Henry County GA Septic & Sewer | Atlanta Water & Sewage

The short answer

Is Henry County on sewer or septic?

Henry County homes use both sewer and septic. The Henry County Water Authority serves about 71,000 water accounts but only about 31,000 sewer accounts, and each of the four cities runs its own system. Lots outside a sewer basin use septic permitted by District 4's Henry County office. Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions works on all three.↗↗

Reviewed by Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions · Last updated September 23, 2026

At a glance

County seat: McDonough
Health district: District 4 Public Health — Environmental Health (Wastewater Management)
Septic permits: Henry County Environmental Health Office (District 4 Public Health)
EH office phone: 470-661-0044
Population: 249,960 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003)
Median home built: 2001

Sewer or septic?

A water meter at the curb doesn't mean a sewer tap behind it

HCWA's own FY2025 report puts it plainly: roughly 43% of its water customers are sewer customers too. The Authority adds that the share keeps climbing, because most new subdivisions and commercial projects now have to be built on public sewer.↗

The sewer that does exist runs by gravity toward three separate plants, and those three collection systems are not tied together. So sewer can be close in one basin and miles off past a ridge.↗

Henry's own sewer ordinance uses a shorter distance than the state rule. Where a county sewer runs in the street or right-of-way within 100 feet of your property line, the general manager can send written notice, and you then have 90 days to connect at your own cost. Hardship payment plans are possible.↗

How to tell which one you have

Your HCWA or city bill shows a sewer charge next to water
A green 10-inch round lid marked SEWER sits near the front property line
No sewer charge and a pair of lids or a mound in the yard: you have a tank

The Henry County story

Four city systems inside one county authority

The county authority dates to 1961, when the General Assembly created it to build a water supply and, eventually, a sewer system. Finding no lake or stream big enough, it bought land and built its own reservoirs in the south of the county, then pumped water north across the county's 331 square miles.↗

The cities kept their own pipes. Stockbridge, McDonough, Hampton and Locust Grove each operate a separate water and sewerage system, though the county authority sells most of the water Stockbridge and Hampton use and some of what McDonough and Locust Grove use. So a McDonough mailing address can mean the city's sewer, the county's, or a septic tank, depending on which side of the city limit the lot falls.↗

On the record

HCWA was created in 1961 by the Georgia General Assembly; a 2013 law dropped 'and Sewerage' from its name.↗
Each of Henry's four cities operates its own water and sewerage system.↗
HCWA's sewer serves higher-density areas but is 'not as extensive as the water system,' with three plants whose collection systems are not interconnected.↗

Who owns what

What a Henry County owner is on the hook for

These rows cover the county authority's system. City customers follow their own city's rules, explained on each town page.

Green = sewer (APWA uniform color code)Typical handoff here: Property line

Blue = potable water (APWA uniform color code)Typical handoff here: Meter

Henry County Water Authoritysewer tap
The owner pays every cost of installing and connecting the building sewer out to the property line; the authority supervises the tie-in after an open-trench inspection↗
Where the line sits: Property line (§ 3-5-267)
Henry County Water Authoritysewer lateral
HCWA's standards treat the lateral as the pipe from the main to the street right-of-way or easement, ending at a cleanout in a green-lidded box↗
Where the line sits: Right-of-way or easement cleanout
Henry County Water Authoritywater service line
The customer owns the pipe from the meter to the house↗
Where the line sits: Water meter, usually near the street

An old building sewer can only be reused for a new house after the authority has examined and tested it, so a rebuild on an old lot often means a new line to the street.↗

Permits · Henry County Environmental Health Office, District 4 Public Health

Getting a septic permit through District 4 in McDonough

Henry sits in District 4, not in the metro districts to its north, so the forms differ from what you may have used in DeKalb or Gwinnett.

