Wastewater Systems for Your Micro-Resort

By Isaac French

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Last week I showed you how you can be your own designer, at least in part, and save a bunch of money. Today, let’s peel back the curtain on a crucial engineering aspect of building a micro-resort off the beaten path: rural septic systems.

I get a ton of questions about this. And I get it; it was a huge question for me, too.

You're looking for land outside of town to avoid building and operating regulations, but that means you're most likely going to need to design and install your own wastewater treatment system.

Now, this is one of the few areas (along with the concrete foundation drawings for the cabins themselves) that I hired an engineer for.

But even then, it was a collaboration. I walked the site with him and we discussed the least impactful ways to construct a proper system. Because of soil type, we had to settle on an aerobic system. Essentially, this collects the sewage in tanks, then treats and purifies it, then sprays it out as clean water onto the landscape.

Then I sketched it up, and after we were on the same page, he took over completely.

In the drawing below, you'll notice the 4 yellow circles at the bottom. Those are the rotating sprinkler placements. We ended up adding 1 more after adding the laundry facility, but they were all able to fit at the front of the property in the natural buffer area between the county road and the driveway and cabins.

After our concept drawing (above) was complete, the engineer drew the official design drawings shown below. The County then reviewed these and approved it. That process took about 2 weeks.

The sprinklered water irrigates all the grass, and is set on a timer to run only at night, for least disturbance.

Monthly, we replenish the system with bleach. And every 6 months, our licensed maintenance provider comes out to test everything and ensure compliance. This kind of system requires power (for the pumps, etc), as well as a maintenance contract ($300/year), but overall it has been great. No complaints.

It cost $65,000 to install, and took about 4 weeks of work.

Now, multi-unit systems are getting harder and harder to get designed and approved, but thankfully, here in McLennan County they are still allowed. In other places where they're not, you'd either have to construct a separate system for each unit on the same plat (unlikely to be allowed), or subdivide/replat and then do a separate system for each unit.

Building a multi-unit structure with the same roof is a possible workaround here.

Types of Systems

The most common type of system is the Low-Pressure Dose System (LPD). This consists of a septic tank, which holds the wastewater and separates the solids from the liquids, and a drainfield, where the wastewater is distributed and treated by the soil.

These are ideal because no power is required, there is no above-the-soil surface impact. Whether or not you can have one, and how big it will need to be if you can, depends on soil type.

You will want to get a soil evaluation done as part of due diligence when searching for a property. And of course, talk to the County and tell them what you would like to do.

The size of the unit you plan to build, and whether it will have washing machine, bathtub, etc, will have a lot to do with how your project is classified. In our county, the Live Oak cabins (450 sq ft, dishwasher drawer, tub/shower, washing machine) are classified as 1-2 bedroom residences.

But in some jurisdictions, you may find a carveout for small "efficiency units" that require much less tank/field/system capacity. Take advantage of this if you can!

Here are a few different kinds of septic systems that can be installed in rural areas:

1. Conventional septic systems: These are the most common type of septic systems used in rural areas. They consist of a septic tank, which holds the wastewater and separates the solids from the liquids, and a drainfield, where the wastewater is distributed and treated by the soil.

2. Aerobic treatment systems: These septic systems use oxygen to treat the wastewater more efficiently than conventional septic systems. They require electricity to operate and produce a cleaner effluent that can be used for irrigation.

3. Mound systems: These septic systems are designed for areas with poor soil drainage or high water tables. The septic tank is connected to a raised mound of sand and gravel, which provides additional treatment and dispersal of the wastewater.

4. Peat filter systems: These septic systems use a bed of peat moss or coconut fiber to filter and treat the wastewater. They are more expensive to install and maintain than conventional septic systems but are an eco-friendly option.

5. Constructed wetland systems: These septic systems use natural processes to treat the wastewater. They consist of a lined shallow basin filled with gravel and planted with wetland vegetation. The wastewater is treated as it flows through the gravel and is absorbed by the plants.

That's my brain dump on septic. Now feel free to reply back and tell me what questions you have. As always, thanks for reading!! Don’t forget to share the newsletter with anyone who might be interested. Use the link in the footer below to earn rewards as you do.

Have a great Monday (hopefully you're somewhere where you can see the eclipse this afternoon!)

—Isaac