LCRA Septic Inspections And Rules
Get Your Septic Ready For The LCRA
Inside 2,000 feet of Lake Travis, the LCRA permits your septic and inspects it at every sale. We work under its rules and ahead of its visits.
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Rules In The LCRA Zone
Where The LCRA Septic Rules Apply
Not sure the LCRA septic program covers your lot? Its rules reach any septic system within 2,000 feet of Lake Travis, and the LCRA's map shows whether your address is inside.
Inside that line, the LCRA is your permit office instead of the county. Outside it, Travis County, Austin Water or your city does the permitting. HomeField Travis County works with all of them, so you don't need to know which office is yours before you call.
When A Property Changes Hands
If you're selling, the LCRA side comes down to one step: the new owner needs the LCRA's sign-off on the system (the LCRA calls it an approval for continued use), and an LCRA inspector checks the system first. That approval is good for six months, so the LCRA recommends getting it done before closing.
Our real estate inspection gives you a full picture of the system before the LCRA septic transfer inspection; it doesn't take that inspection's place. We can pump the tank, fix what needs fixing and run ours ahead of the visit, so buyer, seller and agents work from the same facts.
The Zone
2,000 feet from Lake Travis
Lakeway splits: check your address
The LCRA's map shows your side
On A Sale
New owner, new LCRA approval
Done by an LCRA inspector
Approval good for six months
Before You List
Pump-out ahead of the inspection
Repairs before the LCRA visit
Our inspection, ahead of theirs
SERVICES
Septic Services Inside The LCRA Zone
Pumping, repairs, inspections or a new system near the lake: here's how each one works under the LCRA's rules.
Lids buried somewhere on a sloping lake lot? We find the tank and dig to the lids, which saves you the hunt, and we warn you before any deep digging.
Most systems around the lake are aerobic, and every aerobic pump-out includes a check of the aerator, spray heads and control panel, because those are the parts that wear. We quote before we pump, and the quote is the price.
- Lids found and dug for you
- Aerobic parts checked each time
- Price quoted before pumping
Building inside the zone means the system needs an LCRA septic permit before anything goes in the ground. Thin soil over limestone pushes most new systems here toward aerobic units with spray heads.
We handle the permit with the LCRA and build to the design it approves, so you deal with one company from the first drawing to the finished system. Call with the lot's address, and we'll walk you through what it will likely need.
- Built to the approved design
- Made for thin soil over rock
- Aerobic spray systems installed
Spray heads that stopped spraying, an aerator gone quiet, a control panel light that won't clear: each is a moving part on an aerobic unit, and moving parts wear.
Call us and describe what's going on, and we'll tell you over the phone what you most likely need. If a fix ever calls for an LCRA permit, we help you with that step, and you approve the work before it starts.
- Aerators, spray heads, panels
- Likely fix named on the phone
- Permit help if one's needed
Owning an aerobic system inside the zone means an inspection about every four months. That's a lot of dates to keep track of on top of owning a lake home.
We handle all of your legally required inspections with an Advantage Plan, which moves the dates onto our calendar. Each visit checks the system overall, and plans start at $39 a month. Not sure which plan fits? Give us a call.
- Every legally required visit
- Visits about every four months
- Whole system checked each visit
Replacing an old system, or building where rock sits close to the surface, starts with a design the LCRA will approve, so the plan has to fit the lot from the first drawing.
We run it start to finish: a licensed designer qualified for your site draws the plan, we handle the permit, and you deal with us instead of a string of offices. Tell us about the lot and what you want to build.
- Licensed designer on every plan
- Redesigns for Old Lakeway lots
- One company, drawing to build
Listing a home inside the zone? The new owner needs the LCRA's approval for the septic system, so its condition matters to buyer and seller alike.
Ahead of the LCRA's visit, our real estate inspection runs a full test of the system and looks at each part on site. Whoever pays gets the detailed write-up, and buyer, seller and agents all get the same one. Call us and we'll set it up around your listing.
- Full test of the whole system
- Each part inspected on site
- Detailed write-up for all parties
A business inside the zone can't close for its septic system, so we can pump after hours or on a day you're shut. The system stays under its LCRA permit; we keep it working the way that permit expects.
