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SEWER CAMERA INSPECTION · METRO ATLANTA
Get a free estimate
or call (678) 863-5620The short answer
A sewer camera inspection pushes a video camera through a building drain or sewer lateral to show roots, cracks, offset joints, sagging bellies and crushed or deformed pipe, and to locate the problem's position and depth. Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions, a sewer and septic contractor in Oxford, GA, scopes the line before any metro Atlanta repair decision.
Reviewed by Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions · Last updated
Who does the work
One crew, the whole line
Key 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Typical market range | $125 to $500 for a sewer camera inspection (typical market range per HomeGuide, 2025; not our price). | HomeGuide — Sewer Camera Inspection Cost (Dec 19, 2025), 2025 |
| No cleanout on the house | $175 to $750, because the toilet is pulled and reset to reach the line (HomeGuide, 2025). | HomeGuide — Sewer Camera Inspection Cost (Dec 19, 2025), 2025 |
| Defects an inspection standard says to report | Visible cracks, root intrusion, offsets over ¼ inch, more than 1 inch of standing water, blockages, crushed or broken pipe. | InterNACHI — Sewer Scope Inspection Standards of Practice |
| Locating | Drain cameras carry a transmitter so the problem can be pinpointed from above ground. | HomeGuide — Sewer Camera Inspection Cost (Dec 19, 2025), 2025 |
| Orangeburg pipe | Fiber-and-tar pipe that flattens under soil load and loses its round cross-section; Ann Arbor estimates its local use at roughly the early 1950s to early 1970s. | City of Ann Arbor — Orangeburg Sewer Piping |
| Who owns the lateral (Gwinnett example) | The property owner maintains the entire lateral, including the connection to the public sewer. | Gwinnett County DWR — Sewer Lateral Ownership and Responsibility |
| Permit needed for the camera itself? | No. Permits come in when the video leads to excavation or a connection change (local utility and plumbing rules). | DeKalb County Planning & Sustainability — Watershed Packet (revised 5/6/25), 2025 |
Plain definitions
Warning signs
Recurring clogs or buying an older home? Call (678) 863-5620
The whole story
The camera sees the inside wall of the pipe and not much else, but that's where nearly every sewer problem starts. Here is what we look for, and what each finding means for the fix.
**Roots.** Roots find a hairline crack or a loose joint and follow the moisture in. On video they show up as a curtain of fine hair at a joint, or a solid mass that stops the camera. HomeGuide notes root intrusion is common in older cast-iron and clay lines and less common in PVC. Where roots enter tells you where the joint has failed.
**Offsets.** Clay and cast-iron sections come in short lengths, so an old lateral has a joint every few feet. When soil settles, those joints shift. The InterNACHI sewer scope standard treats an offset over ¼ inch as needing correction. A single offset near the house is a small dig; offsets all the way to the street tell a different story.
**Bellies.** A belly shows as water pooled in the pipe with the camera half-submerged. The standard flags more than 1 inch of standing water. Bellies collect paper and grease and are the usual cause of a drain that clogs every few months no matter how often it's cleared.
**Cracks, breaks and crushed pipe.** Longitudinal cracks, missing pieces and pipe squeezed out of round, often where a driveway, a tree or a past utility dig loaded the line.
**Orangeburg deformation.** Orangeburg is a bituminous fiber pipe, plant fiber and asbestos soaked in tar. The City of Ann Arbor describes it flattening under earth pressure as it deteriorates, and notes inspectors have seen pipe that still looked round outside while the inside had gone out of round. On video it reads as an oval, blistered or delaminating wall. Orangeburg doesn't get spot-repaired well; when you see it, plan on replacing that run.
**Material changes.** Older laterals are often a patchwork: cast iron through the foundation, clay or Orangeburg across the yard, a PVC section where someone fixed a break years ago. The video shows where each change happens, which is often where the next failure is.
Worth knowing
Finding a defect is half the job. The other half is knowing where it is from the top of the ground. Drain cameras carry a transmitter, and a receiver traced over the yard marks the camera head's position and depth. HomeGuide describes the same thing: the transmitter lets the problem be pinpointed from above ground.
The camera cable also counts footage from the cleanout. Put the footage and the locate together and you get a paint mark on the lawn with a depth written next to it. In practice that answers the questions that drive the price of a sewer repair: Is the break under the driveway or beside it? Is it 3 ft down or 8 ft down in red clay? Is it on your side of the right-of-way or the utility's?
That last question matters in money. In Gwinnett, the owner maintains the whole lateral including the connection to the county sewer. In Rockdale, the county's side ends at the street right-of-way, and the cleanout there belongs to you. A marked, measured video is how you settle it without arguing.
