What to do with the sewage generated by a new development in a low-lying area along the Nantahala River has proven challenging, leading the developer to seek out one of the newest techniques in the septic industry.

The controversial development, called Mystic River, could have up to 60 homes on 35 acres — a long, skinny tract spanning more than 1.5 miles of the river and partly located in the 100-year floodplain.

The developer, Ami Shinitsky, said 28 lots were purchased at an average of $250,000 during a well-promoted one-day sale two weeks ago. People from across the Southeast flocked to the sale for a chance at a private riverside enclave surrounded by protected National Forest Service land.

The outdoors community in the area is lamenting the development, which they say will undermine their way of life in the Gorge and compromise the river and the environment. One of the concerns raised by the outdoors community is over sewage.

Regular septic systems are likely out of the question due to soggy soils in the low-lying area and proximity to the river. Homes will be located on one-third and one-fourth acre lots, which doesn’t allow enough room for septic systems even if the soil was suitable.

Shinitsky will employ a relatively new type of system that disposes of the wastewater using a drip irrigation method. When someone flushes their toilet, takes a shower, does laundry or washes dishes, the wastewater will go into an enclosed underground tank installed on the lot. The waste is filtered and treated in the underground tank. The result is clear water clean enough to drink, says Shinitsky.

The clear water is pumped to the surface where it is dispersed across the ground via a drip irrigation system — namely a large hose fitted with lots of nozzles that slowly release the clear water in tiny drips.

There are drawbacks to the system, however. The drip irrigation cannot be operated if it is raining, if the ground is saturated or if the ground is frozen. The soil has to absorb the drips and not let them run off.

As a result, the system has to have some type of storage capacity that will hold the wastewater until conditions are right, enough capacity to outlast extended frozen or wet times. Shinitsky said each of the underground treatment tanks will have a holding tank attached to it.

The underground tanks where the wastewater is treated before being pumped to the surface are sealed and allow nothing to leach into the soil, said Shinitsky.

A small area can absorb a surprisingly large amount of water. A development in Macon County, Cottages at Lake Osseroga, uses a drip irrigation system. It can discharge up to 4,000 gallons of treated water a day through a hose coiled across a 2-acre area.

A development in the Cashiers area called Mountain Top has applied for a drip irrigation system and is waiting on approval.

Most developments that use surface irrigation systems install an underground system of pipes that brings the waste to one central collection point. The sewage is treated collectively in a mini sewage-treatment plant before the wastewater is dispersed through drip irrigation hoses. Instead of drip irrigation, some subdivisions dispose of the treated water through spray irrigation and use it for irrigation. A spray irrigation system is used by Cullasaja Club and Highlands Cove.

Studying the options

Shinitsky said the question about septic was raised by several of the potential buyers who attended an open house on the property during the one-day sale.

An environmental engineering company called Land Management based in Wilmington recommended the drip irrigation system combined with underground treatment tanks. A soil scientist stated in a letter to Shinitsky that their company “has extensive experience in these types of wastewater systems and we have an excellent record of acquiring similar permits on other tracts.”

The letter was dated May 19, two days prior to the one-day sale.

“We showed them the letter from Land Management, that put everyone’s mind at rest,” Shinitsky said.

But opponents to the development are questioning whether Mystic River is being forthright with buyers about the septic system. Lee Allison with Wildwater Rafting Company said that Shinitsky is alluding that the system has been approved, will be approved or is on the verge of being approved. However, Mystic River has not filed for its permit and has not been inspected by state officials.

A Winston-Salem man and paddling enthusiast who ventured to the area for the weekend to buy a lot said he had been told over the phone that the developer would be putting in a septic system. Written materials handed out to potential buyers at the sale Saturday alluded that septic system approval would be a shoe-in.

“An advanced wastewater treatment system, Earthtek EnviroFilter, approved by the State of North Carolina will be utilized and the permit will be issued to Mystic Lands at the state level,” the literature stated.

A river rafter who attended the sale Saturday said his group was told that approval of the septic system was pending.

“They alluded that it is on the verge of being approved,” said the river guide who attended the sale but asked not be named.

The state will have to permit the system, however, and Shinitsky has not applied for a permit yet. Until a permit for the system is approved, building permits will not be issued.

The state does not automatically hold a public hearing before issuing a drip irrigation septic permit, but if members of the public have concerns about the environmental impact of such as system they can request a public hearing.

Shinitsky said the purchase contract for the properties sold two weeks ago contained language that would give buyers an out if a septic system was not approved and buyers were unable to build on their lots.

“If a buyer fails to receive a building permit as the result of a seller’s deficiency, buyer is entitled for refund on the purchase of his lot,” Shinitsky said.

The anonymous buyer said people attending the one-day sale were told that the wastewater from the septic system would be discharged via drip irrigation off-site.

Shinitsky said he could not comment on where the drip irrigation discharge would be located, whether it could be incorporated into the primary development area or piped away from the development and discharged on another piece of land.

“We have both options,” Shinitsky said. “All that information is under way. It is being handled by our engineers.

“If off-site is an alternative, the distance is just a matter of running a water pipe to another location,” Shinitsky said.

Shinitsky said on-site drip irrigation could also be an option as “we have not devoted all the land to lots. There are parts of the land that remain public.”

Maintenance of the system would fall on the homeowners association, according to Shinitsky.

Shinitsky said homeowners will be responsible for the cost of the underground tanks and the maintenance of the system.

The state requires someone to be in charge of monitoring the system and one back-up person able to operate the system if something happens to the primary person in charge. It is not necessarily a full-time job, but could be someone who performs other maintenance chores on the property as well.

“The most important thing about it is unlike a conventional system that leaches through the ground, the emissions or discharge has to meet the standard of no more than 30 parts per billion of biological material,” said Shinitsky. ”Our system discharges only 5 parts per billion. You could drink that water at 5 parts per billion.”

If the wastewater qualifies as reclaimed water, it could be recirculated and used. Two separate plumbing systems, while more expensive, could allow residents to at least use the water for washing clothes or flushing the toilet.

Shinitsky said this system will be more environmentally sound than other septic systems being used in the Gorge. Nantahala Outdoor Center has a mini-sewage treatment plant that discharges treated wastewater into the river. It has been in place more than 15 years and is operated by a full-time staff person. It discharges below the NOC as the river begins to slow and widen at the headwaters of Fontana Lake.

“Even though our system is cleaner by a factor of six than other systems that do go into the river, our system will not go into the river,” Shinitsky said.