Good Hope, GA · Walton County
Septic installation and drain-field work in Good Hope, Georgia, where homes sit on two-acre lots with no sewer.
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or call (678) 863-5620The short answer
Who installs septic systems in Good Hope, GA, and is there any sewer?
There is no sewer in Good Hope; its 2022–2026 plan says none is available or planned, and town ordinance requires at least two acres per home. Every house uses septic, permitted through Walton County Environmental Health. Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions installs new systems, replaces drain fields and pumps tanks in Good Hope.↗↗
Reviewed by Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions · Last updated
The Good Hope story
Why Good Hope septic jobs start on a blank two-acre lot
Good Hope, out in the rural eastern part of Walton County, has written its density into law: the town's ordinance bars homes on lots under two acres. That is more than three times the 25,500 square feet Walton's Board of Health requires for a septic lot on public water. Here the parcel size is rarely the limit; the soil and the rock under it are.↗↗
The houses are newer than in Jersey, Walnut Grove or Between. The median Good Hope home dates to 2002, for an estimated 582 residents. Big lots, recent houses and no sewer on the horizon put new installs and first drain-field replacements at the center of septic work in town.↗
The history runs deeper than the housing. Good Hope was incorporated in 1905, its first settlers arrived in the 1830s about a mile east of today's center, and Moina Belle Michael, the 'Poppy Lady' behind the red memorial poppy, was born here in 1869 and began teaching here at 15.↗↗
Permits · Walton County Environmental Health, Northeast Health District
Permitting a new system on a Good Hope parcel
- 01
Apply on Walton's Site Evaluation Form, which doubles as the construction-permit application, and say whether the house will use county water or a well.↗
- 02
Sketch the parcel: the house and its side-line distances, every well nearby including the neighbors', driveways, buried utilities, the plumbing stub-out and the proposed drain field.↗
- 03
Pick the requested system type on the form: gravel, chamber or an alternative design.↗
- 04
Stake the house site before the specialist visits. Rock or a high water table found on the lot is the owner's problem, not the county's.↗
- 05
An Environmental Health Specialist inspects the installed system before approval, and the construction permit is good for 12 months at most.↗
Soil & terrain
Lloyd loam over rock: the ground under Good Hope
Central Good Hope maps as Lloyd sandy loam on 2 to 6 percent slopes, eroded. NRCS rates it somewhat limited for absorption fields for two reasons: depth to bedrock and slow water movement. On a two-acre parcel, the job is finding the deepest soil on the lot and putting the field there.↗
Lloyd soils cover about 30,700 acres of Walton as a major component, second only to Cecil. Four named streams, Jacks, Indian, Little Sandy and Grubby creeks, run within about 2.5 miles of town, and the county's usable-soil math skips land within 50 feet of them.↗↗
Local facts
Good Hope, sourced
Each row links to the agency, code or publisher it comes from. Tap a source to check it yourself.
| Topic | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum home lot | 2 acres, by town ordinance | Good Hope Comprehensive Plan 2022-2026 (Georgia DCA) |
| Public sewer | None available or planned | Good Hope Comprehensive Plan 2022-2026 (Georgia DCA) |
| Median home built | 2002; 582 residents | Census Reporter API - Good Hope, GA (ACS 2024 5-year) |
| Soil at the town center | Lloyd sandy loam, 2–6% slopes, eroded (LdB2) | USDA NRCS Soil Data Access (Walton County survey GA297) |
| Main roads | SR-83 and SR-186; 25 of the town's 51 crashes (2013–2020) at their intersection | Good Hope Comprehensive Plan 2022-2026 (Georgia DCA) |
| National Register | Walter Jones "Rock House," 4435 GA 186 NE, listed 1993 | National Register of Historic Places listings in Walton County, Georgia - Wikipedia |
| Native daughter | Moina Belle Michael, the "Poppy Lady," born here in 1869 | Moina Belle Michael (1869-1944) - New Georgia Encyclopedia |
| Incorporated | 1905 | Walton County - New Georgia Encyclopedia |
| ZIP code | 30641 | Good Hope, Georgia - Wikipedia (infobox ZIP code) |
Median year homes were built
2002
Typical house here is about 24 years old — and so is its original sewer or septic line.
ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035 · Census Reporter API - Good Hope, GA (ACS 2024 5-year)
Housing era
A 2002 median: Good Hope's fields reach their first big service
Half of Good Hope's homes date from about 2002 or later, per the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey, so many original systems are past 20 years. On Lloyd soil with rock below, that is the age when the drain field, more often than the tank, starts to decide the repair.↗
Walton's lot-size ordinance requires room for an equal-size replacement area. On a two-acre lot that reserve is usually there; the work is proving the soil in it is deep enough.↗
Sewer or septic?
Good Hope's lots are sized for septic, not sewer
Good Hope's plan states that sewer is not available or planned within town limits and that new commercial development must be septic-compatible. Water comes from the Walton County Water Department.↗
The plan expected local water capacity to improve once the Hard Labor Creek water treatment plant opened, then targeted for 2023. A January 2026 Monroe Local report put that opening in early 2028.↗↗
Services here
Septic services for Good Hope parcels
- 01Septic InstallationNew homes on two-acre lots need a permitted system; we file the county paperwork and do the install.Septic Installation details
- 02Drain Field Repair & ReplacementTwenty-year-old fields on Lloyd loam over bedrock, rebuilt in the reserve area the lot already holds.Drain Field Repair & Replacement details
- 03Septic PumpingPump-outs for homes along SR-83, SR-186 and the farm roads between.Septic Pumping details
- 04Septic InspectionChecks before a Good Hope land or home purchase, filed with Walton County.Septic Inspection details
- 05Septic RepairTank, baffle and line repairs under the county's $200 repair permit.Septic Repair details
- 06Water Line Repair & InstallationService runs from the county meter to houses set well back on big lots.Water Line Repair & Installation details
- 07Emergency Septic & Sewer ServiceBackups at a Good Hope home, where the cause is always on your own lot.Emergency Septic & Sewer Service details
Also available:Excavation, Grading & DrainageSewer Line RepairSewer Camera Inspection
On Georgia DPH's installer and pumper lists
Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions appears on Georgia DPH's Certified Septic Tank Installer list and its Approved Septic Tank Pumper list, both dated 9/18/2026, which record Walton County as our county of business. Both lists are public; check them at the links.