Then the same crew that located it can dig it. We do the excavation, the spot repair or the replacement, and the backfill, so the paint mark from the camera run turns straight into a trench of the right length in the right place, not a second company re-diagnosing the line.
Finding a defect is half the job.
Your options
OPTION 01
When it fits: Soft blockage, light root hair at one joint, or grease buildup in otherwise sound pipe.
Clearing may mean snaking or hydro-jetting; ask us and we'll tell you how that gets done on your line.
OPTION 02
When it fits: One broken section, a single bad offset or one root-entry joint in pipe that's otherwise in decent shape.
OPTION 03
When it fits: Orangeburg, repeated offsets, long bellies, or breaks at several points along the lateral.
We excavate and replace. If a trenchless method might fit your line, it's an option we'll talk through with you. See sewer line repair.
How the job runs
Usually an outside cleanout. Gwinnett laterals may have one at the right-of-way and one near the house. With no cleanout, access comes through a toilet flange or roof vent, which is slower.
Gwinnett County DWR — Sewer Lateral Ownership and Responsibility
A heavy blockage stops the camera cold. The line has to be opened before the video can go past it, then scoped again.
The camera goes from the access point toward the main or the septic tank, recording the full run while footage is counted from the start.
At each defect we stop, trace the transmitter from the surface and mark position and depth on the ground.
Cast iron, clay, Orangeburg, PVC, ABS: we note each transition, because the repair method depends on what the pipe is.
You see the video, the marks on the lawn and a plain-language summary: what's wrong, where, how deep, whose side of the property line, and what we'd recommend.
If a repair is needed, we give you a free estimate for the dig, the repair and the backfill, and tell you whether it needs a utility or county permit.
Who owns what
Gwinnett County DWR
The owner maintains the entire lateral, including the connection to the public sewer. A cleanout at the right-of-way is the county's; one nearer the house is the owner's.↗
Where the line sits: Connection to the public sewer
Gwinnett County DWR (blockages)
DWR clears blockages in the main or the right-of-way part of the lateral; if the only blockage is in the right-of-way, the owner may file a reimbursement claim, but DWR must see the excavated lateral before repair.↗
Where the line sits: Right-of-way
Newton County Water & Sewerage Authority
The owner maintains the private sewer service line from the building to the connection with the public main; since 2021 customers pay to clear blockages from the building through the tap.↗
Where the line sits: Tap at the main
City of Covington
Customers maintain and keep clean the sewer pipes from their plumbing to the city street line or the sewer main, whichever is nearer.↗
Where the line sits: Street line or main, whichever is nearer
Rockdale Water Resources
The county maintains service lines from the main to the right-of-way; the customer owns the line from there to the building, including the required right-of-way cleanout.↗
Where the line sits: Right-of-way cleanout
DeKalb County Watershed Management
The owner maintains the building sewer connection on private property; the county maintains it within county rights-of-way and sewer easements.↗
Where the line sits: Property line / right-of-way
City of Monroe
The building sewer runs from the building drain to the public sewer; owners bear its installation and connection costs and maintain connections serving their utility service.↗
Where the line sits: Public sewer main
Permits & the Georgia rules
Sewered lot in DeKalb: a plumbing permit by a licensed sewer or plumbing contractor is required before a private sewer line is installed.↗
Monroe: a city permit is required to connect to or open any public sewer.↗
Gwinnett: if the break may be in the right-of-way and you want to claim reimbursement, DWR has to see the excavated lateral before it is repaired.↗
Septic lot: if the camera traces the problem into the tank or field, that repair is permitted and inspected by county Environmental Health under 511-3-1.↗
Georgia rule 511-3-1-.03(2)(c)
“Repairs, replacement, or additions to existing systems must be permitted and inspected.”
Georgia rule 511-3-1-.03(1)(a)
“Connection shall be made to a public or community sewage treatment system if such system is available within two hundred feet (200') of the property line…”
NCWSA customers own the line from the building through the tap, so a break found anywhere along the run is usually the owner's repair.↗
The right-of-way cleanout required by county code is the natural camera entry point and the ownership marker.↗
DWR runs its own cameras and smoke tests on public lines and notifies owners if a defect is found on their property.↗
Worth knowing
On a septic lot there is no city main at the end of the pipe, but the building drain and the line to the tank fail the same ways a sewer lateral does. When a house backs up and the tank level is normal, the problem is often upstream of the tank: a root-choked joint, a sag or a broken pipe under a patio.
