Line 31 of the Texas Real Estate Commission's Seller's Disclosure Notice gives a seller three checkboxes in a row: "Plumbing System," "Septic System," "Public Sewer System." Each one is marked yes, no or unknown. In most Texas towns those categories cover the possibilities. Dripping Springs this fall has more possibilities than the form has boxes.
Some homes going up west of Austin will have their wastewater stored in an enclosed tank and hauled away by truck. Others will be served by a system a private contractor runs until the city is ready to take it over, and at least one subdivision runs on a treatment plant owned by its homebuilder. All of these come from one constraint: the city's main treatment plant is close to full, and the expansion that fixes it is still years from finished.
The Plant Every New Subdivision Is Waiting On
The South Regional Wastewater Reclamation Facility is the city's main treatment plant. Community Impact reported on August 28, 2026 that the plant had been near capacity for several months and unable to accept most new large connections. The city has been trying to expand it for more than a decade. It applied for a state discharge permit in 2015 and received it in 2019. The Save Our Springs Alliance then challenged the permit in court, and in April 2025 the Texas Supreme Court ruled for the state environmental agency and the city.
The expansion would raise capacity from about 162,500 gallons per day to 822,500. The schedule is still a forecast. The city plans to issue a notice to proceed for phase one in December, start construction in 2027, and finish phase one in two and a half to three years. A 2025 developer presentation to the city gave an earlier estimate, saying the plant was "anticipated to be commissioned in late 2028." Taken together, the city's own timelines put new central capacity somewhere between late 2028 and 2029.
The existing plant is also under strain. In the city's utilities report for September 2026, presented October 15, staff recorded violations for biochemical oxygen demand that month. The daily average was 5.13 mg/l against a permit limit of 5.0, and staff were looking into supplemental air for the aeration basin. City sewer is getting more expensive too. Rates that took effect with September bills raised the residential base fee from $28.88 to $43.32. For a customer using the average 6,578 gallons a month, the projected bill rose from $55.52 to $80.62.
Growth has continued anyway, so the gap is being filled with interim arrangements. Community Impact counted more than 3,800 lots or units in area developments using alternative wastewater solutions.
What the City's Own Report Says, Subdivision by Subdivision
The October 15 utilities staff report lists most of these developments by name. Capacity is counted in living unit equivalents, or LUEs. Here is where each one stood for September 2026.
| Development | Size | Interim wastewater arrangement | Stated next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Village Grove | 571 LUEs | Pump-and-haul for up to 75 LUEs | TLAP treatment plant to start construction in October 2026 |
| Carter Ranch | 285 LUEs | Infrastructure built; most of the system operated by Si Enviro | City takes over operation once the regional plant adds capacity |
| Anarene, also called Double L | 3,393 LUEs | Pump-and-haul approved for 250 LUEs, covering all Phase 1 lots | Phase 1 construction started; lift station under review |
| Feller's, built by Tri Pointe | 18 LUEs | Pump-and-haul approved for 12 LUEs | Connect to city system when new capacity is operating |
| Wild Ridge, by Cynosure | 1,050 LUEs | Water and wastewater plan under review | Not yet stated |
Two more names complete the picture. Big Sky Ranch runs on its own plant. A renewal application at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality lists Meritage Homes as the owner and seeks authorization for up to 78,800 gallons per day through subsurface drip disposal, with the City of Dripping Springs named as the facility operator. New Growth at Roger Hanks, a 245-lot development planned at US 290 and Roger Hanks Parkway, is not moving ahead until the regional plant has more capacity.
Who Owns It, Who Runs It, Who Pays
These arrangements differ most in who owns the equipment, who runs it, and who covers the cost when the numbers don't work. The answers vary from one subdivision to the next.
At Feller's, Tri Pointe's wastewater utility service and fee agreement with the city requires the owner to contract with a TCEQ-licensed provider to pump, haul and maintain the facilities. Homeowners pay the city's standard wastewater rates. Until the lots convert to permanent service, the city passes those monthly charges to the owner less a 6% administrative charge, and the owner is responsible for any deficiency in running the system. The developer's own presentation to the city shows how the schedule slipped. When Tri Pointe agreed to buy the 14-acre tract on April 21, 2025, the expectation was that the city plant would be running in late 2027, before the first residents moved in. The estimate moved to late 2028, first occupancies are not expected until early 2028, and pump-and-haul is meant to cover a gap the developer expects to last less than 12 months. That gap estimate depends on the plant forecast, which has already moved once.
