Cities of Bostwick, Buckhead and Rutledge 2022-2036 Comprehensive Plan (GA DCA)

How long does Morgan County take to issue the permit?

Georgia gives the county board of health 20 days to approve or deny a complete construction permit application, and the permit stays good for no more than 12 months.

Source: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-3-1-.03, General Requirements for On-Site Sewage Management Systems (LII)

What does Morgan County Environmental Health charge for a new system?

$350 for a residential septic tank inspection, or $400 for five bedrooms or more, plus $75 for a site plan review. A failed first inspection adds a $175 re-inspection.

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

I'm drilling a well on the same lot. Is that a separate step?

Yes. Morgan EH lists a $50 well location inspection, and the field has to stay 100 feet from the well, so the two are laid out together.

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

My lot is inside the Madison city limits. Can I still put in septic?

Only if sewer is not available. Georgia requires a connection when a public sewer is within 200 feet of the property line or in an abutting right-of-way.

Source: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-3-1-.03, General Requirements for On-Site Sewage Management Systems (LII)

Can I build a driveway over the new field?

No. Only solid schedule 40 pipe can sit under drives or parking; the trenches themselves cannot carry traffic or pavement.

Source: GA DPH Manual for On-Site Sewage Management Systems (March 2026), Section F: Dispersal Systems

Nearby areas

Septic installation in nearby lake-country towns

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.

Reviewed by A Class Septic Services · Last updated

  1. 1Northeast Health District: Morgan County locations (Environmental Health)
  2. 2Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-3-1-.03, General Requirements for On-Site Sewage Management Systems (LII)
  3. 3Morgan County EH fees, effective August 1, 2024 (Northeast Health District)
  4. 4Morgan County & Cities of Bostwick, Buckhead and Rutledge 2022-2036 Comprehensive Plan (GA DCA)
  5. 5City of Madison, GA: Utilities Department
  6. 6Georgia EPD Public Notice No. 2017-18ML (October 17, 2017): NPDES applications
  7. 7Morgan County Service Delivery Strategy 2019 - Water Service (updated), GA DCA
  8. 8GA DPH Manual for On-Site Sewage Management Systems (March 2026), Section F: Dispersal Systems
  9. 9Lake Homes Realty listing: Lot 19 Apalachee Woods Trail, Buckhead GA 30625 (Oconee Shores)
  10. 10Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-3-1-.07, Absorption Fields (LII)
  11. 11Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-3-1-.05, Septic Tanks (LII)
  12. 12USDA NRCS Soil Data Access: map units at Madison (33.5790, -83.4760 and 33.5880, -83.4724)
  13. 13Northeast Health District: Environmental Health (Sewage/Septic Systems)
  14. 14HomeAdvisor: Septic System Installation Cost (updated Jun 20, 2026)
  15. 15Today's Homeowner: Septic Tank Installation Cost (updated April 11, 2025)

Ready when you are

Building on a lot outside Madison? Start with the septic plan.

Call (678) 863-5620 or ask for a free estimate. We walk the lot, line up the clearing and grading with the Morgan County permit, and build the system to it. Military and first responders get 10% off.

(678) 863-5620

Free estimate

or call (678) 863-5620

Property type
What do you need?
Rather talk? (678) 863-5620
Where's the property?
Is it a lake lot? (optional)
Who should we call?

By submitting, you agree we may call or text you about this request. Privacy.

Call nowFree Estimate