What to do with a brand new septic tank when all grey nd black water is successfully recycled?

So, if I am successful in organizing a way to save all my grey water and compost down all the black water then I won't need to install a 7k septic system, however, our county requires that we have one. What will I do with this thing?

Store water

I am torn with advising you to raise as much of a fuss as possible, newspaper articles and such trying to shame them into changing or keeping your head down and putting them off forever. I have heard of both being successful. Is this a stipulation for a building permit, occupancy permit or something else?

We just had a 7 year stretch with an overzealous building inspector in our township. In at least one case he got overturned by the local courts, the township took the landowner to court to try to enforce something and the court agreed with the landowner. It can be done successfully but negotiation is always preferable.

It's the one thing the county regulates, septic. It's not %100 set in stone that we have to get one, but it's most likely.

Still working on conformation now.

What area of North America are you in James, although I understand if you don't want to say.

Naw, it's cool. Texas. near dallas.

If you do have the energy and the patience most officials need to be nudged toward open mindedness. It may not help you but it will be breaking the ice for the next person and if you are very lucky or really patient you might be the breakthrough case. I have been working on my local council members to remove the minimum square footage requirement for a dwelling. Next is sanitation.

If the tank is accessible via a manhole, and it's big enough to get into, might make a good tornado/wildfire shelter, or root cellar/fermentation room/wine cellar??

Hide the body?

I'll play the other side of this argument...

You get your prefect system of composting and greywater recycling up and running. All is well until five years down the line when you get hit by a car and spend 18 months recovering. You can no longer get to the garden to rearrange soaker hoses and infiltration pits for your greywater. The compost toilet is defunct because you cannot empty it. You now have a grey water system that can't be maintained and need to find an alternative for the compost loo.

Yes, they standard system may be overkill, but it is like an insurance policy against the worst happening - your property will always have a system that works and does not depend on the will/fitness of the owner/operator.

To install a system that is expensive and possibly not use it is not an option I would choose. I like the idea of the flush ready system or a simpler version. In flush ready the internal piping is in place and a site has been approved for a planned septic system on the property. I would agree with piping in the house for a septic, it is a slightly higher cost than piping greywater but not much.

I also don't mind the approval process for a system as long as the cost is minimal. For the very basics I would recommend putting in a main vent pipe in the house. This pipe could not be easily retrofitted but can be cheaply installed during construction for possible future use. I do agree with Michael that eventually if the house survives someone may want flush toilets in it. Having said that I believe that it is buyer beware and take responsibility for your own actions. If a homeowner, or their heirs, take a hit on resale because of previous decisions that is their business. If they saved 7000 dollars decades before they may have made a wise decision.