Building New Campground. Opinions Welcome!

agesilaus wrote:
From others who have tried this, the big financial issue is putting in sewer lines and a treatment facility of some sort. You need to talk to your county health dept assuming they handle this sort of thing. Will they allow a big septic tank or not? Are you close to municipal sewer lines and maybe could tie into those?

Power and water are not so costly. But sewer lines have to have the correct slope which gets to be difficult. The slope is 1/4 to 3 inches per foot of line. So if the furthest pad is 200 feet away that puts the line at least 50 inches deep at the near end. You can get around this by putting in pumps but they have to be powered and maintained. It also may mean you'll have to hire a licensed engineer to sign the plans.

Thinking about water they might say this requires a water chlorination system. Depends on how they classify the water system. That means someone would have to get a water treatment license, not so hard since you'd need the lowest level.

Hearing this should make you imagine your money sprouting wings and flying away.

Sorry - but in the 30 years of laying sewer lines - and Hundreds if not thousands of miles laid, normally they were at .5 percent - so in a hundred feet we would have 6 inches of fall, in a normal run. If you have over 2 percent then you need to start to worry about the solid and the liquids separating on the longer runs or wearing out the bottom of the Pipe:).

Plumbers running laterals might have much more (2+ percent) but that is mainly because they use a level whereas a main line is laid with a Laser.

You are correct in the Cost on the Sewer Mains and the Mini Plants required along with good tasting water and the water Requirements - water never stops $$$ as it is tested Weekly in most locations.

Don't mean to be a PITA but ...........