“Protecting Your Environment” is the slogan on the whiteboard in Ashli Badders’ office along with a list of the daily assignments for herself and her assistant, both who are certified OSSF designated representatives for Kerr County and certified site investigators. Two other employees are in the office to help residents with information on OSSF issues.

As the population of Kerr County continues to increase, so will the demand for services from a variety of agencies. According to the census bureau the county’s population in 2024 was estimated to be 54,046, a 2.57 percent increase from 2020.  The population of the City of Kerrville in July 2023, the most recent number available, was estimated to be 24,930. The City of Ingram’s population in 2023 was 1,849, meaning that more than 50 percent of the population in Kerr County live in the unincorporated areas of the almost 1100 square miles of property in the county.

Badders presented an update on the program to county commissioners at their Feb. 24 meeting. She began her presentation with a brief history of the county’s OSSF program

“The OSSF (on-site sewage facility) industry has been around for about 35 years. Prior to 1989, there were no statewide regulations of septic systems in Texas. However, a number of local governments were regulating OSSF systems for 15 or more years prior to 1989. Kerr was one of those counties and was the leading county in the state to enforce rules and regulations for septic permitting,” Badders told the court. Kerr County began requiring septic permits in 1977.

She explained that Kerr County, at the time, had one of the most polluted creeks in the state due to malfunctioning septic systems. Camp Meeting Creek which runs from Kerrville South through the Riverhill subdivision and the golf course before it empties into the Guadalupe River had dangerously high pollution levels from failing septic systems in the Kerrville South area.

The problem eventually led to the construction of the Kerrville South Wastewater System, the first of now three wastewater collection systems in the county to address failing septic systems. Badders noted that in 2024 the City of Ingram’s wastewater collection system was completed which is tied into the City of Kerrville’s system on Junction Hwy. and the wastewater is transported to the Kerrville wastewater treatment facility on Loop 534.

The completion of the third wastewater collection system, the East Kerr County Wastewater Project that collects the wastewater from the Center Point area and transports it to Kendall County to the Comfort wastewater treatment facility was also substantially completed in 2024 with only the Phase 5 connecting the last properties to the system in progress now. The wastewater collection systems were built using grants and loans from the state with matching funds from both Kerr County and UGRA.

“Statewide regulations of septic systems began in September 1989. Kerr County is the authorized agent and was delegated the authority by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the state’s agency that enforces the state’s environmental laws) and is authorized to implement and enforce the rules adopted under the Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 366,” Badders explained.

At the time that the county received the TCEQ authorization county leaders decided to contract with the Upper Guadalupe River Authority to manage the county’s OSSF program. UGRA’s role in protecting the quality of the water in the river made the arrangement logical at the time.

Badders said that all of the records from UGRA were transferred to the county when the county created the environmental health department in 2003 and took over the OSSF program at that time. She pointed out that schematic drawings of the septic systems have always been required when permit applications were processed, first by UGRA and now by the county, so anyone needing a copy of their property’s septic system can get one from her office by emailing a request to envhealth@co.kerr.tx.us.

The department is charged with enforcing the rules and regulations of Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 366, the Texas Water Code and Texas Administrative Code 285 dealing with OSSF. They review OSSF plans submitted by certified/licensed contractors, conduct soil tests to be sure the system will comply with regulations and conduct inspections of the OSSF at the conclusion of construction before the system is backfilled. Those steps are required to get a permit in Kerr County.

Other duties of the department include conducting subdivision reviews and investigating complaints.

“State law requires utility companies to report all new electrical services. We receive those reports on a monthly basis and use that data to find out what type of structures are being built in the county and if proper permits are being obtained,” Badders said.

Data shows that there were 182 OSSF permit applications submitted in Kerr County in 2024. The department also investigated 83 complaints. They currently are dealing with 33 active complaints and have 50 OSSF inspections on the calendar for the future. Badders emphasizes that she and her employees are available to give property owners direction to licensed professionals in getting help when determining whether their system is failing or if it needs to be replaced. Under the health and safety code property owners can also be fined for failing to correct septic issues.

In her report last week to commissioners, Badders recommended that the county revise and update the county’s rules with more stringent rules requiring all new septic systems in the county to be permitted regardless of tract size. Currently larger tract sizes require a licensed professional to perform site evaluations, system designs and installations, but are not required to obtain a permit thru the county office which would provide an inspection of the septic system to provide the homeowner with an assurance that it meets TCEQ guidelines.

“A lot of these newer developments around the county with lot sizes larger than our county rules cover will qualify for our OSSF exemptions which are currently based on the minimum state laws,” Badders said.

The rules revision will have to be submitted to TCEQ before the county can implement the new requirement. According to Badders the surrounding counties (Gillespie, Kendall, Bandera, and Real counties) in the Priority Groundwater Management Area have already adopted more stringent rules.

