Septic permits & records
Fayette County Environmental Health (District 4 Public Health)
- Address
- 245 Booker Avenue, Suite E, Fayetteville, GA 30215
- Phone
- 943-209-8057
- Hours
- Mon–Fri 8–5, closed 12–1
Fayette County · Septic & sewer rules
Septic and sewer service in Fayette County, Georgia, a county that has never built its own sewer system.
Fayetteville is the county seat. Septic permits and records: Fayette County Environmental Health (District 4 Public Health), part of District 4 Public Health — Fayette County Environmental Health.
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- Residential & commercial
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or call (678) 863-5620The short answer
Is Fayette County, GA on sewer or septic?
Mostly septic. Fayette County has no wastewater treatment plant, and its stormwater program puts septic homes at over 90 percent. Only Fayetteville and Peachtree City run municipal sewer, with a thin strip in Tyrone. Septic permits come from Fayette County Environmental Health on Booker Avenue in Fayetteville.↗↗↗
Reviewed by Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions · Last updated
Sewer or septic?
Three small sewer islands in a septic county
The county plan is blunt about it. Unincorporated Fayette, Brooks and Woolsey have no sewerage at all, every building there is served by septic, and the county has no plans to extend sanitary sewer into the unincorporated area. That is why lots out there are big: the plan ties the county's large-lot pattern directly to the soil and space a drain field needs.↗
Sewer exists in pockets. Fayetteville and Peachtree City own and operate the only municipal systems, and Tyrone serves part of the SR 74 North corridor. Even the county water utility stays out of wastewater; it only prints the sewer charge on the bill for the towns and authority that do the work.↗↗
How to tell which one you have
- A Fayette County Water System bill with no sewer line item almost always means septic.
- Unincorporated addresses, Brooks and Woolsey: septic, per the county plan.
- Inside Fayetteville or Peachtree City, ask the city utility or PCWASA whether your street has a main.
Local facts
Fayette County numbers that shape septic work
Each row links to the agency, code or publisher it comes from. Tap a source to check it yourself.
| Topic | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Septic share (unincorporated county) | Over 90 percent of homeowners, per the 2019 stormwater program | Unincorporated Fayette County Stormwater Management Program (December 2019) |
| Who bills sewer | FCWS sells water only and bills sewer for Tyrone, Fayetteville, Brooks and PCWASA | Sewer Providers | Fayette County Water System, GA |
| Septic tank size limits | 1,000 to 10,000 gallons; no more than 3,000 feet of trench | Fayette County Code Ch. 14, Art. IV — On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Municode, Supp. 22) |
| Property-line setbacks | Tank 10 ft, drain lines 5 ft; 25 ft where a buffer applies | Fayette County Code Sec. 110-93 — Septic tank and drain field line setbacks (Municode, Supp. 22) |
| Median year built | 1993 (ACS 2020-2024) | Census Reporter: Fayette County, GA (ACS 2024 5-year) |
| Created | May 15, 1821, named for the Marquis de Lafayette | Fayette County, Georgia - Wikipedia |
The Fayette County story
Bigger houses, same drain fields
Fayette grew up fast in the 1980s and 1990s. The Census Bureau counts close to 23,000 homes from those two decades alone, half the county's housing, and the median house dates to 1993. A lot of those tanks and trenches are now thirty to forty years into service.↗
The county's own planning sessions flagged the pressure points. Stakeholders described five- and six-bedroom homes replacing the old three- and four-bedroom standard, several generations sharing one house and overrunning a system sized for fewer people, and pools and garages eating into the space a replacement field would need.↗
Put together, that describes a typical Fayette failure: a field that coped for twenty years and then started surfacing after an addition, a tank nobody has opened since closing, or a buyer's inspector asking where the system actually is. We start by finding the tank and reading the county's permit record, then decide whether it's a repair or a rebuild.
