Sewer Line Repair · Decatur, GA
Decatur sewer line repair for private laterals under older in-town yards.
- Georgia DPH-certified installer & pumper
- Residential & commercial
- Local shop in Oxford, GA
Get a free estimate
or call (678) 863-5620The short answer
How does sewer line repair work in Decatur, GA?
In Decatur, DeKalb County maintains the public sewer main and the part of the connection inside the street right-of-way; the building sewer across your own lot is yours to repair. A repair starts with a camera run from the cleanout, then a spot fix or a replaced section of the private lateral.↗
Reviewed by Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions · Last updated
The Decatur story
Why Decatur laterals keep us busy
Start with the age of the houses. The census counts 2,428 homes in Decatur built in 1939 or earlier, close to a quarter of everything in the city. A sewer line under a pre-war bungalow has seen almost a century of tree growth, settling, driveway pours and partial repairs by whoever owned the house at the time.↗
DeKalb's own records show what that looks like. In the first quarter of 2020 the county logged repeat blockages in the private laterals at 522 Clairemont Avenue and 528 Kirk Road, each cleared on the owner's side of the line. Private-side blockages were common enough to appear in a county compliance log.↗
We can't tell you from a desk what your lateral is made of, and no public source lists Decatur's pipe materials house by house. The camera tells us. What we look for is the same everywhere in town: roots at joints, cracked or offset sections, low spots holding water, and old repairs that changed pipe type midway.
Warning signs
Signs the problem is your lateral, not the house
Seeing two or more of these? Call before it gets worse.
- 1. The lowest fixture, often a basement shower or floor drain, backs up first
- 2. Several drains slow down together after laundry or a long shower
- 3. Water rises in the cleanout by the front walk
- 4. A soggy strip or sunken line runs from the house toward the street
- 5. Backups return every few months even after a plumber snakes the line
- 6. Tree roots from a street oak or neighbor's maple grow over the sewer path
Who owns what
Your side, DeKalb's side
DeKalb County Watershed Managementsewer lateral
Owner on private property; county in the right-of-way and sewer easements (Sec. 25-220)↗
Where the line sits: Edge of the street right-of-way
DeKalb County Watershed Managementmain
DeKalb County↗
Where the line sits: Under the street
When the public main clogs, the county fixes it. On January 23, 2020, grease blocked the 8-inch main at 308 Clairemont Avenue and about 4,320 gallons spilled toward the Lamont Drive Branch of Peavine Creek; county crews pressure-washed 273 feet of main to clear it. If sewage is coming out of a manhole, call DeKalb's 24-hour line at 770-270-6243.↗↗
Local facts
Decatur sewer facts behind the estimate
Each row links to the agency, code or publisher it comes from. Tap a source to check it yourself.
| Topic | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Public main clog, 2020 | Grease in the 8-inch main at 308 Clairemont Ave; 4,320 gallons toward a Peavine Creek tributary | DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management — Consent Decree SSO Tracking Sheet, 1st Quarter Report 2020 |
| Grease rule for businesses | Separators required when wastes carry over 100 mg/l of fat, oil, grease or sand | DeKalb County Code Ch. 25, Art. IV, Div. 5 — Sec. 25-257 Separators and interceptors (Municode, Supp. 72) |
| Owner's cost share | The owner bears the cost of installing and connecting a building sewer | DeKalb County Code Ch. 25, Art. IV, Div. 3 — Building Sewers and Connections (Municode, Supp. 72) |
| Creeks the lines drain toward | Peavine, Shoal and Wolfpack creeks near downtown | Census TIGERweb Hydro MapServer — linear hydrography around downtown Decatur |
More about Decatur
What the repair looks like on a tight Decatur lot
Most Decatur lots are narrow, with a porch, a walk, a driveway and at least one large tree between the house and the street. That shapes the job. We run the camera from the cleanout, mark the fault and its depth from the surface, and dig only where the image says to dig.
A single broken joint or a short sagging section is usually cut out and replaced with new pipe and couplings. When roots have worked into many joints, or the line has been patched with mixed materials, replacing the lateral from the house to the right-of-way is often cheaper over time than repeated spot repairs. Our Decatur sewer line replacement page covers that route.
