Individual homes still can use any of a variety of types of on-site systems, based on what best fits site conditions. However, one or more components of the system are shared by two or more users. For example, a small group of homes at a remote site could share a septic tank or a drainfield. As stated before, few cluster systems have been installed in Texas yet. The lake and surrounding lands are owned and managed by a corporation, but individual members own their homes.
Homeowners are responsible for their property halfway to their neighbors.
The Green's home was built on a pier and beam, and their lot slopes down from a gravel road to the lake. The plumbing flows to the rear of the house towards the lake and the sewer exits at the rear into a septic tank that was shared with a neighbor. There were no drainfield lines. Instead, a sewer line flowed toward the lake. Short found the septic tank was too close to the lake, that it was not possible to add a new septic tank and dosing tank at the site because the lot was narrow and covered with trees, and that the groundwater table was too high for a standard septic tank and drainfield or other subsurface system.