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COMMERCIAL SEPTIC REPAIR · METRO ATLANTA
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or call (678) 863-5620The short answer
Commercial septic repair in Georgia is permitted and inspected by the county Environmental Health office, like a home system, but the design flow comes from the DPH Manual's sewage flow schedule instead of bedroom count. Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions, a Georgia DPH-certified septic installer in Oxford, GA, repairs systems for churches, schools, shops and restaurants.
Reviewed by Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions · Last updated
Who does the work
One crew, the whole line
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Permit for any repair | Required; repairs, replacements and additions are permitted and inspected by the County Board of Health (511-3-1-.03) | Georgia DPH Rules Chapter 511-3-1 On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Jan 2016), 2016 |
| Design flow, church | 5 gpd per sanctuary seat (no kitchen); 7 gpd per sanctuary seat (with kitchen) | Georgia DPH Manual for On-Site Sewage Management Systems (2026 edition) — Table 13.J Sewage Flow Schedule; Section E Dosing Tanks; Section D Grease Traps, 2026 |
| Design flow, day care center | 15 gpd per person (no meals); 20 gpd per person (with meals) | Georgia DPH Manual for On-Site Sewage Management Systems (2026 edition) — Table 13.J Sewage Flow Schedule; Section E Dosing Tanks; Section D Grease Traps, 2026 |
| Design flow, restaurant open under 24 hours | 50 gpd per seat (75 for 24-hour; 100 on interstates) | Georgia DPH Manual for On-Site Sewage Management Systems (2026 edition) — Table 13.J Sewage Flow Schedule; Section E Dosing Tanks; Section D Grease Traps, 2026 |
| Design flow, day school | 12 gpd per person (toilets only); 16 with cafeteria; 20 with cafeteria and gym | Georgia DPH Manual for On-Site Sewage Management Systems (2026 edition) — Table 13.J Sewage Flow Schedule; Section E Dosing Tanks; Section D Grease Traps, 2026 |
| Engineer required | Systems over 2,000 gallons per day need plans sealed by a Georgia-licensed engineer (511-3-1-.03(6)) | Georgia DPH Rules Chapter 511-3-1 On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Jan 2016), 2016 |
| High-strength waste | BOD5 and TSS above 200 mg/L must be pretreated to 200 mg/L or below before a conventional or chamber system (511-3-1-.03(1)(c)) | Georgia DPH Rules Chapter 511-3-1 On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Jan 2016), 2016 |
| Commercial permit fee, Newton / Rockdale / Gwinnett (GNR) | $600 site evaluation, permit and initial inspection | GNR Environmental Health Fee Schedule — Newton County, 2026 |
| Commercial repair permit, Walton County | $365 | Walton County EH Fees (Northeast Health District, effective August 1, 2024), 2024 |
| Our certification | Listed as a Georgia DPH Certified Septic Tank Installer and Approved Septic Tank Pumper (lists dated 9/18/2026) | Georgia DPH Certified Septic Tank Installers list (9/18/2026), 2026 |
Plain definitions
Warning signs
Seeing any of these at your building? Call (678) 863-5620 now
The whole story
A house's septic tank is sized by bedrooms. A commercial system is sized by what happens in the building. Georgia's rule sends designers to the DPH Manual's sewage flow schedule, Table 13.J, and says the calculation is made on peak flow, not long-term averages (511-3-1-.13). The table assigns gallons per day by seat, person, chair, room or floor area.
Run the table's own numbers and the differences are large. A 300-seat sanctuary with no kitchen works out to 1,500 gallons per day at 5 per seat; add a kitchen and the same room is 2,100 at 7 per seat. An 80-seat restaurant open under 24 hours is 4,000 gallons per day at 50 per seat. A day school of 150 people with a cafeteria is 2,400 at 16 per person. A small office of 20 workers with no showers is 500 at 25 per person. These are straight multiplications from Table 13.J, shown for scale; your actual design flow is set in the permit.
That arithmetic drives the repair. It tells you whether the existing field was ever big enough, whether a change of use has outgrown it, and whether the repair crosses the 2,000-gallon line. Above 2,000 gallons per day, Rule 511-3-1-.03(6) requires the plans, specifications, soil data and absorption test data to carry a Georgia-licensed engineer's registration number and signature. At or under 2,000, the health department may accept plans from anyone it judges knowledgeable enough in system design.