A camera run from the house cleanout toward the tank answers that, and the locate can also help find a buried tank inlet on a property with no records. If the video shows the pipe is fine all the way to the tank, attention moves to the tank's inlet baffle. The DPH Manual notes that deteriorated baffles or tees often end up on the tank floor. From there it becomes a septic inspection question, not a sewer question.
Homes & businesses
Residential
A typical residential scope is a single lateral run from one cleanout to the street or the tank. The questions are simple: what's wrong, where is it, and is it mine?
Buying a house? A scope before your due-diligence period ends gives you a video to negotiate with instead of a guess.
Commercial
Commercial lines are longer and often larger, with more connections and more grease. Grease buildup narrows the pipe and can hide defects until the line is cleared.
Scheduling around business hours matters as much as the video itself; tell us your hours and we'll plan the work around them.
What it costs
Sewer camera inspection
$125–$500
per inspection
Typical market range per HomeGuide, 2025.
Typical market range — HomeGuide — Sewer Camera Inspection Cost (Dec 19, 2025), 2025
Sewer inspection, home with no cleanout
$175–$750
per inspection
Typical market range per HomeGuide, 2025.
Typical market range — HomeGuide — Sewer Camera Inspection Cost (Dec 19, 2025), 2025
Sewer scope added to a home inspection
$100–$250
add-on
Typical market range per HomeGuide, 2025.
Typical market range — HomeGuide — Sewer Camera Inspection Cost (Dec 19, 2025), 2025
Camera inspection of pipes, Georgia
$200–$400
per inspection
Typical market range per Septic & Well Pro, 2026.
Typical market range — Septic & Well Pro — Septic Inspection Georgia: Home Sale Guide (updated April 10, 2026), 2026
Sewer line repair after the video
$150–$3,800
per repair, by method
Typical national range per HomeGuide, 2025.
Typical market range — HomeGuide — Sewer Line Repair & Replacement Cost (Dec 22, 2025), 2025
Ranges above are published third-party typical market ranges (HomeGuide, Septic & Well Pro), not Atlanta Water & Sewage Solutions prices. Call (678) 863-5620 for a free on-site estimate.
Free estimate: (678) 863-5620Where we do this
FAQ
Straight answers, with the rule or record behind them. Still unsure? Call and ask the crew that digs.
(678) 863-5620On an older house, usually yes. HomeGuide recommends a sewer inspection for homes older than 20 years and notes a standard home inspection typically doesn't include one. HomeGuide puts a 40-ft sewer line replacement at $2,000 to $10,000; a scope costs a fraction of that and gives you a video to negotiate with before your due-diligence period ends.
Source: HomeGuide — Sewer Camera Inspection Cost (Dec 19, 2025)
Often. Orangeburg tends to show as an oval, blistered or delaminating wall where soil pressure has flattened it. The City of Ann Arbor notes a video scan may give clues sufficient to identify the pipe type. It isn't always certain; sometimes confirmation comes when the pipe is exposed.
The transmitter in the camera head is traced from the surface to mark position and depth at each defect. Depth varies from lot to lot and along a single run; the locate tells you the actual depth at your problem spot, which is what drives the size and cost of the dig.
Source: HomeGuide — Sewer Camera Inspection Cost (Dec 19, 2025)
Ask for a copy when you book, and we'll tell you how it's delivered. A recorded run with footage counts and marked locations is useful for a home purchase, for a Gwinnett right-of-way reimbursement claim, and for comparing quotes on the repair.
A camera needs an open pipe to travel through. A heavy root mass or a packed blockage stops it, and HomeGuide notes the scope can't move forward until the obstruction is cleared. The line gets opened first, then scoped again to see what caused the blockage.
Source: HomeGuide — Sewer Camera Inspection Cost (Dec 19, 2025)
It depends on the utility. Gwinnett DWR clears blockages in the right-of-way portion and allows a reimbursement claim, but must see the excavated lateral before repair. NCWSA customers own the line through the tap at the main. A located video is the evidence either way.
Source: Gwinnett County DWR — Lateral policy homeowner handout
Yes. A camera inspection looks inside pipes: the building drain and the line to the street or the tank. A septic inspection opens and pumps the tank, checks the baffles and distribution box, and probes the drain field. On a septic lot you sometimes need both.
No permit is needed to scope a line. Permits come in when the video leads to work: DeKalb requires a plumbing permit before a private sewer line is installed, Monroe requires a city permit to open a public sewer, and septic repairs are permitted by county Environmental Health.
Source: DeKalb County Planning & Sustainability — Watershed Packet (revised 5/6/25)
Keep going
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
A camera run down your sewer lateral shows the root mass, the sag or the crushed joint, and marks where it sits in the yard and how deep. That's the difference between digging one hole and trenching the whole front lawn.
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