Rockdale County GA Septic & Sewer | Atlanta Water & Sewage

The short answer

Who handles septic and sewer in Rockdale County, GA?

In Rockdale County, septic permits come from GNR Public Health's Rockdale Environmental Health office on Portman Drive in Conyers, and sewer comes only from Rockdale Water Resources, the county utility. Parcels the county master plan marks septic-only cannot apply for sewer. Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions repairs, installs and connects both sides countywide.↗↗↗

Reviewed by Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions · Last updated September 22, 2026

At a glance

County seat: Conyers
Health district: GNR Public Health (Gwinnett, Newton & Rockdale) — Environmental Health
Septic permits: Rockdale Environmental Health Department (GNR Public Health)
EH office phone: 770-278-7340
Population: 95,281 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003)
Median home built: 1990

Local facts

Rockdale County septic and sewer, by the numbers

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

Each figure links to its county, GNR or federal source.
Topic	What it says	Source
Septic permit office	Rockdale Environmental Health (GNR Public Health), Portman Drive, Conyers	Locations \| GNR Public Health
Residential septic permit	$275 on the Rockdale schedule; $400 if a complaint started it	Environmental Health Fee Schedule - Rockdale County (GNR Public Health)
Sewer and water provider	Rockdale Water Resources, the only water and sewer supplier in the county	Utilities \| Conyers Rockdale Economic Development Council
Who can't get sewer	Any parcel partly inside a master-plan septic-only area may not file a connection application	Rockdale County Code of Ordinances, Ch. 98, Art. I, Div. 1 (Municode, Supp. 47)
Failed septic near sewer	Must connect within 30 days of the director's written notice	Rockdale County Code, Ch. 98, Art. III, Div. 6 Private Wastewater Disposal Facilities (Municode)
Size	132 square miles — Georgia's second-smallest county	Rockdale County, Georgia - Wikipedia
Rural share	13.7% of residents lived in rural areas in 2020	Rockdale County, Georgia - Wikipedia
Sewer plant operator	Contracted to the firm ESG since May 1998, including collection-line repairs	Wastewater Treatment \| Rockdale County Water Resources

Sewer or septic?

Which Rockdale map your lot sits on

Rockdale Water Resources serves every sewered address in the county, so there's no utility shopping here. What varies is the plan map. The county's Water and Wastewater Master Plan designates some areas for septic only, and code says a parcel with any part in one of those areas can't even apply to connect.↗↗

GNR Public Health puts it bluntly for its three counties: in many areas septic is the only available means of sewage disposal. Where sewer does reach a failed system, Rockdale moves fast — the owner gets 30 days from written notice to hook up.↗↗

Connecting has a set order. Tie in upstream of the old tank, then pump the tank of sludge and fill it with sand, gravel or dirt, or dig it out.↗

How to tell which one you have

Look at your Rockdale Water Resources bill for a sewer charge.
Find the cleanout: sewered Rockdale homes have one at the right-of-way or easement line.
Ask Rockdale Water Resources whether the parcel falls inside a septic-only master-plan area.

Permits · GNR Public Health — Rockdale Environmental Health Department

Getting a septic permit from the Portman Drive office

We can handle the permit as your agent.

01
File GNR's residential septic application — new construction, repair of a failing system, or addition — with the Rockdale fee. A contractor may apply and collect a repair permit as the owner's agent.↗
02
Attach an original stamped Level 3 soil report. GNR has demanded one for every new, repair and modifying-addition permit since February 7, 2022.↗
03
Hard lots may need an engineered site plan at 1" = 20', and alternative systems a Level 4 report.↗
04
Give the office 10 working days for plan review and a site visit.↗
05
County code adds its own sign-off: the Water Resources director must approve before a septic tank is built, repaired, altered or enlarged.↗
06
The permit lapses 12 months after issue, and GNR inspects the installation.↗

Georgia rule GNR Public Health septic policy, February 7, 2022

“requiring a Level 3 soil report for all septic permits”

Read the rule

Published fees

Site evaluation, permit and initial inspection — residentialEffective GNR lists it as effective July 1, 2026; the PDF shows an August 8, 2025 adoption date$275↗
Same, residential, from a complaintEffective GNR lists it as effective July 1, 2026; the PDF shows an August 8, 2025 adoption date$400↗
Same, commercialEffective GNR lists it as effective July 1, 2026; the PDF shows an August 8, 2025 adoption date$600↗
Visual inspection of an existing systemEffective GNR lists it as effective July 1, 2026; the PDF shows an August 8, 2025 adoption date$145↗
Installing without a permitEffective GNR lists it as effective July 1, 2026; the PDF shows an August 8, 2025 adoption date2 × permit fees↗

Who owns what

Where Rockdale's pipe becomes your pipe

Section 98-10 of the county code draws both lines, and it draws them in different places for water and sewer.

