Cherokee County GA Septic & Sewer

The short answer

Who handles septic and sewer in Cherokee County, GA?

Septic permits come from Cherokee County Environmental Health, part of the North Georgia Health District, at 1130 Bluffs Parkway in Canton. Sewer comes from CCWSA in unincorporated areas and from city utilities in Canton and Woodstock. County code requires a failed system to connect when sewer is available. We repair both.↗↗↗

Reviewed by Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions · Last updated September 23, 2026

The Cherokee County story

Growth outran the sewer lines

Cherokee County was created in 1831 and stayed rural for well over a century. What changed it was a road. The first phase of Interstate 575 opened in 1979, and the corridor from Kennesaw through Woodstock, Holly Springs and Canton filled with subdivisions. The county's median home was built in 2001, and the 2000s alone left 31,709 houses still standing.↗↗

Much of that growth went onto septic. When Georgia EPD studied Lake Allatoona in 2013, it used Public Health data showing 37,390 existing septic systems in Cherokee in 2006, the largest count of any county in the lake's watershed table, with 3,465 installed in just the five years before. EPD noted that rising septic counts often reflect population outpacing sewer expansion.↗

Sewer has been catching up. The Cherokee County Water and Sewerage Authority now serves more than 225,000 residents and runs three treatment plants, and Cobb County's Noonday plant, just across the line, treats wastewater for southern Cherokee including all of Woodstock.↗↗

On the record

37,390 existing septic systems in Cherokee in 2006, the most in the Allatoona watershed table.↗
3,465 septic systems installed and 631 repaired, 2001–2006.↗
I-575's first phase opened in 1979 and drove the county's growth.↗

Local facts

Cherokee County at a glance

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

Every row links to the record it came from.
Topic	What it says	Source
Population	281,032 (ACS 2020-2024)	Census Reporter API — Cherokee County, GA, ACS 2020-2024 5-year (B01003, B25035, B25034)
Median year built	2001	Census Reporter API — Cherokee County, GA, ACS 2020-2024 5-year (B01003, B25035, B25034)
Area	434 square miles, 13 of them water, much of it Lake Allatoona	Cherokee County, Georgia - Wikipedia
Watershed	Nearly all in the Etowah sub-basin of the Coosa-Tallapoosa	Cherokee County, Georgia - Wikipedia
CCWSA plants	Rose Creek 6 MGD (1987), Fitzgerald Creek 5 MGD (1988), Riverbend 1 MGD (2018)	Treatment Facilities \| CCWSA
Septic office	1130 Bluffs Parkway, Canton; 770-479-0444; weekdays 8–5	Cherokee County Environmental Health \| North Georgia Health District

Permits · Cherokee County Environmental Health (North Georgia Health District), 1130 Bluffs Parkway, Canton, GA 30114

How a Cherokee septic permit works

Cherokee writes its septic rules into county code, not just state rules.

01
No lot may be developed for septic, and no system or component installed, without a county health department construction permit.↗
02
The written application lists the owner, location, plans, bedrooms, soil characteristics and every well within 100 feet of the property lines; two-foot topography may be required.↗
03
The board of health approves or disapproves a complete application within 20 days.↗
04
Old permit records aren't public online, but the EH office will pull them on request in one to two business days.↗
05
If a system has failed and sewer is available within 200 feet, the fix is a connection, not a repair.↗

Georgia rule Cherokee County Code Sec. 46-173(a)

“Connection shall be made to a public or community sewage treatment system when such system is available within 200 feet of the property line”

Read the rule

More about Cherokee County

What the county code says about your tank

Section 46-179 sets the tank itself. A home of up to four bedrooms needs at least 1,000 gallons, plus 250 gallons for each bedroom beyond that. Add a garbage grinder and the tank must be 50 percent larger. Every tank carries an approved filter on the outlet, and the inlet and outlet tees are Schedule 40 PVC or equivalent.↗

The same section fixes where it can sit: at least 50 feet from wells and springs, 25 feet from lakes and streams, 10 feet from property lines and pressurized water lines, and 15 feet from ditches and embankments.↗

Lot sizes are scaled to the ground. The county table runs from 40,000 square feet on the best soils and gentle slopes up to 66,000 on the poorest, and can be cut by as much as half where public water replaces a well.↗

Aerobic units get extra paperwork: an operating permit renewed every year and a signed maintenance contract on file.↗

1,000-gallon minimum for up to four bedrooms; 50% more with a garbage grinder.↗
Lot-size table: 40,000–66,000 sq ft by soil group and slope.↗
Aerobic systems: annual operating permit plus maintenance contract.↗

Section 46-179 sets the tank itself.

