Shady Dale, GA · Jasper County
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or call (678) 863-5620The short answer
No. Jasper County's 2023 comprehensive plan says Shady Dale offers water service only, so new development is limited to lots big enough to hold a septic system. The town's well-fed water system has about 168 connections. Septic permits come from Jasper County Environmental Health in Monticello. We install, repair and build site work around those systems.↗↗↗
Reviewed by A Class Septic Services · Last updated
The Shady Dale story
Shady Dale is a crossroads town. State Routes 83 and 142 meet in the middle of it under five stop signs, and the joint plan for Jasper County notes the backups that build there on weekends, holidays and UGA game days. Madison is 17 miles up 83, Monticello 8 miles down it, and the first weekend in June the town fills up for the rodeo that has run there since 1983.↗↗
Under that small-town picture is a plain utility fact: Shady Dale has water lines and no sewer. The county plan turns that into a land-use rule. Because the town offers water only, new development is held to lot sizes that can accommodate septic, which keeps Shady Dale a town of houses on real yards.↗
That plan also puts the median home value around $225,000 and projects it near $276,000 by 2027. Rising values bring new houses on cut-out lots along 83 and 142, additions to older homes, and buyers who want to know what is in the ground before they close. Every one of those starts with the septic system: where it is, whether it is working, and whether the lot has room for a code-compliant replacement.↗
On the record
Sewer or septic?
Jasper County's plan is direct about it: most of the county is not served by sewer, the county government owns no sewer facilities, and Monticello runs the only documented town sewer. In Shady Dale, every toilet drains to an on-site system.↗
Being on town water still helps. State lot-sizing defaults are 21,780 square feet (100-foot width) on public water versus 43,560 square feet (150-foot width) on a private well, before any county adjustment. The health department sets the final number from the soil and slope.↗
Local 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Town water | Town of Shady Dale (GA1590001): about 168 connections and 454 people on groundwater | EPA Envirofacts SDWIS: Shady Dale water system (GA1590001) |
| Soil at the town center | Cecil sandy clay loam, 2 to 6 percent slopes, eroded | USDA NRCS Soil Data Access: map unit at Shady Dale town center (33.3985, -83.5894) |
| Stream gauge | USGS 02221170, Murder Creek near Shady Dale, about 470 ft elevation | USGS site 02221170: Murder Creek near Shady Dale, GA |
| Housing | Median home built 1987; 29 of 139 units are mobile homes (ACS 2020-2024) | Census Reporter: Shady Dale, GA (ACS 2024 5-year) |
| Home values | Median about $225,000, projected $276,087 by 2027 | Jasper County, Monticello & Shady Dale Joint Comprehensive Plan 2023-2028 (GA DCA) |
| Founded / incorporated | About 1880 on the site of a former Creek settlement / 1889 | Wikipedia: Shady Dale, Georgia |
| ZIP | 31085 | Wikidata Q2914317 (Shady Dale): postal code |
Soil & terrain
The soil under the town center is Cecil sandy clay loam, eroded: the sandy top has mostly washed off and the red clay subsoil is close to the surface. Cecil is very deep and well drained, so it can carry a conventional field, but there is less topsoil to work with and the clay seals if it is trenched wet.↗↗↗
Shady Dale sits on a divide. The west side drains to Murder Creek, the east side toward the Little River, and Murder Creek itself feeds the Little River, which flows on into Lake Sinclair. Any absorption field has to stay at least 50 feet from the normal water level of a creek or pond, and land that floods often should not be used at all.↗↗↗
Permits · Jasper County Environmental Health (North Central Health District), 825 Eatonton Street, Monticello
If the lot also needs a private well, apply for the well permit first; Jasper's well permit fee includes a site evaluation to locate the well.↗
Apply to Jasper County Environmental Health for a septic construction permit or a repair permit before any digging.↗
The county decides a complete application within 20 days, and a permit is valid for up to 12 months.↗
The specialist inspects the installed system before backfill and issues written approval; later grading over the system can void it.↗
Median year homes were built
1987
Typical house here is about 39 years old — and so is its original sewer or septic line.
ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035 · Census Reporter: Shady Dale, GA (ACS 2024 5-year)
Housing era
The typical Shady Dale home dates to the late 1980s, and about one in five housing units is a mobile home. Replacing a manufactured home with a bigger one, or setting a second unit on family land, usually means the county looks again at whether the septic system is sized for the bedrooms.↗
Systems from that era are now well into middle age. Jasper County Environmental Health discourages septic additives, and a tank that has been neglected for years is where most field failures start.↗
Services here
Also available:Storm Shelters & Safe RoomsFrench DrainsDump Truck & Hauling
Who to call at the county
Septic permits & records
FAQ
Straight answers, with the rule or record behind them. Still unsure? Call and ask the crew that digs.
(678) 863-5620No. The 2023 Jasper County joint comprehensive plan says Shady Dale offers water service only, and new development is limited to lot sizes that can accommodate septic systems.
Source: Jasper County, Monticello & Shady Dale Joint Comprehensive Plan 2023-2028 (GA DCA)
The town's own water system, which EPA lists as serving about 454 people through roughly 168 connections from groundwater.
Source: EPA Envirofacts SDWIS: Shady Dale water system (GA1590001)
Jasper County Environmental Health, part of the North Central Health District, at the Jasper County Health Department, 825 Eatonton Street, Monticello. The district lists (706) 468-6850 and weekday hours of 8 to 4:30.
Source: North Central Health District: Jasper County Environmental Health Department
Jasper County has not published a septic fee schedule online. Call the Environmental Health office in Monticello for the current permit and inspection fees before you budget.
Source: North Central Health District: Jasper County Environmental Health Department
If the lot needs a private well, Jasper County Environmental Health has you apply for the well permit first; that fee includes a site evaluation to place the well, which then sets where the septic system can go.
Source: North Central Health District: Jasper County Environmental Health Department
At least 50 feet from the normal water level of any stream, pond or other body of water, and at least 100 feet from a well or spring, under Georgia's absorption-field rule.
Source: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-3-1-.07, Absorption Fields (LII)
Not from May 1 through September 30. Jasper County is on Georgia EPD's summer open-burning ban, and land-clearing burns outside the ban need a Georgia Forestry Commission permit.
Source: GA EPD press release, Apr. 29, 2026: Annual Ban on Open Burning
Nearby areas
Guides
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
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