Green = sewer (APWA uniform color code)Typical handoff here: The main

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

Rockdale Water Resourcesmain
County↗
Where the line sits: Sewer main and manhole
Rockdale Water Resourcessewer lateral
County from the main to the street right-of-way; owner from there to the house↗
Where the line sits: Street right-of-way, marked by a customer-owned cleanout
Rockdale Water Resourceswater service line
County through the meter; owner from the meter to the building, backflow preventer included↗
Where the line sits: Meter

So a root-choked lateral under your front yard is yours to fix, and so is the cleanout at the curb. A break on the street side of that cleanout is a call to Rockdale Water Resources.↗

Soil & terrain

Granite under the red clay: digging in Rockdale

The county's name is a geology note. Rockdale was formed on October 18, 1870 and named for Rockdale Baptist Church, which took its name from the granite strata beneath the red clay topsoil.↗

That rock surfaces in places. Panola Mountain, a 100-acre granite monadnock, rises to 946 feet, 260 feet above the South River, and has been a National Natural Landmark since 1980. The shared Newton–Rockdale soil survey maps 1,460 acres of bare rock outcrop.↗↗

Shallow Ashlar ground or rock can shrink the usable drain-field area on a lot, which is why the Level 3 report decides so much here.

Pacolet↗
Largest series in the combined survey, about 65,000 acres of clay-subsoil upland.
Cecil↗
About 56,000 acres; Cecil sandy loam on 2–6% slopes is the single biggest map unit.
Ashlar↗
Shallow series mapped with rock outcrop — the soil to watch where granite is near.
Cartecay and Chewacla↗
Frequently flooded bottomland, 17,810 acres along streams.
Soil series · USDA NRCS

The Rockdale County story

Rockdale's grease rules for commercial kitchens

Commercial sewer trouble in this county usually starts in a grease interceptor. Section 98-168 has outdoor traps fully pumped at least every 90 days, or sooner once grease and solids reach a quarter of the liquid depth. Pumping manifests go to Rockdale Water Resources within 14 days, a year of logs stays on site, and bacteria or enzyme additives don't count as pumping.↗

Since October 2025 the utility has tracked that paperwork in a FOG compliance app, with haulers trained to report pump-outs as they happen. When the line behind a trap fails, we dig and replace it.↗

Rockdale won't issue a building permit for a project needing sewer until Rockdale Water Resources validates a wastewater connection permit and every fee is paid.↗

A red clay trench with pale rock fragments in its walls, a new white PVC line bedded in gravel with a cleanout riser, a grassy roadside beyond.

What it costs

Published Rockdale fees that land on your bill

These are government fees, not contractor prices. We don't publish our own prices; the estimate is free and on site.

RWR application for new sewer service (new development)
$200, non-refundable
Typical market range — Fees | Rockdale County Water Resources
RWR administrative fee to open service where sewer already exists
$50, non-refundable
Typical market range — Fees | Rockdale County Water Resources
Sewer capital cost recovery charge
Set by commissioners; 90% refundable on written request within 60 days of the validated permit
Typical market range — Rockdale County Code, Ch. 98, Art. III, Div. 2 Wastewater Application and Connection Process; Fees (Municode)

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

01Rock or shallow Ashlar soil in the trench line
02Whether the Level 3 report is already on file or has to be commissioned
03Run length from the house to the right-of-way cleanout
04Slope toward a creek bottom that pushes the drain field elsewhere on the lot

Services here

What we do across Rockdale

Also available:Sewer Camera Inspection Excavation, Grading & Drainage

Towns we serve

Rockdale communities we serve

Conyers is the county's only city; the rest of Rockdale is unincorporated and served by the same county utility and GNR office.

