SEWER LINES & TAPS · LAKE OCONEE & SINCLAIR
Get a free estimate
or call (678) 863-5620The short answer
Sewer line installation is building the private pipe, the building sewer, from a house to a public sewer tap. In Georgia it must hold a steady downhill slope, have cleanouts no more than 100 feet apart, and pass inspection. Around Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair, most rural lots have no sewer, so taps cluster in towns and utility service areas.
Reviewed by A Class Septic Services · Last updated
Who does the work
One crew, raw ground to a working system
Key facts
Each row links to the agency, code or publisher it comes from. Tap a source to check it yourself.
| Topic | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| When you must connect | Georgia requires connection to public sewer when it is available within 200 feet of the property line or in an abutting right-of-way (511-3-1-.03(1)). | Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-3-1, On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Georgia Secretary of State) |
| Greensboro's stricter line | Inside Greensboro, sewer counts as available within 500 feet, and the city may order connection within 90 days. | Greensboro Code § 30-89 — Sewer use requirements (Municode) |
| Minimum slope, 3- to 6-inch pipe | 1/8 inch per foot; piping 2-1/2 inches or smaller needs 1/4 inch per foot (Table 704.1). | Georgia State Minimum Standard Plumbing Code 2018, Chapter 7 Sanitary Drainage (UpCodes), 2018 |
| Cleanouts | Building sewers need cleanouts no more than 100 feet apart, plus one within 10 feet of the public right-of-way (Section 708.1.2). | Same source as above |
| Water line in the same trench | Allowed only if the sewer is built of approved pressure-rated materials; otherwise keep 5 feet of earth between them (Section 603.2). | Georgia State Minimum Standard Plumbing Code 2018, Chapter 6 Water Supply and Distribution (UpCodes), 2018 |
| EPWSA (Eatonton-Putnam) 4-inch sewer tap | $2,772 tap fee plus $1,810 system development charge, $4,582 total (published fee, effective May 16, 2025). | EPWSA Schedule of Rates, Fees, and Penalties (effective 5.16.25, corrected), 2025 |
| City of Madison 4-inch sewer tap | $2,500 tap fee; a separate sewer connection fee of $1,500 applies to a 3/4-inch meter (approved June 24, 2026). | City of Madison, GA Schedule of Fees (Exhibit A, approved June 24, 2026), 2026 |
| Before any trench | Georgia law requires a locate request for mechanized digging; the tolerance zone is the facility width plus 18 inches on each side. | Georgia 811 — Georgia Utility Facility Protection Act (O.C.G.A. 25-9) summary |
Plain definitions
The whole story
Most of the ground between Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair has never been sewered. Morgan County's 2022 comprehensive plan says most of the unincorporated county has neither water nor sewer infrastructure, and Jasper County's 2023 plan notes that the county does not own sewer facilities at all. In those places a house runs on a septic system, and a sewer line is something you build only inside a town or a utility's footprint.
Where sewer does exist, the pipes are getting old. Putnam County's 2022 plan says many of Eatonton's water, gas, sewer and stormwater lines are approaching 50-plus years in service, and Baldwin County's 2023 plan records a steering committee finding that every sewer line west of Vinson Highway needs replacing. Old public mains get replaced by the utility; the private building sewer that feeds them is the owner's job, and it is often just as old.
Utilities around the lakes vary. In Putnam County the Eatonton-Putnam Water and Sewer Authority runs the public system and publishes its tap fees. Milledgeville's Water & Sewer Department reports about 6,500 sewer customers and 233 miles of sewer line. Around Reynolds Lake Oconee, Piedmont Water Company is a private water and wastewater utility. Each sets its own tap procedure, so the first call on any connection is to the utility that owns the main.
How the job runs
We check with the owning utility that a main runs within reach of the lot and at a depth the house can drain to by gravity. A main that sits higher than your lowest drain means a pump, not a gravity line.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-3-1, On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Georgia Secretary of State)
The utility issues the connection permit and sets the tap. On EPWSA's published schedule a 4-inch residential sewer tap and its system development charge total $4,582. Greensboro requires a city permit and a Y-branch connection.