Nearby areas
Around Good Hope in eastern Walton and beyond
- Monroe septic & sewerNearest city utility and the county health office
- Bostwick septic & sewerMorgan County farm town to the east
- Between septic & sewerNo-sewer town up on US-78
- Social Circle septic & sewerTo the southwest, straddling the Newton line
- Rutledge septic & sewerMorgan County town to the south
- Bethlehem septic & sewerNorth in Barrow County
Guides
Before you build in Good Hope
FAQ
Good Hope septic FAQ
Straight answers, with the rule or record behind them. Still unsure? Call and ask the crew that digs.
(678) 863-5620Can I build a house on less than two acres in Good Hope, GA?
Not under the town's current rules. Good Hope's 2022–2026 comprehensive plan cites the city ordinance that prohibits residential development on lots smaller than two acres. That lot size comfortably exceeds Walton County's septic minimums, so the town's zoning, not the health department, is usually the tighter limit on a Good Hope homesite.
Source: Good Hope Comprehensive Plan 2022-2026 (Georgia DCA)
What does a new septic permit cost in Good Hope?
Good Hope permits come from Walton County Environmental Health. Its schedule effective August 1, 2024 lists $425 for a new residential system inspection, $475 on the larger-home line, $75 for a site plan review and $200 for a re-inspection. Soil work, the system itself and excavation are separate costs that depend on the lot.
Is there bedrock under Good Hope that affects drain fields?
In places. USDA soil data map the town center as Lloyd sandy loam, 2 to 6 percent slopes, eroded, and list depth to bedrock as one reason it is somewhat limited for absorption fields. Walton County's site evaluation form puts adverse conditions such as rock on the owner, so testing where the field will go matters.
Source: USDA NRCS Soil Data Access (Walton County survey GA297)
Does Good Hope, GA have public sewer anywhere in town?
No. The town's 2022–2026 plan says sewer is not available or planned within town limits for the near future and asks new commercial projects to work with septic. Combined with the two-acre minimum lot, that points to septic remaining the norm for Good Hope homes and businesses.
Source: Good Hope Comprehensive Plan 2022-2026 (Georgia DCA)
Where is the health department office for Good Hope septic permits?
Walton County Environmental Health, part of the Northeast Health District, works from 1110 East Spring Street, Suite 200, in Monroe. Call 770-267-1430; weekday hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. We can file the site evaluation for you and meet the specialist on your Good Hope lot.
Source: Northeast Health District — Walton County locations (Environmental Health)
When will a 2000s-era Good Hope drain field need replacing?
No date is fixed; field life depends on soil, household size and upkeep. With a 2002 median build year, many Good Hope systems have passed 20 years, and Lloyd soil's slow water movement gives a tired field little margin. Wet spots, odors or slow drains are the cue to book an inspection.
Source: Census Reporter API - Good Hope, GA (ACS 2024 5-year)
How much land does Walton County require for septic on a private well?
Walton's Board of Health ordinance, effective August 18, 2004, calls for 51,000 square feet of usable soil when the house draws from its own well, double the public-water figure. A Good Hope two-acre lot clears both, though streamside land within 50 feet of the water is not counted.
Source: Walton County Board of Health — Minimum Lot Size Ordinance (On-Site Sewage)
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
- 1Good Hope Comprehensive Plan 2022-2026 (Georgia DCA)
- 2Walton County Environmental Health Site Evaluation Form
- 3Walton County Board of Health — Minimum Lot Size Ordinance (On-Site Sewage)
- 4Census Reporter API - Good Hope, GA (ACS 2024 5-year)
- 5Walton County - New Georgia Encyclopedia
- 6Moina Belle Michael (1869-1944) - New Georgia Encyclopedia
- 7Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-3-1-.03(2)-(3)
- 8Walton County EH Fees (effective August 1, 2024)
- 9USDA NRCS Soil Data Access (Walton County survey GA297)
- 10National Register of Historic Places listings in Walton County, Georgia - Wikipedia
- 11Good Hope, Georgia - Wikipedia (infobox ZIP code)
- 12Monroe Local — Work continues on water treatment plant as project set to open early 2028
- 13Georgia DPH Certified Septic Tank Installer Companies list (9/18/2026)
- 14Georgia DPH Approved Septic Tank Pumper Companies list (9/18/2026)
- 15Northeast Health District — Walton County locations (Environmental Health)
Ready when you are
Clearing a lot in Good Hope? Put the septic permit first.
Call (678) 863-5620 for a free on-site estimate on a new system or a drain-field replacement. We come out from our Oxford shop, walk the parcel with you and can file the Walton County permit as your agent.
(678) 863-5620- Georgia DPH-certified installer & pumper
- Residential & commercial
- Oxford, GA
Free estimate
or call (678) 863-5620