how to connect to sewer tap

Question

I purchased home in MAbleton, Georgia (Cobb County near Atlanta) without knowing septic tank issues 5 months back. Wholesaler did not mention about the issues. I like to permanently fix by connecting to sewer tap. Other option is fix the field lines at half the price but looks like sand quality bad and space in the backyard not that big. Any ideas how to approach. Whom to contact. Which contractor does this at reasonable price, quality work? Please advise. Thanks in advance

Account Closed · Answer

Talk to your city or county.  Don't be afraid of them.  If you are honest and ask for their advice, in my experience, they will be helpful.  If you try to hide from them and then they have to deal with you in an official capacity, they can be adversarial.

Just go talk to them.  Explain your situation and ask for their advice.  They will probably help you understand your septic tank situation and give you good advice and maybe even references for good contractors, if you need them.

If you want to just go ahead and hook up to the city/county sewage system, there are normally easements for utilities.  So, this means you will probably have the right to connect to them, even if it means connecting by going on to your neighbor's land.  Normally, whenever there are city or county utilities, there are easements that say the government has the right to go onto that land.  And I'm pretty sure that no property owner can prevent a neighbor from accessing the utiities that are on their land.

But, all of this can be answered by your city or county planning or building department.  Just go talk to them and be honest and ask for their advice and help.  Odds are if there are any permits required or fees, etc., they'll end up discovering you owe them money anyway.  So, you might as well get on their good side and get lots of great free advice from them, too, in a friendly manner.

Dawn P. · Answer

Account Closed I'd go down to your local city utility dept. in person and talk to someone, they should be able to look up your property and tell you what you can do. I changed one of my rentals over to city sewer recently after the septic tank started failing, it only cost me $600 for them to come out and put a tap in, plus a couple hundred to my plumber to run the line from the house to the street. It was cheaper than $4000 for a new septic tank and drain field.

Aaron K. · Answer

Account Closed my guess is repairing the septic is going to be far more cost effective, and if they are full you'll likely need to empty them anyway as this can be a lengthy process depending on jurisdiction.  I'd talk to the city ASAP though as they'll best be able to give guidance on cost, feasibility and timeline.

Aaron K. · Answer

Account Closed it depends where the city has run the sewer line, if it runs down that street then it may be expensive but doable, if the sewer isn't even in your neighborhood it may not be possible at all or it could cost tens of thousands of dollars.  First stop should be the city to find out where the sewer line is.

Gp G. · Answer

what is curtain drain means suggested by one contractor to stop neighborhood water flow into my property septic tank and field lines. Please advise

Gp G. · Answer

i just spoke to cobb county water department. They mentioned they will send some one to check how feasible it is to connect to city sewer tap. Also they said i need easement from one neighbor. They said there could be 4000$ tap fees but since this is duplex fees may be different. He is going to figure out and call me based on that. Hope they can connect without too much charge to me.

With all rains the sewer situation going from bad to worst

Any idea how to find a property is on county sewer or has its own septic tank in the back like this property?

Please advise

Gp G. · Answer

contracotrs who saw the place says sand quality also bad  as lot of rain water etc getting stagnated

Also previous owner used unprofession uncertified people like his friends to change field lines 3 years back which worked ok for couple of years and started giving problems and he sold to me 6 months back through wholesaler. I did not know until i bought about septic issues

Changing field lines is cost effective but not sure due to sand quality and down hill water stagnation etc. issues changing field lines may again repeat same issues in future. That is why thinking to go with option of connect to county sewer even though initial set up cost high.

Any good recommendation of contractors for this work. Please advise

Gp G. · Answer

Absolutely. My property is down hill and lot of water is stagnated when the big rain comes from surrounding areas and properties and damaging the field lines and filling the tanks in 3-4 days fast. I will call county tomorrow to get information on nearest sewer tap to connect. Hope they have one inside my property or near by

Gp G. · Answer

i heard near the street road from where i take right turn to reach my property crossing 1, 2 homes. How to get easement from neighbors if needed. Not sure if i can run those pipes on the road where i take right turn? When i contacted City they cannot locate my address which is like 259 main street. They can locate 258 Main street though.

Now both tanks of duplex almost full. Is it better to empty before calling County tomorrow? I was told 170$ repair permit and 400$ soil test.

Instead of repairing field lines i am inclined towards connecting to county sewer tap do i still need to pay repair permit 170$ and soil test fee for 400$

Please advise

Parker Eberhard · Answer

@Praveen Gudimetla sounds like you may need to have a civil engineer involved if there are water issues that are affecting your property as well.