Manatee Cove Sewer (Mis)placement

If you have been to Manatee Cove, at Patrick AFB, FL you know they have added new sites. They are very nice but the placement of sewer hook up is very strange. It is near the front of your RV and right next to your neighbor's patio. Believe it or not, this was actually planned. I know this because I use to camp their regularly. Several years ago (5 or 6 maybe) a few of us arranged a meeting with the base commander concerning the sewer placement because we had been shown the plans. Bottom line--he listened to us then asked the base engineer about it. The engineer showed the plans that he said were the "standard" for Air Force military campgrounds. The sewer hook up on those plans were as you see them now. The commander thanked us for our input, but said he could not deviate from plans prepared by the professionals. Our years of RV experience was simply discounted. File this under "for what it's worth."

This seems to be a common problem for government operated (DOD, National Parks, State Parks, Corp of Engineers) RV parks. RV sites designed by non-RV users!

While this may not be the case here, I believe many health codes require the sewer connection to be at least 10' from a drinking water source. To meet codes, the best solution I've seen is to have the sewer around mid-site (drivers side) and the water at the rear.

Thanks for your comment Larry. That might very well explain why the sewer is set up like it is. A moot point perhaps, but I wonder if there isn't room for compromise.

We are at Ft. Sam Houston and the water and sewer are about 4' apart. The codes are very strict as Larry mentioned and the standard of 10' is the norm. Code does make exceptions to allow water and sewer to be closer together but the depth of each underground is very strict and local codes regulate the depth and size of pipes for each. Take a look at the military campgrounds you travel to and see how many are 10'apart on top of the ground and I would expect we will find more are like Manatee Cove and Ft. Sam Houston. P.S. First deceased Army hubby who died from complications of PTSD was a Civil Engineer so I have a little knowledge of this topic.

Thanks Lam. If this subject comes up when I next visit Manatee Cove I will be better prepared to discuss it and share your knowledge as well as Larry's.