01
The county code says no tank goes in without a written permit from the health department sanitarian, and the permit only takes effect once the finished installation satisfies that office.↗
02
New homes use the New Residential Septic Permit Application: bedrooms, garbage disposal, water supply, foundation and stub-out location, plus a lot sketch showing wells (yours and the neighbors'), paved areas, utilities, easements, flood plain and the proposed drainfield.↗
03
Failures, additions, manufactured-home swaps and burned-house rebuilds use the Residential Repair Permit Application, which asks whether sewage backs up indoors, surfaces at the tank or the lines, or only acts up after heavy rain.↗
04
Before the inspector comes, stake any addition, outline a planned pool, unlock gates and put the dogs up.↗
05
Build to Chapter 511-3-1 and call for the final inspection before final cover; the permit lapses 12 months after issue.↗

Georgia rule Henry County Code § 3-5-266(f)

“any septic tank … shall be abandoned, cleaned of sludge, and filled with clean bank-run gravel or dirt within ninety (90) days”

Read the rule

Soil & terrain

Cecil clay on the uplands, reservoirs in the south

Federal soil data for the Henry part of the Clayton-Fayette-Henry survey shows no acreage at all rated 'not limited' for septic absorption fields. About 71% is somewhat limited and 28% very limited, which is why lot layout and field sizing matter so much here.↗

The five county reservoirs also shape where and how you can build. The land code draws a water quality critical area within 500 feet of each reservoir and along perennial streams for three miles upstream, adding limits on lots in those watersheds.↗

Cecil sandy loam, 2–6% slopes↗
Largest single map unit, about 46,000 acres; Cecil soils cover roughly 46% of the county
Cecil sandy clay loam, 6–10%, eroded↗
About 27,500 acres of thinner, clay-rich topsoil
Pacolet sandy loam, 10–25% slopes↗
About 22,100 acres of steeper side slopes
Cartecay loam, frequently flooded↗
About 11,300 acres of creek bottom, poor ground for a drainfield
Soil series · USDA NRCS

Median year homes were built

2001

Typical house here is about 25 years old — and so is its original sewer or septic line.

ACS 2020-2024 5-year, tables B25035 and B25034 · Census Reporter API — Henry County, GA, B25034 year structure built (ACS 2020-2024 5-year)

Housing era

A county mostly built after 1990

Of 91,424 housing units, 30,918 went up between 2000 and 2009 and another 22,412 in the 1990s. Fewer than 2,300 predate 1960. That matches HCWA's growth curve: 19,003 water connections in 1995, 71,414 in 2025, with about 2,500 added a year during the 1995–2007 rush.↗↗

For septic owners, that timing matters. Georgia's homeowner guide says tanks installed after February 20, 2000 must have two compartments and an effluent filter, so a boom-era house may have a filter nobody has cleaned since the closing.↗

What it costs

HCWA's published charges for water and sewer service

Authority fees from the schedule effective October 1, 2025. City customers pay their own city's rates.

Residential sewer, monthly base
$15.26 + $5.90 per 1,000 gal (first 6,000)
Typical market range — HCWA Schedule of Rates, Fees and Penalties (effective 10/01/2025), 2025
3/4-inch meter, HCWA sets meter only
$460
Typical market range — HCWA Schedule of Rates, Fees and Penalties (effective 10/01/2025), 2025
3/4-inch meter, HCWA makes the tap and installs
$1,830
Typical market range — HCWA Schedule of Rates, Fees and Penalties (effective 10/01/2025), 2025
Sewer clean-out box
$50
Typical market range — HCWA Schedule of Rates, Fees and Penalties (effective 10/01/2025), 2025
Deposits, water and sewer
$100 each
Typical market range — HCWA Schedule of Rates, Fees and Penalties (effective 10/01/2025), 2025

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

01Distance from the house to the property line, which the owner builds
02Rock or a high water table in the repair area, which District 4 puts on the owner
03Pumping and filling the old tank at a sewer conversion

Local facts

Henry County facts worth knowing before you dig

Each row links to the agency, code or publisher it comes from. Tap a source to check it yourself.

From HCWA's FY2025 report and 2026 water quality report, the county code, District 4 and USDA soil data.
Topic	What it says	Source
Water vs sewer accounts	71,414 water customers, 31,056 sewer customers (FY2025)	Henry County Water Authority — Annual Comprehensive Financial Report FY2025
Share on sewer	About 43% of HCWA water customers, and rising	Henry County Water Authority — Annual Comprehensive Financial Report FY2025
County connection trigger	Sewer within 100 ft of the property line; 90 days after written notice	Henry County, GA Code of Ordinances § 3-5-265 (Municode)
Water supply	Five HCWA reservoirs, over 18 billion gallons, more than 500 days of supply	Henry County Water Authority — 2026 Water Quality Report (2025 data)
Septic suitability of soils	71% somewhat limited, 28% very limited, none unlimited	USDA NRCS Soil Data Access — Clayton, Fayette, and Henry Counties survey (GA625), Henry overlap
Permitting district	District 4, which covers twelve counties from Butts to Upson	District 4 Public Health — New Residential Septic Permit Application (rev. 2024-08-12)

Towns we serve

Henry County cities and how their pipes differ

Each city runs its own water and sewer, so each page starts from that city's rules.

