Septic Question

[wtb90]

I am building a cabin in Somerville inside the city limits. To tie into their current line, I will need to run roughly 250' of pipe and install a grinder and a lift station. The quotes on this are between 8k-10k.

I talked to a gentleman at the city today to inquire about the possibility of installing a septic tank and avoiding tying into the city. His immediate response was "no, you do not have enough land". This was interesting because we had never discussed the amount of land that I am purchasing. The lot that is in question is 2.1 acres.
I can't seem to find any consistent information on the Web as how many acres are necessary or county regulations on installing a septic tank.

Any info or advice is greatly appreciated.

[texasair]

Small town=hire a local to represent you if you want any exceptions to normal procedures

[WCB]

2.1 is enough. They may not let you, but it would work. Except in real wet years...

[kingranch]

It's 1 acre here in lakeway

[Big Bill]

I installed a few up there and always a pain in the ***. Anywhere near the lake is a nightmare and the grinder pump system should be way cheaper than an aerobic system so shop around.

[kmitchl]

I am building in Montgomery county. 1.5 acres. Quotes for the septic are in the $6000 range. Then you must have an annual maintenance contract. IIRC this is around $350 per year. I was quoted a lift station at around $3000. Somehow it seems that everything to do with plumbing is made of gold.

[flywise]

County and city regs on septic tanks are typically a bunch of bull hock
These people making these regs are like little commies that love twisting people.
A guy at work ( williamson cnty) had to replace his 30 yo septic and he HAD to spend almost 19k

OP, of course 2 ac is plenty of land for a septic. Hell 1/2 ac is plenty but regardless of reality these folks want you to have to spend as much money as possible

[bowhunterchris]

Just put a traditional septic in. Who needs the hassle of aerobic?

[wal1809]

Going through some of this myself with Fort Bend County. Anytime we deal with government regulations, things get hard to understand and frustrating.

[SB09]

Just put a traditional septic in. Who needs the hassle of aerobic?

That's a great thought if they allow you to do so. A lot of places won't allow traditional systems anymore unless the size of the house and soil is right for it. More often than not, they will demand you use an aerobic system.

The person telling the OP that his land is not enough acres is wrong in my opinion.

[wtb90]

Just put a traditional septic in. Who needs the hassle of aerobic?

The traditional tank is what I was inquiring about. An aerobic will be as much or more than tying into the city.

[wtb90]

Going through some of this myself with Fort Bend County. Anytime we deal with government regulations, things get hard to understand and frustrating.

Yup. All of the planning and organizing was kind of fun until we got to the septic.

[wtb90]

I installed a few up there and always a pain in the ***. Anywhere near the lake is a nightmare and the grinder pump system should be way cheaper than an aerobic system so shop around.

You installed traditional tank systems up there?

[Russ79]

When I bought my house 20 years ago I would have put in aerobic if I would have had the money. The main reason is that even in a drought I have to poop and peepee so the grass would get watered without me having to run a sprinkler to keep things alive.

[Big Bill]

There are a few areas there that have the correct soil for a leach field but if you have clay they simply will not work. That is why most are aerobic. Last one I did was around 10k and the grinder lift set up should not come anywhere near that. The amount of land is not the only consideration here as some of the above statements are just wrong. Soil condition, Water well location, property lines and the neighbors existing well and septic are all considerations As well as the city laws that just don't allow septics any longer if public sewer is available. If your allowed to do the construction yourself it is pretty simple and I will be glad to answer any questions you may have. Generally from the tap to the home is the homeowners responsibility and you can do it yourself with a rented trencher and backhoe, but check the laws and let me know, I moved from that area 15 rears ago so I don't keep up with the city regs.