Dunwoody, GA · DeKalb County
Dunwoody sewer and water line service for a city built largely in the 1970s.
- Georgia DPH-certified installer & pumper
- Residential & commercial
- Local shop in Oxford, GA
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or call (678) 863-5620The short answer
Who handles sewer and water line problems in Dunwoody, GA?
Dunwoody's public water and sewer belong to DeKalb County Watershed Management; spills and main breaks go to DeKalb's emergency line, 770-270-6243. Past the meter and inside your property line, the pipes are the owner's. We repair those private sewer laterals and water service lines for Dunwoody homes, many built in the 1970s.↗↗↗
Reviewed by Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions · Last updated
Median year homes were built
1984
Typical house here is about 42 years old — and so is its original sewer or septic line.
ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035 · Census Reporter API — ACS 2020-2024 tables B01003, B25035, B25034, B25024 for Dunwoody city
Housing era
A city that went up all at once
Dunwoody stayed farm country until suburban building started in the 1960s. Then it arrived fast. In 1971 the Spruill family sold a large tract for Perimeter Mall, and Dunwoody Village, with its Colonial Williamsburg storefronts, opened the same year.↗
The census still shows that burst. Of 23,491 housing units, 6,548 were built in the 1970s, about 28 percent and more than any other decade. Another 3,197 date from the 1960s. The median home was built in 1984.↗
When thousands of houses are plumbed in the same few years, their private lines age on the same clock. Laterals and water service pipes from that era are now around fifty years old, and the trees planted beside them have had half a century to find every joint.
Local facts
Dunwoody on the record
Each row links to the agency, code or publisher it comes from. Tap a source to check it yourself.
| Topic | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| City since | December 1, 2008; 13.25 square miles; 51,683 residents (2020) | Dunwoody, Georgia - Wikipedia |
| The name | Major Charles Dunwody; the second 'o' came from a banking-note misspelling | Dunwoody, Georgia - Wikipedia |
| Biggest building decade | 1970s: 6,548 of 23,491 units | Census Reporter API — ACS 2020-2024 tables B01003, B25035, B25034, B25024 for Dunwoody city |
| Water main history | 1955 mains on Chamblee Dunwoody Road; 49 breaks from 1989 to 2024 | DeKalb County DWM — Dunwoody Knoll Water Main Replacement Project, community meeting presentation (Sept. 30, 2025) |
| Recent main repair | 6-inch main near Georgetown Shopping Plaza, May 2024 | DeKalb County — DeKalb Crews Complete Repairs to Water Main in the Dunwoody Area (May 8, 2024) |
| Emergency line | DeKalb Water and Sewer, 770-270-6243 | City of Dunwoody — Trouble Calls Guide |
The Dunwoody story
DeKalb is already digging up the 1950s
The county's own records show what fifty-plus years does to pipe here. Water mains laid in 1955 along Chamblee Dunwoody Road, with others added in the 1970s, broke 49 times between 1989 and 2024. DeKalb's Dunwoody Knoll project replaces them with roughly 10,800 feet of 8-inch and 1,100 feet of 12-inch ductile iron main, including new service lines, along Chamblee Dunwoody, Roberts Road, the Fairfield streets and Dunwoody Knoll Drive and Court.↗
County work stops at the meter. When a main is replaced, the pipe from the meter to your house stays as it was, and a fresh connection can expose a weak or leaking private line. That is often when owners first call us.↗
The county's own records show what fifty-plus years does to pipe here.
Soil & terrain
Steep lots change how a Dunwoody dig goes
The USDA maps the middle of Dunwoody as Pacolet-Urban land complex on 10 to 25 percent slopes, about two-thirds well-drained Pacolet and one-third ground already paved or built over. Lots fall hard toward the creeks, so a lateral can run shallow at the house and deep at the street, or the reverse.↗
Pacolet is very deep, with a firm red clay subsoil from a few inches down to about two and a half feet and bedrock more than 60 inches below. Rock is rarely the problem; wet clay on a slope is. We shore or bench deeper cuts and place spoil so it can't slide toward a neighbor's yard.↗
Pacolet-Urban land complex, 10–25% slopes↗
About 65% Pacolet (well drained) and 35% urban land at the city center
- Soil series · USDA NRCS
Who owns what
What DeKalb owns in a Dunwoody yard
DeKalb County Watershed Managementsewer lateral
Owner on private property; DeKalb in the right-of-way and sewer easements (Sec. 25-220)↗
Where the line sits: Right-of-way edge
DeKalb County Watershed Managementwater service line
DeKalb through the meter; the owner from meter to house (Sec. 25-43)↗
Where the line sits: Meter
Brown water after a main repair is a county issue; DeKalb's advice after the 2024 Georgetown repair was to run indoor and outdoor faucets until it clears.↗
Sewer or septic?
