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Newton County · Septic & sewer rules
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or call (678) 863-5620The short answer
In Newton County, septic permits come from GNR Public Health's Newton Environmental Health office on Usher Street in Covington, after a Level 3 soil report. Public sewer is run by NCWSA, Covington and a few towns, yet most unincorporated homes rely on septic. Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions serves the whole county from Oxford.↗↗↗
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The Newton County story
NCWSA's own budget explains most of our Newton calls. The Authority pipes drinking water to roughly three times as many customers as it collects wastewater from, so a water bill here proves only that there is a meter at the road. Where the kitchen drain ends is a separate question.↗
NCWSA's connection guidelines say most homes and businesses in unincorporated Newton are not on sanitary sewer. A 2024 county-wide water analysis put about 27% of residents on public sewer in 2015 and expected new septic users mostly in remote areas.↗↗
So one county holds two jobs. In the sewered pockets the owner carries the building sewer out to the tap. Everywhere else a tank and drain field in Piedmont clay do the work, under GNR's permit rules. From our Oxford shop we work both, and the first question on any Newton call is which one you have.
On the record
Local facts
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 permitting office | GNR Public Health, Newton Environmental Health — 1113 Usher Street, Suite 303, Covington; 770-784-2121 | GNR Health — Newton Environmental Health Department (location page) |
| Residential permit fee | Newton residential septic permit: $275, or $400 if it stems from a complaint | GNR Environmental Health Fee Schedule — Newton County |
| Soil report | Level 3, from a certified classifier, on every permit since February 7, 2022 | GNR Health — Septic Systems |
| Soil suitability for drain fields | 74% of acreage 'somewhat limited', 22% 'very limited', none 'not limited' | USDA NRCS Soil Data Access — ENG - Septic Tank Absorption Fields interpretation, GA649 Newton overlap |
| Drinking water source | Cornish Creek plant, 25.0 MGD, from Lake Varner and the Alcovy | Newton County, GA — About the Facility (Cornish Creek WTF) |
| Land area | 279 square miles of Piedmont, about 2.5% of it water | Wikipedia — Newton County, Georgia |
| Median year homes were built | 1999 (ACS 2020–2024) | Census Reporter API — B25035, Newton County, GA |
Sewer or septic?
Sewer here has several owners: Covington, Oxford, Porterdale and Social Circle bill their own residents, and NCWSA covers scattered unincorporated pockets. The rural roads between them are septic country.↗↗
Bringing sewer to an unincorporated house is the owner's project. NCWSA wants a design professional's drawings, easements if the lot is not beside the line, and a contractor it inspects, at an estimated $50 to $100 per foot to the nearest manhole.↗
Once a line comes within 200 feet, NCWSA can order the hookup within 30 days of notice; the old tank is then pumped and filled.↗
Who owns what
NCWSAsewer lateral
Property owner, from the building to the tap on the public main, including stub-outs; NCWSA keeps the public sewers between manholes↗
Where the line sits: The tap at the main, typically in the street
NCWSAwater service line
Property owner from the meter to the building; NCWSA owns the meter and everything on the street side↗
Where the line sits: The water meter, usually in the right-of-way at the front or side of the lot
City of Covingtonsewer lateral
Customer maintains and keeps clean the pipe from the plumbing out to the city↗
Where the line sits: City street line or city sewer main, whichever is nearer
NCWSA moved this line in 2021. It used to clear the stretch from its main to the property line; since March 1, 2021 a clog anywhere between the house and the tap is the owner's bill. Stoppages in the street main stay with NCWSA.↗
Permits · GNR Public Health — Newton Environmental Health Department
Order a Level 3 soil report from a state-recognized classifier, or reuse an approved one GNR already holds for the lot.↗
File GNR's residential application (new, repair or addition) with the Newton fee; the contractor may sign as agent.↗
New homes add three lot sketches at 1 inch = 40 feet showing wells or water within 100 feet, plus a labeled floor plan.↗