Multiple uses add together. The Manual's notes use a grocery store with food service as the example: floor-area flow plus the per-seat food service flow. A church with a weekday daycare, or a shop with a lunch counter, is sized the same way.
Worth knowing
Kitchen wastewater is heavier than restroom wastewater. Georgia sets a line: any facility producing a waste stream with BOD5 and TSS above 200 mg/L must pretreat it down to 200 mg/L or below before it goes to a conventional or chamber septic system (511-3-1-.03(1)(c)). Table 13.J flags food service, grocery stores, meat markets, schools with cafeterias, institutions and freestanding retail and convenience stores with the same pretreatment footnote.
Grease has its own rule. Under 511-3-1-.12, the health department can require a grease trap for a commercial establishment on septic if grease may exceed 50 mg/L. Trap effluent goes into the septic tank, never straight to the field. The Manual sizes restaurant traps as seats × 25 gallons × (hours open ÷ 12) × a loading factor, with a 125-gallon minimum. Its worked example, 75 seats open 12 hours on a main highway, comes to 1,875 gallons.
On a repair, that means the fix may not be only a new field. If grease and food solids have sealed the old trenches, rebuilding the field without fixing the pretreatment ahead of it repeats the failure. GNR's commercial repair requirements ask for BOD5/TSS pretreatment calculations on the engineered site plan, and for EPD review if non-domestic waste is produced (GNR commercial repair requirements). For the grease side of restaurant plumbing, see Georgia rules for commercial septic and grease.
Kitchen wastewater is heavier than restroom wastewater.
Worth knowing
Commercial fields are long. The DPH Manual requires a dosing tank on a conventional system wherever more than 500 linear feet of absorption trench is needed, sized so each dose fills 60 to 75 percent of the interior volume of the lines being dosed. Dosing tanks also appear wherever effluent has to be lifted uphill to the field, or where pressure distribution is used.
That makes the pump, floats, control panel and alarm part of the system you're repairing. A failed float or a burned-out pump can look exactly like a failed field: the alarm sounds, the tank backs up, the building drains slow. Checking the dosing side first can turn what looked like a field replacement into a pump and control repair.
Where the field really is the problem, commercial sites often have more than one field or a field split into zones. Part of a repair can be restoring a section that was abandoned, adding trench length that the original system never had, or building the reserve area the permit showed. If the repair turns out to be the field, the same crew that opened the pump tank builds the new lines, so nobody hands the job to a second contractor.
Your options
OPTION 01
When it fits: The tanks and field are sound but a pump, float, alarm, baffle, outlet filter, distribution box or line has failed.
OPTION 02
When it fits: Kitchen waste or other high-strength flow is sealing the field.
OPTION 03
When it fits: The field has failed, or Table 13.J flow for the current use exceeds what it was designed for.
OPTION 04
When it fits: Public sewer is within 200 feet of the property line or in an abutting right-of-way.
Under 511-3-1-.03(1)(a), a failing system must connect immediately if sewer is available. The (1)(b) exemption is written for residential systems under 2,000 gpd, so a commercial owner shouldn't count on it.
Worth knowing
A commercial septic repair is planned around the building's calendar. For a church, that usually means working Monday through Friday and having the system back before the weekend. For a school or daycare, it means school breaks, weekends, or fencing the work area far from children and playgrounds. For a restaurant, it means the hours before service or a day the dining room is closed anyway.
Two things about the permit process affect that calendar. GNR asks for 10 working days to review a commercial repair application and visit the site, and the repair must be inspected before it is covered. So a repair on a planned date starts with a phone call two or three weeks earlier, not the week of. A failure that puts sewage on the ground, on the other hand, is reported to Environmental Health and handled as the emergency it is.
During the repair, the building may still need restrooms. Cutting water use, rescheduling large events, or bringing in portable units for a service or a school day are all options we'll talk through when the work is planned.
A commercial septic repair is planned around the building's calendar.
Homes & businesses
Residential
A home system is sized by bedrooms: 1,000 gallons of tank for one to four bedrooms under 511-3-1-.05. Repairs go through the county's residential application, and a failing system under 2,000 gpd may be exempted from connecting to sewer if a compliant repair fits the lot.