EPWSA Schedule of Rates, Fees, and Penalties (effective 5.16.25, corrected)
Before any machine digs, a locate request goes in. Where the trench route is hard to describe, Georgia law calls for white-lining it on the ground so locators know exactly where to mark.
Georgia 811 — Georgia Utility Facility Protection Act (O.C.G.A. 25-9) summary
The trench is cut so the pipe falls at least 1/8 inch per foot for a 4-inch line, at one even slope. On a lake lot that means laying out the grade with a level before the bucket goes in, because a sag holds solids and a hump starves the pipe of flow.
Georgia State Minimum Standard Plumbing Code 2018, Chapter 7 Sanitary Drainage (UpCodes)
Pipe goes onto uniform bedding with cleanouts at the house, at intervals of 100 feet or less, and within 10 feet of the right-of-way. Rock in Piedmont trenches is cleared from under the pipe so nothing point-loads it.
Georgia State Minimum Standard Plumbing Code 2018, Chapter 7 Sanitary Drainage (UpCodes)
The line stays open until the utility or building inspector signs off. Backfill goes in lifts and is compacted, then the surface is graded and stabilized so the trench does not settle into a ditch.
When sewer replaces septic, Georgia rules require the old tank to be pumped and filled with sand, soil or rock, or removed. We handle that excavation as part of the conversion.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 511-3-1-.17, Maintenance and Operation (LII)
Permits & the Georgia rules
Apply to the utility that owns the main for a tap or connection permit and pay its published fees.↗
Inside a city, pull the plumbing or sewer connection permit that city requires; Greensboro, for example, permits each building sewer connection.↗
Request a Georgia 811 locate before mechanized digging and wait out the notice period.↗
Build to the Georgia plumbing code (slope, materials, cleanouts) and hold the trench open for inspection.↗
Retire the septic tank under 511-3-1-.17(5) if the house is converting from septic.↗
Georgia rule 511-3-1-.03(1)(a)
“Connection shall be made to a public or community sewage treatment system if such system is available within two hundred feet”
Georgia rule GA Plumbing Code 708.1.2
“An additional cleanout shall be provided within 10 feet of the public right of way.”
Georgia rule 511-3-1-.17(5)
“If the use of a septic tank is discontinued,”
EPWSA publishes a full fee schedule; its 4-inch sewer tap plus capacity charge is $4,582. The county's 2022 plan says more residents are moving to areas EPWSA does not serve.↗
The city treats sewer as available within 500 feet and can order connection within 90 days. All costs of the building sewer fall on the owner.↗
Madison lists a $2,500 tap fee for a 4-inch sewer tap and $3,000 for 6-inch. Most of unincorporated Morgan County has no sewer.↗
The county owns no sewer facilities; Monticello runs the only documented municipal sewer.↗
Milledgeville's department serves about 6,500 sewer customers over 233 miles of line.↗
What it costs
EPWSA 4-inch sewer tap + system development charge
$4,582
per connection
Published utility fee, not a contractor price.
Typical market range — EPWSA Schedule of Rates, Fees, and Penalties (effective 5.16.25, corrected), 2025
City of Madison sewer tap, 4-inch to 6-inch
$2,500–$3,000
per tap
Connection fee is separate ($1,500 for a 3/4-inch meter).
Typical market range — City of Madison, GA Schedule of Fees (Exhibit A, approved June 24, 2026), 2026
Sewer line replacement, national typical range
$1,253–$4,701
per job
Typical market range — Bob Vila — How Much Does Sewer Line Replacement Cost? (updated Jan 27, 2023), 2023
Traditional trench excavation for a sewer line
$400–$1,200
per 100 linear feet
Typical market range — Bob Vila — How Much Does Sewer Line Replacement Cost? (updated Jan 27, 2023), 2023
Trenchless replacement (pipe bursting or lining)
$60–$250
per linear foot
Typical market range — Bob Vila — How Much Does Sewer Line Replacement Cost? (updated Jan 27, 2023), 2023
These are third-party typical market ranges and published utility fees, not A Class Septic Services prices. We give free estimates for the work on your side of the tap.
Free estimate: (678) 863-5620Your options
OPTION 01
When it fits: The house sits above the public main and the run can hold at least 1/8 inch of fall per foot all the way.