Septic in Dunwoody?
You will see septic companies advertise here, but we could not find a public record showing septic inside city limits, so we don't build septic pages for Dunwoody. If you suspect an old tank on your lot, we can locate it before you buy or build.
Services here
What we do in Dunwoody
Also available:Water Line Repair & InstallationSewer Line ReplacementSewer Camera Inspection
FAQ
Dunwoody homeowners ask
Straight answers, with the rule or record behind them. Still unsure? Call and ask the crew that digs.
(678) 863-5620Who do I call about a sewer spill or water main leak in Dunwoody?
DeKalb Water and Sewer emergencies at 770-270-6243. The city's trouble-calls guide routes water main leaks, sewer spills, brown water and loss of water there.
Why do Dunwoody water mains keep breaking?
Age. DeKalb says mains along Chamblee Dunwoody Road were installed in 1955 and broke 49 times from 1989 to 2024, which is why it is replacing them.
Does DeKalb's main replacement fix my pipe too?
Only up to the meter. The county owns the system through the meter; the line from the meter into the house is the owner's.
Why are so many Dunwoody sewer lines failing now?
About 28 percent of the city's homes were built in the 1970s, so a large share of private laterals are roughly fifty years old at the same time.
Source: Census Reporter API — ACS 2020-2024 tables B01003, B25035, B25034, B25024 for Dunwoody city
Does a steep lot make repair harder?
It can. Central Dunwoody is mapped on 10 to 25 percent slopes, so trench depth, shoring and spoil placement take more planning than on flat ground.
Source: USDA NRCS Soil Data Access — map unit at Dunwoody city-center coordinates (GA089)
Is my Dunwoody house on septic?
Almost certainly not; we found no primary source showing septic inside the city. A DeKalb sewer charge on your bill confirms it.
How far are you from Dunwoody?
About 41.9 miles and 57 minutes by road from our Oxford shop, routed with OSRM.
On the map
Dunwoody from our shop
About 57 min / 41.9 mi by road from our Oxford shop
Routed from Oxford to central Dunwoody.
Route sourceNearby areas
Close to Dunwoody
- Sandy Springs septic & sewerSandy Springs lines, Fulton sewer and Atlanta water, just west.
- Brookhaven septic & sewerBrookhaven laterals on the same DeKalb system, inside I-285.
- Tucker septic & sewerTucker sewer service to the southeast.
- Alpharetta septic & sewerAlpharetta sewer lines up GA 400 on Fulton's system.
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
- 1City of Dunwoody — Trouble Calls Guide
- 2DeKalb County Code Ch. 25, Art. IV, Div. 3 — Building Sewers and Connections (Municode, Supp. 72)
- 3DeKalb County Code Ch. 25, Art. II, Div. 1 — Sec. 25-43 Location, ownership of facilities (Municode, Supp. 72)
- 4Census Reporter API — ACS 2020-2024 tables B01003, B25035, B25034, B25024 for Dunwoody city
- 5Dunwoody, Georgia - Wikipedia
- 6DeKalb County DWM — Dunwoody Knoll Water Main Replacement Project, community meeting presentation (Sept. 30, 2025)
- 7DeKalb County — DeKalb Crews Complete Repairs to Water Main in the Dunwoody Area (May 8, 2024)
- 8USDA NRCS Soil Data Access — map unit at Dunwoody city-center coordinates (GA089)
- 9Official Series Description — PACOLET Series (USDA NRCS)
- 10Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-3-1 On-Site Sewage Management Systems
- 11OSRM route, Oxford shop to central Dunwoody
Ready when you are
Fifty-year-old line under a big oak? We'll look before we dig.
Call (678) 863-5620 for a camera inspection and a written scope for your Dunwoody lateral or water service line.
(678) 863-5620- Georgia DPH-certified installer & pumper
- Residential & commercial
- Oxford, GA
Free estimate
or call (678) 863-5620