Soil & terrain

Rivers, slopes and the drain-field ban

Two rivers shape where septic can go. The Etowah runs west through Canton into Lake Allatoona, and the Little River divides the Woodstock area from Holly Springs before meeting it under the lake. Cherokee's zoning draws a protection corridor 150 feet deep on each side of both. A single-family home on two acres or more may keep its septic tank inside that buffer, but the drain field may not be there.↗↗↗

North of Canton the land climbs toward the mountains. In the soil survey Cherokee shares with Gilmer and Pickens counties, the largest map unit is Tallapoosa cobbly sandy loam on 25 to 60 percent slopes. Steep, stony ground like that limits where a field can go and pushes some lots toward alternative systems.↗↗

Tallapoosa cobbly sandy loam, 25–60%↗
Largest unit (about 112,045 acres) in the three-county survey.
Tallapoosa fine sandy loam, 15–25%↗
About 85,525 acres.
Wickham fine sandy loam (central Canton)↗
Rated very limited for septic fields near the Etowah.
Soil series · USDA NRCS

Sewer or septic?

Sewer or septic: it depends on the address

The county sends unincorporated sewer questions to CCWSA at 770-479-1813 and city residents to their own departments. Canton counts sewer as available within 300 feet by gravity and allows septic only in two named subdivisions and on two-acre lots. Woodstock requires hookup within 120 days of notice when sewer is within 100 feet, and won't extend city sewer to unincorporated land.↗

How to tell which one you have

A CCWSA or city bill with a sewer charge.
A tank lid, riser or field-line mounds in the yard.
A septic permit on file at the Bluffs Parkway EH office.

Towns we serve

Cherokee towns we serve

Also in the county

Holly Springs · North of the Little River.
Ball Ground · On I-575 north of Canton.
Waleska, Nelson and Mountain Park
Towne Lake, Hickory Flat and Free Home (unincorporated)

Services here

Services across Cherokee

Also available:Septic Installation Drain Field Repair Septic Inspection

State-certified septic contractor

Cherokee's code ties septic work to state certification of contractors and pumpers. Our company appears on both Georgia DPH rosters: certified installers and approved pumpers.

FAQ

Cherokee County septic and sewer questions

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

(678) 863-5620

Where do I get a septic permit in Cherokee County?

Cherokee County Environmental Health, part of the North Georgia Health District, at 1130 Bluffs Parkway in Canton; 770-479-0444, weekdays 8 to 5.

Source: Cherokee County Environmental Health | North Georgia Health District

How long does a septic permit take?

County code gives the board of health 20 days to approve or disapprove a complete construction-permit application.

Source: Cherokee County Code Sec. 46-175 Construction permits (Municode, Supp. 39)

My septic failed and sewer is down the road. Can I still repair it?

Not if sewer is available within 200 feet or in an abutting right-of-way. The county code requires an immediate connection when a system fails and sewer is available.

Source: Cherokee County Code Sec. 46-173 Residences, buildings or facilities (Municode, Supp. 39)

What size septic tank does Cherokee require?

At least 1,000 gallons for up to four bedrooms, plus 250 gallons per additional bedroom, and 50 percent more with a garbage grinder.

Source: Cherokee County Code Sec. 46-179 Septic tanks (Municode, Supp. 39)

Can I have a drain field near the Etowah or Little River?

Not within the 150-foot protection corridor. A home on two acres or more may keep its tank in the buffer, but the field must be outside it.

Source: Cherokee County Zoning Ordinance 26.4 Etowah/Little River Protection Corridor (Municode, Supp. 35)

How do I find my old septic permit?

Ask the county EH office. Records aren't publicly posted, but staff will pull them, usually within one to two business days.

Source: EH FAQs | North Georgia Health District

Who provides sewer in unincorporated Cherokee?

The Cherokee County Water and Sewerage Authority, 770-479-1813. Residents of cities call their city's department.

Source: Septic and Public Utilities FAQ | Cherokee County, Georgia

Does my aerobic system need anything special?

Yes. Cherokee requires an operating permit renewed annually and a signed maintenance contract for mechanical treatment systems.

Source: Cherokee County Code Sec. 46-189 Maintenance and operation (Municode, Supp. 39)

How many septic systems are in Cherokee County?

The most recent count we found, from Public Health data cited by Georgia EPD, was 37,390 in 2006.

Source: Georgia EPD — Total Maximum Daily Load Evaluation for Lake Allatoona (Chlorophyll a), April 2013, Table 9

Guides

Guides for Cherokee 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.