OPTION 02
When it fits: Lakefront homes below the street, basements below the main, or long flat runs that cannot hold slope.
We install pump tanks and effluent pumps; see septic pump systems.
OPTION 03
When it fits: Public sewer is more than 200 feet from the property line, or the utility has no capacity at your location.
Compare septic repair and septic installation.
Warning signs
Line backing up again? Call (678) 863-5620
Homes & businesses
Residential
For a single house the job is a tap, a building sewer and, often, retiring a septic tank. On lake lots the run from house to street can be long and uphill, so we settle grade and route before quoting.
Commercial
Sewer system builds for more than one building, such as a shop with an office, a small subdivision or a marina store, need collection piping laid to an engineer's plan and the utility's standards. Building sewers 8 inches and larger need manholes at each change in direction under the Georgia plumbing code.
Where we do this
FAQ
Straight answers, with the rule or record behind them. Still unsure? Call and ask the crew that digs.
(678) 863-5620Generally yes, if the public sewer is available within 200 feet of your property line or in an abutting right-of-way, Georgia rule 511-3-1-.03(1) requires connection. Some cities go further: Greensboro treats sewer as available within 500 feet and may order connection within 90 days. Your utility can confirm whether a main counts as available at your lot.
Source: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-3-1, On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Georgia Secretary of State)
EPWSA's published schedule, effective May 16, 2025, lists $2,772 for a 4-inch sewer tap plus a $1,810 system development charge, a total of $4,582. That is the authority's fee only. Digging and laying the private line from your house to the tap is billed separately by whoever does the work.
Source: EPWSA Schedule of Rates, Fees, and Penalties (effective 5.16.25, corrected)
In most Georgia towns the owner is responsible for the building sewer from the house to the public tap. Greensboro's code says all costs of installing and connecting the building sewer fall on the owner. The utility owns and maintains the main itself. Ask your utility where its responsibility starts, because a few set that line at the property line.
Source: Greensboro Code § 30-91 — Building sewers and connections (Municode)
Georgia's plumbing code sets slope rather than depth: at least 1/8 inch per foot for 3- to 6-inch pipe and 1/4 inch per foot for smaller pipe, at one even grade. Depth follows from that slope and from where the house drain and the public main sit. The pipe also needs enough cover to protect it from traffic and frost.
Source: Georgia State Minimum Standard Plumbing Code 2018, Chapter 7 Sanitary Drainage (UpCodes)
Only under conditions. The Georgia plumbing code allows it when the sewer pipe is made of the pressure-rated materials in Table 702.2. Otherwise the two lines need at least 5 feet of undisturbed or compacted earth between them, or the water line must sit at least 12 inches above the sewer where they come within 5 feet.
Source: Georgia State Minimum Standard Plumbing Code 2018, Chapter 6 Water Supply and Distribution (UpCodes)
Georgia rule 511-3-1-.17(5) says a tank that is no longer used must either be pumped and filled with sand, soil or rock so nobody can fall into it, or be removed. Leaving an empty, unfilled tank in the yard is a collapse hazard. We can dig out or fill the old tank when we lay the new sewer line.
Source: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 511-3-1-.17, Maintenance and Operation (LII)
Both. Much of the lake's shoreline runs on individual septic systems, while some planned communities are served by private utilities; around Reynolds Lake Oconee, Piedmont Water Company provides water and wastewater service. Check your utility bill or ask the property owners' association. If no sewer bill exists, the house is almost certainly on septic.
Yes. Georgia's Utility Facility Protection Act applies to anyone digging with mechanized equipment, including homeowners. The locate request must be made ahead of the dig, and the excavator must use careful methods inside the tolerance zone, which is the marked utility's width plus 18 inches on each side.
Source: Georgia 811 — Georgia Utility Facility Protection Act (O.C.G.A. 25-9) summary
Keep going
Sewer & Water Lines
Sources
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
Ready when you are
Where a city or authority sewer reaches your lot, the line from your house to that tap is yours to build. We dig it, lay it to grade, and backfill it, from a single-home connection to a sewer system build.
(678) 863-5620Free estimate
or call (678) 863-5620By town
Local pages with each town's utility, county permit path and ground conditions.