On the record
- Septage pumped from Fayette homes and businesses can go to two receiving facilities run by the Peachtree City Water and Sewerage Authority.↗
Permits · Fayette County Environmental Health, District 4 Public Health
How Fayette's Chapter 14 septic ordinance works
Fayette writes its septic rules into county code, so the steps below come straight from the ordinance and the District 4 forms.
- 01
Get a construction permit before any work on the lot; the Board of Health owes an answer within 20 days of a complete application.↗
- 02
For a failing system, file District 4's Residential Repair Permit Application and check the symptoms you see, from backups in the house to sewage surfacing over the lines.↗
- 03
Soil work is done by an approved evaluator, who must attach proof of at least $1 million in liability coverage to the report.↗
- 04
On tracts of three acres or more, a conventional or chamber system is allowed where the soil percolates at 120 minutes per inch or faster.↗
- 05
Nothing is covered until the final inspection and written approval; regrading or digging over the field later voids that approval.↗
Georgia rule Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-3-1-.03
“…available within two hundred feet (200') of the property line”
Soil & terrain
Cecil clay upland, wet creek bottoms
Fayette sits entirely in the Upper Flint River basin, with the Flint itself tracing much of the eastern county line. The uplands between its creeks are mostly Cecil soils, deep red clay that NRCS rates only somewhat limited for absorption fields, which in practice means careful sizing rather than a flat no.↗↗
The problems are in the low ground. Across the survey area that covers Fayette, Clayton and Henry, about 114,000 acres of major soil components rate very limited, much of it frequently flooded Wehadkee and Cartecay bottomland along the creeks. A lot that slopes to a creek can have good soil at the house and none at the bottom of the yard.↗
- Flint River
- Line Creek
- Whitewater Creek
- Lake Kedron, Lake Peachtree, Lake McIntosh
More about Fayette County
The water side: county copper to the meter, yours after
Plenty of Fayette septic homes still buy water from the Fayette County Water System, which serves parts of the unincorporated county and four of its towns. FCWS installs the meter itself, and its construction standards call for Type K copper on every service line from the main to that meter, with a dual check valve set right after new residential meters.↗
Past the meter the pipe belongs to the house. During dry spells, like the Level 1 drought FCWS announced in April 2026, a slow leak on that private run shows up as a stubborn bill rather than a wet spot.↗
- FCWS requires Type K copper from main to meter and installs a dual check valve after each new residential meter.↗
Plenty of Fayette septic homes still buy water from the Fayette County Water System, which serves parts of the unincorporated county and four of its towns.
Services here
Work we do across Fayette County
Septic leads here. Sewer work applies inside the two city systems and Tyrone's corridor.
- 01Septic RepairPermitted repairs under Chapter 14 and District 4's repair form.Septic Repair details
- 02Drain Field RepairFields undersized for today's bigger households.Drain Field Repair details
- 03Septic PumpingTanks and outlet filters on 1980s–90s systems.Septic Pumping details
- 04Septic InstallationNew systems on large unincorporated lots.Septic Installation details
- 05Sewer Line RepairPrivate building sewers in Fayetteville, Peachtree City and Tyrone.Sewer Line Repair details
Also available:Septic InspectionWater Line Repair & Installation
Towns we serve
Fayette towns we cover
Three Fayette towns have their own pages; we also work the smaller towns and the unincorporated county.
- FayettevilleCounty seat with a city sewer plant on Whitewater Creek and septic just past the limits.Fayetteville septic & sewer
- Peachtree CityPlanned city on PCWASA sewer, with septic only on acre-plus lots.Peachtree City septic & sewer
- TyroneSeptic town with a sewer strip along SR 74 North.Tyrone septic & sewer
Also in the county
- Brooks · No sewerage, per the county plan
- Woolsey · No sewerage, per the county plan
- Inman
- Starr's Mill
Who to call at the county
Offices behind a Fayette septic or sewer job
- Fayette County Water System Water only; bills sewer for four providers245 McDonough Road, Fayetteville; 770-461-1146.↗
- City of Fayetteville Water & Sewer City water and sewer(770) 460-4237.↗
- Peachtree City Water and Sewerage Authority Sewer in Peachtree City(770) 487-7993.↗
On the map
Fayette County and our Oxford shop
About 1 hr 18 min / 54.4 mi by road from our Oxford shop
Routed from Oxford to the center of Fayette County. We schedule Fayette jobs as planned trips, not same-hour calls.
