How to Get Gwinnett's Stormwater Credit for Pumping Your Septic Tank

Alcovy Septic mentions the gwinnett stormwater credit septic program on nearly every job, because almost nobody claims it. The county already charges you a stormwater utility fee. If you pump your tank and send in the receipt, it discounts that fee by 10% for five years. The work is one form.

What the credit is

Gwinnett County’s stormwater utility fee credits page states it plainly: “having your septic tank pumped out can earn you a 10 percent credit for five years.”

Three things to know about the mechanics:

• It is a percentage of the stormwater fee, not of your whole water bill and not of the pumping cost.
• It runs five years, which lines up neatly with the three-to-five-year pumping interval the EPA recommends and with the county’s own guidance.
• Total credits are capped at 40% across all categories on any one property, so this stacks with other qualifying measures until you reach that ceiling.

The logic behind it is straightforward: a septic system that overflows to the surface or seeps out of a failing field puts effluent into the same storm drains and creeks the utility fee is there to manage. Roughly 30 percent of Gwinnett households are on septic (Gwinnett County), so maintained tanks are a real part of the county’s water quality strategy.

What the receipt has to show

The credit is documented by a dated receipt from a licensed hauler. Get these on the paperwork before the truck leaves:

1. Date of service — this is the anchor for the five-year window
2. Property address matching the account
3. The hauler’s company name, and ideally the certified pumper’s name
4. Tank size in gallons and gallons removed
5. Findings — baffle condition, filter, sludge depth

Items four and five are not required by the credit form, but they are what make the same receipt useful when you sell the house or apply for a repair permit. Ask for them.

“Licensed hauler” is doing real work in that sentence. In Georgia, pumping must be done by a certified pumper working for a company holding a current County Septage Removal Permit (Georgia DPH). A cash-only truck with no permit produces a receipt the county will not accept — the who can pump guide covers how to verify a company in one phone call.

How to apply

1. Have the tank pumped by a licensed hauler and get the dated receipt. If you have never located the tank, pull your plat first — the Gwinnett septic records guide shows the free lookup.
2. Download the Stormwater Credits Application Form from the county’s fee credits page.
3. Attach the receipt and submit it with the form.
4. Check your next bills. If the credit does not appear, call the county.

For help with the application, Gwinnett’s Department of Water Resources credits line is 678-376-7193. The county’s Stormwater Credits Manual, linked from the same page, has the detail on other credit categories and the 40% cap.

Where it fits in the real math

Be honest about scale: this is a discount, not a rebate for the pump-out. A pump-out in this market runs $280 to $520 for a 1,000-gallon tank — the Lawrenceville pumping cost guide and the cost estimator have the full ranges by size.

The credit’s real value is that it removes the last excuse to defer. Gwinnett’s own Septic Kit puts a 1,000-gallon tank serving four people at roughly every 2.6 years and a 2,000-gallon tank at nearly six — the pumping frequency guide works through your household. A tank on schedule protects the drain field, and a field replacement in Piedmont clay runs $8,000 to $20,000 or more. The credit is a small nudge toward the cheap end of that fork.

If you are not on septic

The credit applies to septic properties. If you have converted, or are about to, the septic-to-sewer conversion guide covers the county’s $4,172 charge and the tank abandonment requirement, and tank abandonment is the service side. One thing worth doing on the way out: the tank still has to be pumped by a licensed hauler before it is crushed or filled, so you may qualify for the credit on that final pump-out if you apply while still on the septic account.

Bottom line

Gwinnett gives you a 10% stormwater fee credit for five years on a dated pumping receipt from a licensed hauler, with all credits capped at 40% total. Get the receipt with date, address, hauler name, tank size and gallons, submit the Stormwater Credits Application Form, and call 678-376-7193 if you need help with it. Book the pump-out that generates the receipt through the contact page or the septic services overview.