Village Grove is set up differently. A 2025 amendment to its agreement has the city operating a temporary package plant, the developers paying its lease or purchase costs, and the city collecting rates from customers. The same amendment lets Village Grove and the 144-home Gateway Village share one 75-LUE pump-and-haul allocation, and the city said pump-and-haul should give way to a package plant or city discharge plant "as quickly as is commercially feasible." At Carter Ranch, a private operator runs the system first and the city takes over later. At Big Sky Ranch, the plant is owned by the homebuilder.
Two houses with similar floor plans and similar prices, a few miles apart, can therefore rest on very different wastewater setups. One may depend on a hauling contract, another on a builder's lease, another on a city handoff that is tied to a construction schedule.
Why the Standard Paperwork Can't Show Any of This
TREC's current Seller's Disclosure Notice is Form 55-1, and TREC describes it as a form for previously occupied single-family residences. Most of the interim arrangements above serve new construction, so the form may never come up in those sales. When it does, a home on a hauled-tank system or a contractor-run plant gets the same "Septic System" and "Public Sewer System" boxes as everyone else. The form also asks whether the seller knows of defects or malfunctions in "Plumbing/Sewers/Septics." That question covers the condition of the system, not who owns or operates it.
The disclosure requirement itself comes from Texas Property Code §5.008. It applies to sellers of residential property with no more than one dwelling unit, subject to listed exceptions. If the notice is delivered after the contract takes effect, the buyer may terminate within seven days of receiving it. A separate statute, Texas Water Code §49.452, requires a written notice titled "Notice to Purchaser of Special Taxing or Assessment District" before a binding contract when the property lies in a qualifying district. Neither document is designed to explain a temporary arrangement between a developer, a contractor and the city.
Where the Answers Are on File
For any specific address, the records exist. They are just spread across several agencies.
- City utility reports. The Dripping Springs Utility Commission receives a monthly staff report listing each development's wastewater status. That October 15 report is the source of the table above.
- The state's service-area map. The Public Utility Commission of Texas runs a CCN Viewer showing which retail water and sewer providers hold certificated service areas. A certificate gives its holder the exclusive right to serve that area.
- The city service agreement. The city's water and wastewater service agreement includes a separate checkbox for a grinder pump. It notes that central sewer service may require a pump station on the property and makes the customer responsible for routine operation and maintenance of the on-site pump components.
- County septic files. For homes with an individual on-site system, Hays County releases existing permit records through a public information request, including by email to [email protected]. The county requires aerobic and other advanced systems, including drip irrigation, to have maintenance contracts with a licensed provider.
Why This Fall Leaves Room to Ask
Buyers have more time to ask these questions than they did a year ago. In September 2026, according to Unlock MLS figures reported by My Neighborhood News, Hays County closed 294 residential sales, down 30.5% from September 2025. Months of inventory rose to 4.8, active listings rose 4.9% to 1,898, and homes sold for an average of 93.2% of their original list price. The county's September median of $399,900 was up 10.8%, but the same report notes that a countywide median reflects which homes happened to sell that month. With fewer closings and more inventory, a buyer comparing two new Dripping Springs subdivisions can usually request the wastewater documents before making an offer instead of piecing them together during the option period.
Questions We Hear About Dripping Springs Sewer Service
Does pump-and-haul mean a homeowner schedules the trucks? At Feller's, the owner must contract with a licensed provider to pump and haul, and homeowners pay the city's standard rates. Other subdivisions have their own agreements, so check the terms for each one.
When will the interim systems connect to the city? That depends on the regional plant. The city's current forecast puts phase-one construction in 2027, with completion two and a half to three years after it starts.
Can a resale home in an older part of town be affected? The capacity limit applies mainly to new large connections. As the city's deputy city administrator put it to Community Impact, "we're not going to tie in a large subdivision to it because it can't handle that." Existing city customers pay the new rates, though.
This post is general information, not legal or financial advice. Please confirm the disclosure and contract terms for any property with a qualified attorney or the right professional.
If you're comparing new construction in Dripping Springs, Dicker Morin Group can help you gather the utility agreements, service-area records and county files for each address before you commit, so you know how a home's wastewater is handled now and what is scheduled to change. Book a consultation, and we'll go through it with you.