Commercial
A commercial system is sized by Table 13.J use, pays commercial permit fees, often includes pretreatment and dosing, and needs an engineer's sealed plans above 2,000 gpd. The residential sewer-connection exemption doesn't apply, and the repair has to fit around people who can't simply stay home.
How the job runs
Seats, attendance or enrollment, whether there's a kitchen, and when the problem shows up. Call (678) 863-5620; the on-site estimate is free.
The tanks are pumped so baffles, outlet, pump chamber and floats can be seen. We're on Georgia DPH's approved pumper list, so the tank can be opened and emptied as part of the diagnosis.
Check the pump, controls and alarm; probe and dig test holes in the field; compare the building's current use against the Table 13.J flow the system was designed for.
In GNR counties, every commercial repair permit needs a Level 3 soil report from a certified soil classifier, unless an approved one is on file. Systems over 2,000 gpd, or lots with challenging limitations, get an engineered site plan.
511-3-1-.03(6); GNR commercial repair requirementsGNR Commercial Septic System Repair Permit Application and Requirements (Rev. 2024-05-03)
We handle the permit application and fees with the county Environmental Health office. GNR allows 10 working days to review and visit the site.
GNR Commercial Septic System Repair Permit Application and Requirements (Rev. 2024-05-03)
Dates are set around services, school days or business hours, with a plan for restrooms while the system is down.
Replace failed components, add or correct pretreatment, and repair, extend or replace the field as the permit allows.
The county inspects the work before it is backfilled. No system may be backfilled or used until final inspection and written approval.
511-3-1-.03(4)Georgia DPH Rules Chapter 511-3-1 On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Jan 2016)
Backfill, final grade and alarm test. You get the inspection record for your files and a plain explanation of what the system needs going forward.
Permits & the Georgia rules
Complete the county's commercial septic permit application; GNR's form lists church, motel, store/business, personal care home and restaurant as building types.↗
Provide a Level 3 soil report (GNR) and, when required, three copies of an engineered site plan with building floor layout, employee count and design calculations.↗
For sewage flow over 2,000 gallons per day, submit plans, specifications, soil data and absorption test data sealed by a Georgia-licensed engineer.↗
Show pretreatment calculations for any operation with BOD5 and TSS over 200 mg/L, and EPD review if non-domestic waste is produced.↗
Pay the county's commercial fee, install under the permit (valid up to 12 months) and call for inspection before backfill.↗
Georgia rule 511-3-1-.03(1)(c)
“to reduce the BOD5 and TSS to 200 mg/L or below before disposal through a conventional or chamber septic tank system.”
Georgia rule 511-3-1-.03(6)
“If a proposed on-site sewage management system will produce a sewage flow in excess of two thousand gallons per day”
Georgia rule 511-3-1-.13
“The design sewage flow of an on-site sewage management system shall be determined in accordance with the Manual for On-Site Sewage Management Systems.”
Georgia rule 511-3-1-.03(4)
“No person may backfill or use an on-site sewage management system until a final inspection has been made”
Newton, Rockdale and Gwinnett (GNR Public Health)
Commercial site evaluation, permit and initial inspection: $600 in each county. A Level 3 soil report has been required for all septic permits since February 7, 2022 (GNR septic page).↗
Septic tanks may treat domestic wastewater only (Sec. 98-192(a)), and a malfunctioning private system must be made sanitary within 30 days of a written order from the health department director (Sec. 98-193).↗
Walton County (Northeast Health District)
Commercial repair permit $365. New commercial system inspections are $550 for 1–1,000 gpd and $850 for 1,001–2,000 gpd. The county lot-size ordinance caps flow at 600 gal/acre/day on a private well and 1,200 on public water.↗
DeKalb Public Health reviews plans for new commercial systems; commercial installation permits are $400 under 2,000 GPD and $600 over 2,000 GPD, and repairs must be permitted before a certified contractor does the work.↗
What it costs
Septic tank repair, typical project
$627–$3,043
per job
HomeAdvisor average $1,829; major repairs can exceed $6,500.