After the fix we film the line again so you can see clean flow, backfill in lifts, and put the yard back. If the camera shows the defect sits past the right-of-way, you get the footage to report it to DeKalb, since that pipe is the county's.↗
Restaurants and shops around the square add grease to the mix. DeKalb requires a separator once wastes carry more than 100 mg/l of fat, oil or grease, and a neglected interceptor fails in the same pipe we would be repairing.↗
Most Decatur lots are narrow, with a porch, a walk, a driveway and at least one large tree between the house and the street.
What it costs
What Decatur sewer repairs tend to cost
Sewer line repair, by method
$150–$3,800
Typical market range — HomeGuide — Sewer Line Repair & Replacement Cost (updated December 2025), 2025
Camera inspection
$125–$500
Typical market range — HomeGuide — Sewer Line Repair & Replacement Cost (updated December 2025), 2025
Full lateral replacement, Atlanta
$55–$250 per linear foot
Typical market range — Angi — How Much Does Sewer Line Replacement Cost in Atlanta, GA? (updated April 2026), 2026
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- 01Mature trees whose roots must be cut or worked around
- 02Brick or stone walks and porch steps over the line
- 03Depth of the lateral at the fault
- 04Whether earlier owners mixed pipe types in partial repairs
FAQ
Decatur sewer repair questions
Straight answers, with the rule or record behind them. Still unsure? Call and ask the crew that digs.
(678) 863-5620Will DeKalb County fix my sewer lateral?
Only the portion inside the street right-of-way or a sewer easement. The building sewer on your property is the owner's responsibility under DeKalb Code Sec. 25-220.
Source: DeKalb County Code Ch. 25, Art. IV, Div. 3 — Building Sewers and Connections (Municode, Supp. 72)
Why do older Decatur houses have more sewer backups?
About a quarter of Decatur's homes predate 1940, so many laterals have decades of roots, settling and patchwork repairs. Newer lines fail too, just less often.
Source: Census Reporter: Decatur, GA (ACS 2024 5-year, tables B25034, B25035)
Sewage is bubbling out of a manhole on my street. Who do I call?
DeKalb Watershed Management's 24-hour line, 770-270-6243. Public-main overflows are the county's to clear, as with the 2020 grease blockage on Clairemont Avenue.
Can you tell me what my lateral is made of before digging?
Yes, with a camera. No public record lists Decatur lateral materials, so we film the line from the cleanout and show you the pipe, joints and any old repairs.
Does a repair mean tearing up my front walk?
Not always. We locate the fault first and dig at that spot; walks and steps are only disturbed if the defect is under them.
Do Decatur restaurants need a grease trap?
DeKalb requires grease, oil and sand separators when wastes exceed 100 mg/l of those materials, approved by the county and paid for by the owner.
Who pays if I have to reconnect or relay the building sewer?
The owner. DeKalb's code puts the full cost of installing and connecting a building sewer on the property owner.
Source: DeKalb County Code Ch. 25, Art. IV, Div. 3 — Building Sewers and Connections (Municode, Supp. 72)
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 Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions · Last updated
- 1DeKalb County Code Ch. 25, Art. IV, Div. 3 — Building Sewers and Connections (Municode, Supp. 72)
- 2Census Reporter: Decatur, GA (ACS 2024 5-year, tables B25034, B25035)
- 3DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management — Consent Decree SSO Tracking Sheet, 1st Quarter Report 2020
- 4Watershed Management | DeKalb County, GA
- 5DeKalb County Code Ch. 25, Art. IV, Div. 5 — Sec. 25-257 Separators and interceptors (Municode, Supp. 72)
- 6Census TIGERweb Hydro MapServer — linear hydrography around downtown Decatur
- 7HomeGuide — Sewer Line Repair & Replacement Cost (updated December 2025)
- 8Angi — How Much Does Sewer Line Replacement Cost in Atlanta, GA? (updated April 2026)
Ready when you are
Basement drain backing up in Decatur? Camera first, then the fix.
We'll show you the fault on screen and whether it sits on your side of DeKalb's line.
(678) 863-5620- Georgia DPH-certified installer & pumper
- Residential & commercial
- Oxford, GA
Free estimate
or call (678) 863-5620