Difficult lots can trigger an engineered site plan with 2-foot contours, and alternative systems may need a Level 4 soil report.↗
GNR asks for 10 working days to review the plans and visit the site.↗
The approved permit lasts 12 months, and the installed or repaired system is inspected before it is covered.↗
Georgia rule Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-3-1-.03
“must be permitted and inspected”
Published fees
Soil & terrain
USDA's soil data does not rate one acre of Newton free of limits for an absorption field. Upland lots are mostly Cecil and Pacolet, sandy loam over red clay, steepening toward the creeks. The Level 3 report is what sizes the field.↗
Then the bottoms: frequently flooded Cartecay and Chewacla soils are the county's second-largest map unit. Most of Newton drains to the Upper Ocmulgee; a thin eastern strip near Newborn drains to the Oconee.↗↗
Fields stay 100 feet from wells and 50 feet from the normal water line of streams and lakes. On Jackson Lake frontage, that setback often picks the replacement spot.↗
Towns we serve
Services here
Also available:Sewer Camera InspectionExcavation, Grading & Drainage
Who to call at the county
Septic permits & records
Guides
How the Georgia septic permit process worksThe GNR steps above, in statewide context.Read the guide 
Septic or sewer: how to tell in GeorgiaFive checks for a Newton address with a water bill but no sewer charge.Read the guide 
Why septic systems struggle in red clayWhat the Cecil and Pacolet profile means for field size.Read the guide FAQ
Straight answers, with the rule or record behind them. Still unsure? Call and ask the crew that digs.
(678) 863-5620GNR Public Health's Newton Environmental Health Department does, from 1113 Usher Street, Suite 303, in Covington (770-784-2121). It keeps morning-only hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays and handles repair permits, new systems and failing-system complaints countywide. On the other weekdays it closes from 11:30 to 1:00 for lunch.
Source: GNR Health — Newton Environmental Health Department (location page)
Yes. Since February 7, 2022, GNR has required a Level 3 soil report before it issues any septic permit, repairs and modifying additions included. If an approved Level 3 report for your lot is already on file with GNR, it can be used again.
Source: GNR Health — Septic Systems
GNR's Newton schedule charges $275 for the residential site evaluation, permit and initial inspection, effective January 1, 2026. It rises to $400 when the permit comes out of a complaint, and commercial jobs are $600. Installing without a permit costs double.
Source: GNR Environmental Health Fee Schedule — Newton County
Usually you do. Effective March 1, 2021, NCWSA customers became responsible for keeping the building sewer clear all the way from the house to the tap at the main, which is typically in the street. Clogs inside the main itself remain the Authority's job.
Source: NCWSA — Notice of Policy Change: Maintenance of Sewer Service Laterals (July 14, 2021)
It can once public sewer is within 200 feet. NCWSA's sewer use rules allow it to require a direct connection within 30 days after notice, and the tank must then be pumped of sludge and filled. A failing system must connect right away under state rules.
NCWSA's own guidance estimates $50 to $100 per foot from the building to the nearest manhole, paid by the new customer. On top of that the Authority's fee sheet lists a $3,650 residential sewer fee and a $75 tap inspection, effective July 1, 2025.
Source: NCWSA — Connecting to Sanitary Sewer in Unincorporated Newton County (rev. 11/29/2018)
Georgia's on-site rules keep an absorption field at least 50 feet from the normal water level of a stream, pond or lake, and at least 100 feet from a well, spring or sinkhole. Along the Yellow and Alcovy bottoms, that shrinks usable ground.
Source: Georgia DPH Rules Chapter 511-3-1 On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Jan 2016)
Not necessarily. NCWSA's 2025 budget counts about 27,124 water customers but only 8,381 sewer customers, so most of its accounts are water-only. Check the bill for a separate sewer charge. No sewer charge usually means a septic tank, with its permit history at GNR.
Sources
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
Ready when you are
We work out of Oxford, dig and backfill our own trenches, and can carry your GNR permit from the soil report to the final inspection. Estimates on site are free.
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