Route sourceFAQ
Fayette County septic and sewer questions
Straight answers, with the rule or record behind them. Still unsure? Call and ask the crew that digs.
(678) 863-5620Does Fayette County have public sewer?
Not in the unincorporated county. The county has no treatment plant and no plan to build sewer there; municipal sewer exists only in Fayetteville and Peachtree City, plus limited service in Tyrone.
Source: Fayette County Comprehensive Plan 2017–2040 (update adopted May 26, 2022)
Where do I get a septic permit in Fayette County?
Fayette County Environmental Health, part of District 4 Public Health, at 245 Booker Avenue, Suite E, in Fayetteville (943-209-8057). It handles new systems and repairs.
Source: District 4 Public Health: Fayette County (Health Department and Environmental Health)
How far must a septic tank be from my property line?
At least 10 feet for the tank and 5 feet for drain lines under the county zoning code, or 25 feet where a buffer is required.
Source: Fayette County Code Sec. 110-93 — Septic tank and drain field line setbacks (Municode, Supp. 22)
How big can a septic tank be in Fayette?
The ordinance sets a 1,000-gallon minimum and a 10,000-gallon maximum for conventional and chamber systems, and caps absorption trenches at 3,000 linear feet.
Source: Fayette County Code Ch. 14, Art. IV — On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Municode, Supp. 22)
My septic failed. Can I be forced onto sewer?
Only if sewer is actually available. The county code says a failed system must connect immediately when a public or community sewer is available, which in practice means inside or next to the city systems.
Source: Fayette County Code Ch. 14, Art. IV — On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Municode, Supp. 22)
Why does the county water bill say nothing about sewer?
Because FCWS doesn't provide sewer. It only bills sewer for Tyrone, Fayetteville, Brooks and PCWASA customers, so no sewer charge usually means a septic system.
Is Fayette soil good for drain fields?
On the uplands, usually workable: Cecil clay is rated somewhat limited. Creek bottoms and low terraces rate very limited, so where on the lot the field goes matters a lot.
Source: USDA NRCS Soil Data Access — survey area GA625 (Clayton, Fayette, and Henry Counties, Georgia)
How long does it take you to reach Fayette County?
About 1 hour 18 minutes and 54 miles by road from our Oxford shop to the middle of the county, by OSRM routing. We book Fayette work ahead rather than promising a same-hour arrival.
Guides
Before you call about a Fayette 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
- 1Unincorporated Fayette County Stormwater Management Program (December 2019)
- 2Fayette County Comprehensive Plan 2017–2040 (update adopted May 26, 2022)
- 3District 4 Public Health: Fayette County (Health Department and Environmental Health)
- 4Sewer Providers | Fayette County Water System, GA
- 5Fayette County Code Ch. 14, Art. IV — On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Municode, Supp. 22)
- 6Fayette County Code Sec. 110-93 — Septic tank and drain field line setbacks (Municode, Supp. 22)
- 7Census Reporter: Fayette County, GA (ACS 2024 5-year)
- 8Fayette County, Georgia - Wikipedia
- 9District 4 Public Health: Residential Repair Permit Application (rev. 2024-08-12)
- 10Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-3-1 On-Site Sewage Management Systems
- 11Official Series Description — CECIL Series (USDA NRCS)
- 12USDA NRCS Soil Data Access — survey area GA625 (Clayton, Fayette, and Henry Counties, Georgia)
- 13Fayette County Water System — 2025 Construction Standards and Specifications
- 14Water System | Fayette County, GA
Ready when you are
Fayette septic giving you trouble? We'll find the tank and the fix.
Call (678) 863-5620. We locate the system, check it against the county permit, and quote the repair before we dig.
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