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Septic haulers might have to raise their prices to keep up with a 300-plus-percent increase in septic intake rates from the Kingsland Municipal Utility District. The utility district’s Board of Directors voted in October 2024 to increase its septic intake rate from 8.25 cents per gallon to 25 cents per gallon. The new rate kicked in on Jan. 1.

“We don’t know exactly how it’s going to impact us,” Gary Kinard, owner of Kindard’s Plumbing and Septic in Kingsland, told DailyTrib.com. “What are we going to do? How are we going to overcome this?”

KMUD is building a $14.8 million septic processing facility to replace its aging system. The new facility is expected to go into operation in late 2026 or early 2027.

The KMUD facility is the primary disposal site for the Highland Lakes septic tanks and is heavily used by local septic haulers serving homes and businesses not on a wastewater system. Recreational vehicles and property owners with the ability to pump and transport their own septic waste use the facility to a lesser extent.

“Nobody likes a rate increase, but we had to do this to justify the new facility,” KMUD General Manager J. Horry told DailyTrib.com following the rate hike.

Most KMUD customers use the district’s wastewater system rather than septic, Horry said. 
 
“To justify building and operating (the new septic facility), we had to have a rate increase,” he said. “It’s not fair to the taxpayers to raise tax rates when they aren’t utilizing the service.”
 
KMUD’s septic drop-off rate has been 8.25 cents since 2008. The increase was overdue, according to Horry, and recommended by engineers working on the design for the new facility. 
 
Cody Young, owner of Septic and Maintenance by Cody Young in Kingsland, said his company is likely the largest user of KMUD’s septic intake services, with 35 employees hauling across the Highland Lakes area. He estimates his current rate of $375 for pumping out a standard home’s septic system (a 750-gallon tank) will have to rise to about $550.

“We’re all going to have to go up,” Young said. “The sad part is the only person it is really going to affect is the customer.”
 
KMUD is the primary provider of septic intake services in the area. The city of Marble Falls takes in a small amount, 10,000 to 15,000 gallons a day, at a rate of 10 cents per gallon. The other option is hauling waste to Austin.

dakota@thepicayune.com