Ben Brownell

To sum up several preceding comments, I think the "trilemma" here (i.e. you can get at most two, not all three) is Cheap, Fertile, and Convenient. If you're not concerned about being close to much else in the way of civilization, there are options for low cost productive, sustainable living situations.

Here's a recent example in my region (paging Leila H. - nice secluded corner of Siskiyou!) with a modest two bed house on 40+ acres surrounded by public forest land, for $140k:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10015-Eliza-Gulch-Rd-Yreka-CA-96097/15969513_zpid/

I helped a guy find a nice homestead-ready 160 acres with pasture and creeks for 100k earlier this year, same vicinity. Wildfire is a growing concern that's bringing some prices down here, but it's potentially a very manageable risk for those who know how to work with/around it, and won't be relying on bank loans.

Many rural parts of the state are struggling to retain people and economic activity right now, But if you're self-sufficient or entrepreneurial I think there's good reason to be optimistic for longer term stabilization as the next wave of sustainable/appropriate technology and lifestyle takes hold. That, and the weather's still pretty fantastic!

Enhanced berm sounds promising to me, unless you're really going for an architectural landscape feature. On top of a mound of earth, say half your target height, you can mound up a mass of entangled woody debris if that's readily available, such as sage brush, after clearing an area. Plant on the lee side, and let things overgrow it as it breaks down. Could call that "bergenkultur" if hugel=hill, bergen=mountain??

Another idea is working from the earthship style of 'formed' earth fill, with tires etc, or bag it as with superadobe. Reinforced stucco coat would hold up well.

Great stuff in these last two comments, thank you Burton and Douglas! Just the kind of info I was hoping for. Gives me a much better sense of what to anticipate with these situations, and where to dig deeper on case by case evaluations.

I'll highlight one key paragraph from Burton's first linked paper, which has some diagrams and elaboration starting on pg 28 (including details on groundwater transport which can carry much further, out to 50-100 feet):

"The study of methods of pollution of the soil and water by excreta also provides useful information concerning the design of disposal facilities, especially their location with respect to sources of drinking-water supplies. After excreta are deposited on the ground or in pits, the bacteria, unable to move much by themselves, may be transported horizontally and downward into the ground by leaching liquids or urine, or by rain water. The distance of travel of bacteria in this way varies with several factors, the most important of which is the porosity of the soil. Their horizontal travel through soil in this manner is usually less than 90 cm (3 ft) and the downward travel less than 3 m (10 ft) in pits open to heavy rains, and not more than 60 cm (2 ft) normally in porous soils."

Thanks for these inputs so far, some helpful perspective. I'm not trying to get to a concise answer for a particular scenario, just want to improve my intuitive sense about this topic because it can be consequential and I realize I don't have any hard data / case study type insight; I figured some people here are well versed and able to save me/others more extensive and technical research.

Haven't had any commentary yet on possible persistence of pathogens in or near buried waste - I know that humanure is typically 'binned' for a year or two to eliminate most or worst pathogen load before active composting, would that timeline look similar right in the ground? Could buried waste still pose a localized biohazard some 3,4,5+ years on?

I know it's a little tough to pin down the threshold of "this is going to become a problem for somebody" but I'm interested in hearing some more specific instances or insight into how exactly it has been, or could (very likely) be one.

Obviously, guidelines err on the side of caution - I just don't have any sense of how far, and what the actual mechanisms or "failure modes" are. I'd like to be able to make more informed decisions around some possible edge cases or preemptive mitigation in the future.

One possible scenario for the sake of argument, what if the above described capped untreated waste pit was 50-100' uphill of a pond that people may swim in? Would that be a serious concern? And again, how long (1 year? 5, 10?) could that risk stay elevated?

One data point that comes to mind here are popular backcountry camping lakes that wind up with varying levels of fecal contamination, including one in Wyoming at almost 500X federal 'safety' guidelines...and yet, no evident reports of ill effects:

https://www.kunc.org/news/2025-07-19/wyomings-crowded-lonesome-lake-tops-epas-national-survey-for-fecal-contamination

Would something like this site interest you? Pretty remote, but great water supply it appears!

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/0-Wall-Canyon-Reservoir-Rd-Gerlach-NV-89412/457602959_zpid/

I also like the nearby Surprise Valley in far NE CA if you'd consider crossing the state line, e.g.:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/County-Road-15-Lake-City-CA-96115/452657555_zpid/

Wondering what the rough consensus is around genuine risks 'downstream' of improperly handled/treated solid waste in the ground from alternative toilet rigs, how long it could remain an issue, and what follow up steps could help reduce or eliminate it.

Consider the raw deposit case as a hypothetical - i.e. old school outhouse over a pit, that's been used to capacity and capped with a foot of soil on top. I expect the main issue is going to be how water moves in the ground through the area in question (several variables).

I'm assuming the top concern is pathogenic bacteria finding their way to unexpected human contact, through surface/soil skin contact, surface or ground water contamination, or food/crop tainting. Is there a ballpark sense of how far dangerous levels of bacteria can move from the source? What preventative measures might greatly reduce that (after the fact, with waste in ground as described)? How long would this continue to be a liability from a capped, static deposit? Anyone familiar with actual cases of illness/injury resulting from something like this, or even, say, a poorly utilized humanure compost heap out in the open?

Appreciate any insight or reference points, just trying to get a better understanding of real liabilities in this realm, beyond the usual squeamish paranoia

Biggest barriers in my experience are zoning/permitting (especially for alternative, compact, modular, and/or high density construction), new build + development costs (where land is cheap, suitable infrastructure often isn't), and siting challenges (finding affordable, appealing, resilient land in a location/setting that people will want to stay long term).

I do think there is strong interest in existing mobile home parks among real estate investors, since it's difficult to establish new parks anywhere due to zoning pushback. But they're not working to create affordable ownership opportunities for others. The Co-op structure you mentioned is great, if existing members can pull it off though.

I think there will be more efforts to increase acceptance of small/mobile dwellings in rural areas facing housing crises, with growing appeal of tiny houses that often escape the dated mobile home stigma. But taking that to the next level of dense multi-family development (parks) is challenging. Can be done, but will take coordinated campaigning and lots of $$ to create an opening.

If you want lots more detailed insight, you might reach out to Lee Pera https://www.tinyhousezone.com who has studied and consulted along these lines for a while!

Also going to point to https://skystonevale.org which is working on a creative inclusive affordable development in southern CO.

I'll chime in that there probably ought to be a few distinct tiers of road types, mainly by size and usage, each with possibly rather different construction and maintenance methods. For example, I have what I'll call "access roads" that don't get used regularly by vehicles, more often by foot/bike/cart/utv and are just an 'improved' dirt surface to which I added a thin layer of biochar in order to create a bit more resilient crust on top of the natural turf, minimizing mud exposure (and maintenance burden). In areas with more car traffic, I'm experimenting with adding larger wood chips, again trying to create a thick 'living' mat which holds shape even in mucky conditions. Ben Falk in VT is a big fan of annually refreshed "wood chip gravel" drives in snow-mud zones, I believe.

I'm wondering if any local governments in Canada have something similar to tax default auctions that many/most US counties run annually to recoup unpaid property tax by selling delinquent properties via online auction? It's a good way to pick up exceptional land bargains, but requires a fair amount of practical knowledge and due diligence to assess (and avoid pitfalls).