ConyersConyers septic & sewer service — the county seat, from the I-20 restaurant strip to septic lots at the edge of town.Conyers septic & sewer

Also in the county

Milstead · Old mill community on the Yellow River, bordering Conyers to the north.
Lakeview Estates · Unincorporated community in Rockdale.

Who to call at the county

The two Rockdale offices behind every job

Septic permits & records

Rockdale Environmental Health Department (GNR Public Health)

Address: 1329 Portman Drive, Suite F, Conyers, GA 30094
Phone: 770-278-7340
Hours: Closed for lunch 1:00–1:30 PM daily

Office website Source

Rockdale Water Resources Water and sewer, countywideAdministration at 958 Milstead Avenue, Room 321, Conyers; (770) 278-7450.↗

FAQ

Rockdale 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

Where do I get a septic permit in Rockdale County?

At GNR Public Health's Rockdale Environmental Health Department, 1329 Portman Drive, Suite F, in Conyers (770-278-7340). The office closes for lunch from 1:00 to 1:30 PM. New systems, repairs and additions all go through it, and a contractor such as us can file and pick up a repair permit as your agent.

Source: Locations | GNR Public Health

How much does GNR charge for a septic permit in Rockdale?

The Rockdale schedule lists $275 for a residential site evaluation, permit and initial inspection, $400 when the permit stems from a complaint, and $600 for commercial. An existing-system visual inspection is $145 and a reinspection $175. GNR labels the schedule effective July 1, 2026, though the PDF shows an August 2025 adoption date.

Source: Environmental Health Fee Schedule - Rockdale County (GNR Public Health)

My Rockdale septic system failed and sewer is on my street. How long do I have to connect?

Thirty days. Rockdale County code requires a property whose private system has failed to connect to county sewer within 30 days of written notice from the director, where sewer availability exists and the connection requirements are met.

Source: Rockdale County Code, Ch. 98, Art. III, Div. 6 Private Wastewater Disposal Facilities (Municode)

What do I do with the old septic tank after a Rockdale sewer hookup?

County code says the connection goes in upstream of the tank. The tank is then pumped of sludge and either filled with sand, gravel or dirt, or removed entirely. We do both halves: the tie-in and the tank.

Source: Rockdale County Code, Ch. 98, Art. III, Div. 6 Private Wastewater Disposal Facilities (Municode)

Is the sewer pipe under my Rockdale front yard mine or the county's?

Yours, from the house out to the street right-of-way. Section 98-10 gives Rockdale Water Resources the line from the main to the right-of-way and requires a cleanout at that limit, which the customer owns and maintains. Breaks on the street side of the cleanout belong to the utility.

Source: Rockdale County Code of Ordinances, Ch. 98, Art. I, Div. 1 (Municode, Supp. 47)

Do I need a soil report just to repair a septic system in Rockdale?

Yes. Since February 7, 2022 GNR Environmental Health has required a Level 3 soil report for all septic permits, repairs and modifying additions included. If an approved Level 3 report for the lot is already on file, GNR's repair application says it can be reused instead of ordering a new one.

Source: Septic Systems | GNR Public Health (Gwinnett, Newton & Rockdale)

Why can't my Rockdale lot connect to sewer when the line is nearby?

Rockdale's Water and Wastewater Master Plan designates certain areas to be served by septic only, and county code bars a connection application if any part of the property falls in one. Those lots stay on GNR-permitted septic.

Source: Rockdale County Code of Ordinances, Ch. 98, Art. I, Div. 1 (Municode, Supp. 47)

How often must a Rockdale restaurant pump its grease trap?

Under Sec. 98-168, outdoor interceptors must be fully pumped at least every 90 days and whenever grease and solids reach 25% of the liquid depth; indoor units at least every 90 days. Manifests go to Rockdale Water Resources within 14 days and a 12-month log stays on site. Additives cannot replace pumping.

Source: Rockdale County Code, Ch. 98, Art. III, Div. 5 — Sec. 98-168 Sand and oil/grease interceptors (Municode)

Guides

Guides for Rockdale owners

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 22, 2026

Rockdale County septic and sewer service: one county utility for sewer, one GNR office for septic, and the master plan that decides which one your lot gets.

Who handles septic and sewer in Rockdale County, GA?

Rockdale County septic and sewer, by the numbers