Badders said that her hope is that the Texas Legislature will also update Section 285 of the state’s OSSF rules that currently do not require “planning materials, permit or inspection for a single family dwelling located on a tract of land that is ten acres or larger” and:

• the OSSF is not causing a nuisance or polluting groundwater;

• all parts of the OSSF are at least 100 feet from the property line;

• the effluent is disposed of on the property; and

• the single family dwelling is the only dwelling located on that tract of land.

She also said that it often takes several years at the state level to see updates of rules.

“The state needs to update the current rules for counties with a population over 40,000. I don’t want to wait that long. I want to see our county rules updated as soon as possible because of the growth of new development going on now in Kerr County,” Badders said.

Badders also noted that there are still parts of both the cities of Kerrville and Ingram plus areas outside the new East Kerr County project that are still on septic systems, although there are not many left inside the city limits of Kerrville.

“The problem we are seeing in Kerr County is that people are building additional structures on tracts over 10 acres without obtaining septic permits. The state and county rules also require that the property owner hire a professional engineer or site evaluator to conduct a site evaluation and tell the property owner which type of septic system is needed. They are probably not being done to code,” Badders said.

There are two distinct types of systems used in the Hill Country,  conventional or aerobic. The type needed is determined by the soil testing (both depth and type of soil) that is done by the engineer or site evaluator and again by the county before the go ahead is given for construction.

Conventional septic systems use an underground septic tank in the ground, usually concrete tanks are used in the Hill Country and an underground soil absorption drainfield to treat the wastewater.

Aerobic treatment units use microorganisms and oxygen to treat the wastewater and require a constant oxygen supply to promote the growth of aerobic bacteria. Modern aerobic systems use an underground septic tank and require a pump and electricity.  The treated wastewater from spray distribution systems is sometimes used for surface irrigation on the property. The City of Kerrville has treated wastewater that is used on golf courses and several other properties within the city limits and sells the treated wastewater to contractors to use on road construction or other appropriate projects.

Aerobic systems can be more expensive and require more maintenance than other septic tank systems.

“The biggest concern we have is the potential pollution of our drinking water and the aquifer plus surface water from the run-off of the wastewater,” Badders added.

County rules require that when a property is connected to a wastewater collection system, or a new septic system is installed, that the old system be pumped and septic tank crushed.

“The failing systems we are seeing today are mostly systems that were constructed in the 1980s. A lot of them have a life span of about plus 30 years,” Badders added.

New residents to Kerr County who purchase homes in subdivisions that have central water systems (usually owned by the subdivision residents or a privately owned company) but still rely on individual septic systems are notified at the time of purchase that the system exists.

“Sometimes we see homes with older septic system being occupied by newer families who inadvertently increase the hydraulic wasteload which can causes the septic to fail if it’s not being properly maintained,”  Badders noted.

Currently several major subdivisions outside the Kerrville or Ingram City limits, many with lots under one acre and others will much larger than 10 acre tracts, continue to rely on private OSSF. They include, to the south of the river, Saddlewood, Bear Paw and other subdivisions off Sheppard Rees Road and Bear Creek Rd. Additionally subdivisions off Texas 173 includes The Woods, The Homestead, Silver Hills plus subdivisions off Hwy 16 including Southern Hills and Treasure Hills and others all the way to the Bandera County line are still on OSSF.

Subdivisions to the north toward the Gillespie County line include  Whiskey Canyon, Northwest Hills, Aqua Vista/Tierra Vista, Kamira, and Kerrville Country Ranch Estates. To the west,  subdivisions still on OSSF include Greenwood Forest, Ingram Hills, Stablewood Springs,  Cave Springs, Cypress Springs, plus the communities of Hunt and  Mountain Home. Several new subdivisions are planned for West Kerr County on ranches that are being subdivided in that area.

Heading eastward the subdivisions still on septic systems include Creekwood, Guadalupe Heights, Split Rock, Oak Ridge, Westwood Oaks, Falling Waters and the Reserve at Falling Waters.

In addition to subdivisions there are private residences throughout the county on septic plus a number of mobile home parks, over 30 summer camps, many along the river, and multiple RV parks that are on septic systems.

In addition to septic permits required by the county, Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District currently requires newly subdivided land to be at least 10 acres or larger to drill a water well, which then places these subdivided lots into an exempt status for septic system for a single-family dwelling only. If a subdivision has a central water supply for multiple tracts, a different permit is required for that larger community well.

For more information on the county’s OSSF program go by their office at the county building at 550 Earl Garrett. They have multiple brochures produced by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service on septic systems plus other information available at the office. The office phone is (830)896-9020 or go to the county website for more information: www.kerrcountytx.gov where you can find information under the section Environmental Health Department, OSSF Division.