Corrections Policy
Accuracy matters because septic guidance can affect health, property decisions, project budgets, and regulatory compliance. We welcome specific corrections from readers, authorities, and licensed professionals.
What to include
- The page URL and the exact statement you believe is wrong.
- The current official source, rule, document, or first-hand evidence supporting the correction.
- Your contact information in case clarification is needed.
How we respond
We compare the report with primary sources, update substantive errors, change the modification date, and add a visible correction note when the earlier wording could have materially affected a reader's decision. Minor spelling or formatting fixes may not receive a note.
Correction log
October 14, 2026; information cutoff October 13
- Permit statistics: the earlier 502-of-514 figure combined spray and drip categories. TCEQ reports 488 surface irrigation, 14 drip, 5 low-pressure dosing, and 7 other authorizations in the county program for 2024. The guide now uses the correct spray share and distinguishes disposal methods from treatment technology and the stock of existing homes.
- FHA and VA requirements: added FHA's July 27, 2026 well-distance waiver for qualifying existing construction and replaced the outdated HUD handbook reference.
- Terrell eligibility: the 3/4-acre septic ordinance minimum does not by itself establish eligibility. The city's engineering standards generally require sewer and allow limited septic exceptions.
- Oak Ridge emergency repairs: clarified that the 72-hour notification provision does not waive the permit required to replace a tank or disposal field.
- Electricity: replaced a broad household estimate with explicit equipment, runtime, and rate assumptions. The guide distinguishes real input watts from volts multiplied by amps.
- Lifetime costs: corrected a sentence that incorrectly implied an unsuitable conventional design could be permitted. The comparisons now include chlorine allowances, show their exclusions, and warn against adding fees already included in an installation quote.
- Prices: installation and repair ranges are budget allowances, not a documented local quote survey. The $400-$550 permit allowance has not been verified as a current county fee. Chlorine prices are no longer presented as a verified October survey.
September 25, 2026
- Texas 10-acre septic exemption: the earlier version called the exemption narrow but did not say that Kaufman County's TCEQ-approved OSSF order requires a permit for every single-family dwelling regardless of acreage. The article now says the exemption does not apply in the county and carries a correction note.
- Permit authority (permit hub, city vs county guide, and town pages): earlier wording said Forney, Crandall, and other cities might permit septic inside their limits. The county's FAQ names only Terrell and Oak Ridge as issuing their own septic permits, so the pages now say Kaufman County Development Services permits septic inside most city limits.
- Aerobic maintenance: pages now state that the county order requires a licensed maintenance provider, even though state rules let some single-family owners maintain their own system after the initial two-year policy.
Send a correction
Use the contact page and begin the message with “Correction.”