Also in the county

Heron Bay · Census-designated place partly in Henry County
Ellenwood · Unincorporated community on the DeKalb and Clayton lines

Services here

Septic, sewer and water line work across Henry County

Also available:Sewer Camera Inspection Drain Field Repair

Who to call at the county

Who to call in Henry County

Septic permits & records

Henry County Environmental Health Office (District 4 Public Health)

Address: 137 Henry Parkway, McDonough, GA 30253
Phone: 470-661-0044
Hours: Mon–Fri 8 am–5 pm, closed 12–1

Office website

Henry County Water Authority Water countywide; sewer in its three basins1695 Highway 20 West, McDonough; (770) 957-6659↗

Listed with the state for septic work

Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions appears on the Georgia Department of Public Health's lists of certified septic tank installers and approved septic tank pumpers, the credentials District 4 expects on a Henry County repair or install.

Guides

Read these before a Henry County job

FAQ

Henry County septic and sewer questions

Straight answers, with the rule or record behind them. Still unsure? Call and ask the crew that digs.

(678) 863-5620

Who issues septic permits in Henry County?

District 4 Public Health's Henry County Environmental Health Office, at 137 Henry Parkway in McDonough (470-661-0044), open weekdays 8 to 5 with a lunch closing from 12 to 1.

Source: District 4 Public Health — Henry County (location page)

How close does sewer have to be before Henry County can make me connect?

Under county code § 3-5-265, if a county public sewer runs in an abutting street or right-of-way within 100 feet of your property line, you can be given written notice and 90 days to connect at your own expense. The state's separate rule uses 200 feet.

Source: Henry County, GA Code of Ordinances § 3-5-265 (Municode)

What happens to my septic tank when I switch to sewer?

Section 3-5-266 says the tank must be abandoned, cleaned of sludge and filled with clean bank-run gravel or dirt within 90 days of notice. We plan the pump-out, fill and new line as one job.

Source: Henry County, GA Code of Ordinances § 3-5-266 (Municode)

Is my Henry County address served by HCWA or a city?

It depends on the lot, not the ZIP code. HCWA's annual report confirms Stockbridge, McDonough, Hampton and Locust Grove each run their own water and sewer system, while HCWA serves the unincorporated county. The name on your bill is the quickest answer.

Source: Henry County Water Authority — Annual Comprehensive Financial Report FY2025

Who owns the water line between the HCWA meter and my house?

You do. HCWA's 2026 water quality report defines the service line as the customer-owned pipe running from the meter to the home. A leak there is yours to fix, though HCWA reviews courtesy discounts for repaired leaks on the customer's side.

Source: Henry County Water Authority — 2026 Water Quality Report (2025 data)

Are there lead water service lines in Henry County?

HCWA says its service line inventory, completed in October 2024, did not identify any lead service lines in its system. City systems keep their own inventories, so customers of the four cities should check with their city.

Source: Henry County Water Authority — 2026 Water Quality Report (2025 data)

What does HCWA charge for residential sewer?

Rates effective October 1, 2025 are a $15.26 monthly base plus $5.90 per 1,000 gallons for the first 6,000 gallons and $8.03 beyond that. Sewer is billed from metered water use.

Source: HCWA Schedule of Rates, Fees and Penalties (effective 10/01/2025)

Why do Henry County drainfields need careful sizing?

USDA soil data rates none of the county's land 'not limited' for septic absorption fields; about 71% is somewhat limited and 28% very limited. Cecil soils cover nearly half the county.

Source: USDA NRCS Soil Data Access — Clayton, Fayette, and Henry Counties survey (GA625), Henry overlap

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 September 23, 2026

Septic and sewer service in Henry County, Georgia, where the county water authority and four city utilities split the map.

Is Henry County on sewer or septic?