Who Pays for a Water or Sewer Line Leak? Meter-to-House Rules in Cobb, Douglas & Paulding County

When a sewer line leak or water line break shows up in your yard, the first question is who pays: you or the county water system.

When water is bubbling up in the yard or sewage is backing into the tub, the first question most homeowners ask is “Is this my problem or the city’s?” The answer depends on where the break is and which utility serves your address, and in our part of metro Atlanta that utility changes from one town to the next.

Here is how it works across Cobb, Douglas and Paulding County, based on what each utility publishes.

The rule almost everywhere: the meter is the dividing line

Across our service area, utilities follow the same basic split. The utility is responsible for the water main and the meter. The property owner is responsible from the meter to the house, including all inside piping. The City of Marietta spells this out on its service line inventory page: Marietta Water maintains the line from the main to the meter, and the owner is responsible from the meter to the home or business.

Sewer works the same way in reverse. The public sewer main is the utility’s; the lateral that carries waste from your house to that main is typically the owner’s.

Which utility serves your town?

Check the name on your water bill first. Here is who runs water and sewer in each town we serve:

• Marietta (inside city limits): Marietta Water. Homes with a Marietta mailing address outside city limits are usually on Cobb County Water System.
• Smyrna: the City of Smyrna Public Works Water & Sewer Division for most addresses. Its FAQs state that lateral clogs and the sewer cleanout are the property owner’s responsibility.
• Powder Springs: Cobb County Water System, which bought the city’s water and wastewater systems in June 2019.
• Kennesaw, Acworth, Vinings and unincorporated Cobb: Cobb County Water System.
• Austell: the Austell Water System, which serves about 3,300 customers and collects wastewater for treatment at Cobb County’s South Cobb plant.
• Douglasville and Lithia Springs: the Douglasville-Douglas County Water and Sewer Authority (WSA), an independent agency that handles water, wastewater and stormwater.
• Dallas, Hiram and most of Paulding County: Paulding County Water. In July 2025, water service and sewer billing for a number of City of Dallas developments moved to Paulding County Water.

How to tell which side of the meter the leak is on

You can usually answer this yourself in ten minutes:

• Turn off every faucet, appliance, ice maker and irrigation zone.
• Find the meter box near the street and watch the small leak indicator.
• If it’s moving, water is escaping somewhere past the meter.
• Close the main shutoff at the house. If the indicator stops, the leak is inside the house. If it keeps moving, the leak is on the underground line between the meter and the house.
• If water is pooling between the street and the meter, or there’s no water at the meter at all, call your utility.

Sewer backups: yours, or the main?

If only your house is backing up, the blockage is almost always in your drain or private lateral, so call a plumber. If several neighbors are backing up at the same time, the public main is the likely cause and the utility should be called first. A camera inspection shows exactly where a blockage or break is, which settles the question.

What about townhomes and condos?

In attached homes, an HOA may own shared supply or drain lines. Check your association documents. A plumber finding the exact source of the leak is what tells you, your neighbor and the HOA who is responsible.