Off-Grid Living in Washington County, Nebraska

Washington County, Nebraska is one of the more actively regulated counties I've researched for off-grid purposes, and it's worth understanding right away that this county isn't "unzoned" like a lot of rural Nebraska. I'm laying out what I found from official sources, but this is research, not legal advice, and you should confirm specifics with the offices named below before you buy land or start building.

Zoning: Washington County has adopted its own zoning resolution covering the whole county, administered by the county's Planning & Zoning Department. That resolution explicitly regulates "tents, cabins, house trailers, and automobile trailers" as structure types, so raw-land camping or parking a trailer isn't a gray area here, it's addressed directly. On top of that, four municipalities (Fort Calhoun, and the villages of Arlington and Washington, plus Blair) run their own zoning, including extraterritorial jurisdiction reaching out past their limits. So the rules you face depend heavily on whether your parcel sits in unincorporated county land or near one of these towns.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs: Because "house trailers" and "automobile trailers" are named in the county's zoning definitions, using an RV or trailer as a residence falls under district-by-district zoning standards, not left alone. I didn't find a standalone tiny-home ordinance or minimum square footage rule, so confirm that directly with the Planning & Zoning office.

Building permits: The county runs an online portal for building, plumbing, mechanical, septic, roofing, siding, and gutter permits. New home construction needs multiple copies of house plans, two for rural county land, three if you're in or near Fort Calhoun, Arlington, or Washington's jurisdiction. Permits lapse if work doesn't start or is abandoned for 180 days, per the county's own documents.

Septic: Handled not by the county directly but by Three Rivers Public Health Department, which covers Washington, Dodge, and Saunders counties, operating under Nebraska's statewide Onsite Wastewater Program (NDEE). Composting toilets aren't addressed separately in anything I found, so ask Three Rivers directly if that's your plan.

Greywater and rainwater: No county-specific rules turned up for either. Greywater falls back to the state's NDEE Title 124 baseline, meaning untreated discharge isn't allowed. Rainwater harvesting has no confirmed county or state prohibition, but I found no explicit permission either, so treat it as unclear.

Wells: Washington County sits in the Papio-Missouri River NRD's territory, which regulates high-capacity wells (over 50 gallons per minute), requiring a permit and 600-foot spacing from other wells. Standard domestic wells go through county Environmental Health coordination for percolation testing and well siting, ensuring separation from septic systems.

Off-grid living generally: No blanket ordinance forces a grid or municipal sewer hookup that I found, but since septic and well approval are prerequisites for a building permit, going off-grid here means working through those layers, not skipping them. Solar panels are listed among items needing a standard building permit, so don't assume accessory power systems are exempt.