Commercial pricing depends on the size of the tank, so call us for a free quote. Our crew locates the tank and digs to the lids, and aerobic units get their moving parts checked on the same visit.
- Free quote sized to your tank
- Aerobic parts looked over on site
- Lids located and dug
A new commercial system inside the zone has to be designed for the way the building will really be used, then approved by the LCRA before any work starts.
A licensed designer qualified for the building draws the plan, then we install to the design the LCRA approves. Tell us how the building will be used, and the quote that follows is free.
- LCRA approval before work starts
- Designed for the building's use
- Free quote on the full job
When a commercial system acts up, you need it sorted before it gets in the way of business. Aerobic units at a business wear the same parts a home unit does.
Tell us on the phone what the system is doing, and you'll get a likely fix named before anyone drives out. If the repair ever needs an LCRA permit, we'll walk you through that step.
- Likely fix named by phone
- Help with any permit step
- Aerators, pumps and panels
A business running an aerobic unit in the zone has an inspection due about every four months, and with a business to run, those dates are easy to lose.
We keep the system on that schedule and look over the whole system each visit, so the dates come off your list. Call us for a free quote on your property's inspections.
- Visits about every four months
- Whole system checked each visit
- Free quote for your property
Designing for a business inside the zone means planning for real daily use on ground where rock often sits near the surface, then getting the LCRA's approval before anything is built.
We run the process: we match the project with a licensed designer, and we handle the permit with the LCRA. Call us for a free quote on the design.
- Plans sized for daily use
- Designer matched to the site
- Free quote on the design
WHERE WE WORK
Who Permits Your Septic
Lakeway doesn't issue septic permits. Part of town, Old Lakeway especially, falls under the LCRA and part under Travis County, and we work under either; our septic in Old Lakeway page covers the town in more depth.
If your lot fronts Lake Austin, Austin Water permits your system instead, and within 75 feet of the water the system also has to strip nitrogen before the water goes out. We service those the same way we do on Lake Travis.
Out along Hamilton Pool Road and in Bee Cave, the City of Bee Cave's building official permits septic inside city limits; outside them it's Travis County, or the LCRA on lots near the lake. Whichever office permits your system, we pump, repair, design and inspect to its rules.
Places Around The Lakes
Old Lakeway
Lakeway
Lake Travis shoreline
Lake Austin frontage
Bee Cave
Hamilton Pool Road
What Travis County Says
Read What Customers Wrote
Water Quality On The Lakes
Why The LCRA Watches Septic Near The Lakes
If the rules on your lake lot feel stricter than a house a few miles inland, it's because of where the lot sits. The zone follows the shoreline because, for the LCRA, water quality and septic can't be separated near the lakes.
For you, that means an LCRA permit and the inspections that come with it. We keep your system working within that permit, so the rules aren't one more thing you track.
Aerobic Systems And Contracts In The Zone
If your yard has spray heads, your system is aerobic. Inside the zone, a new one starts out on a two-year initial maintenance contract, and after that Texas still wants an inspection roughly every four months, because the aerator, the pump and the control panel are moving parts that wear.
On an Advantage Plan, we do those inspections and file each one with the LCRA, so keeping up with Lake Travis septic rules stops being your job.
POPULAR QUESTIONS
Questions About The LCRA Septic Rules
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MAINTENANCE PLAN
CHOOSE YOUR ADVANTAGE PLAN
Plans start at $39 a month, and each one covers the legally required inspections an aerobic system needs inside the zone. Call us if you're unsure which fits.
InspectionAdvantage Plan
The affordable way to stay compliant and keep an eye on the system. Repairs aren't covered: parts and labor are billed as they come.
MID-TIER
MechanicalAdvantage Plan
Stay compliant and skip the costly surprises. Covers repairs on the mechanical parts that actually fail out here: pumps, floats, compressors.
Full CoverageAdvantage Plan
For the homeowner who never wants to think about septic again. Mechanical, electrical, sprinkler heads, and pumping after year one.
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