Typical market range — HomeAdvisor — Septic Tank Repair Costs (updated June 19, 2026), 2026
Septic pump replacement
$250–$1,000
per pump
Typical market range — HomeAdvisor — Septic Tank Repair Costs (updated June 19, 2026), 2026
Septic line repair
$1,000–$4,200
per job
Typical market range — HomeAdvisor — Septic Tank Repair Costs (updated June 19, 2026), 2026
Drain field installation
$5,000–$12,000
per field
Residential-scale figure; commercial fields are often longer and dosed.
Typical market range — HomeAdvisor — Septic System Installation Cost (updated June 20, 2026), 2026
Drip system with dose tank and pump
$8,000–$18,000
per system
Typical market range — HomeAdvisor — Septic System Installation Cost (updated June 20, 2026), 2026
Commercial pump, pipe or fitting replacement
$500–$2,000
per repair
Typical market range — NTO Tank — Commercial Septic Tank Pricing: Business Owner Guide to Costs (March 11, 2025), 2025
Commercial compliance testing, fees and documentation
$300–$500
per year
Typical market range — NTO Tank — Commercial Septic Tank Pricing: Business Owner Guide to Costs (March 11, 2025), 2025
These are published third-party typical market ranges (HomeAdvisor 2026; NTO Tank 2025), not our prices. We give free on-site estimates for commercial septic repairs.
Free estimate: (678) 863-5620FAQ
Straight answers, with the rule or record behind them. Still unsure? Call and ask the crew that digs.
(678) 863-5620Georgia's DPH Manual sizes church systems at 5 gallons per day per sanctuary seat without a kitchen and 7 with a kitchen, calculated on peak flow. A 300-seat sanctuary is 1,500 gpd without a kitchen or 2,100 with one. The permit sets the final design flow, including any daycare or other weekday use.
Usually yes, because it's sized by people, not bedrooms. Table 13.J uses 15 gallons per person per day for a day care center without meals and 20 with meals. Adding a kitchen or more children raises the flow, and an older system sized for fewer people can start failing without anything breaking.
When the system's sewage flow exceeds 2,000 gallons per day, Rule 511-3-1-.03(6) requires the plans and soil data to carry a Georgia-licensed engineer's seal. GNR may also require an engineered site plan on any commercial lot with challenging limitations, and asks for pretreatment calculations for high-strength waste.
Source: Georgia DPH Rules Chapter 511-3-1 On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Jan 2016)
Yes, but kitchen wastewater usually needs pretreatment. Georgia requires waste above 200 mg/L BOD5 and TSS to be pretreated before a conventional or chamber system, and the health department can require a grease trap when grease may exceed 50 mg/L. Restaurants under 24 hours are sized at 50 gallons per seat per day.
Source: Georgia DPH Rules Chapter 511-3-1 On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Jan 2016)
GNR Public Health charges $600 for a commercial site evaluation, permit and initial inspection in each of the three counties, per its current fee schedules. Budget separately for the Level 3 soil report, which is paid to the private soil classifier, and for engineering if the system needs it.
Source: GNR Environmental Health Fee Schedule — Rockdale County
Cut water use right away: close restrooms you can spare and stop dishwashers and laundry. The alarm usually means the pump tank level is high because a pump, float or control failed, or the field isn't accepting effluent. Don't silence it and carry on. Call us and we'll tell you how fast we can be there.
If public sewer is within 200 feet of the property line or in an abutting right-of-way, Georgia requires a failing system to connect. The exemption for repairing instead is written for residential systems under 2,000 gpd, so commercial properties generally must connect. Local utilities, like NCWSA, add their own connection deadlines.
Source: NCWSA Rules and Regulations for Sewer Use and Industrial Pretreatment Program (rev. April 10, 2019)
Often, with planning. Component repairs can be quick. Field work takes longer, but restroom use can be cut back, events moved, or portable units brought in for the days the system is down. GNR's 10-working-day review means planned repairs should be booked a few weeks out.
Source: GNR Commercial Septic System Repair Permit Application and Requirements (Rev. 2024-05-03)
Keep going
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 Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions · Last updated
Ready when you are
Churches, schools, daycares, shops and country restaurants past the end of the sewer line run on septic systems sized for a crowd, not a family. We find why yours is failing, permit the repair with Environmental Health and fix it on a schedule that fits your services, classes or dinner rush.
(678) 863-5620Free estimate
or call (678) 863-5620