1. Septic Savvy 2018
Prepared By: Eric Kohlsmith

2. Mississippi Rideau Septic System Office
Partnership between the Rideau Valley and Mississippi Valley Conservation Authorities.
The MRSSO has been
approving Sewage Systems in Tay Valley Township since 2004
conducting Sewage System Re-Inspection programs in Tay Valley, Drummond North Elmsley (Otty Lake), Rideau Lakes, Central Frontenac and North Frontenac

3. Voluntary Sewage System Inspection Program
Programs generally based Section 8.9 of the Ontario Building Code – Operation and Maintenance.
sanitary sewage/effluent must not be discharged or escape to the surface of the ground, or into a water supply or watercourse,…
Annual maintenance agreements & sampling requirements for treatment units
Septic tanks must be cleaned when the solids occupy 1/3 of the working capacity of the tank.

4. Voluntary Sewage System Inspection Program
Programs are generally based on age of system:
MRSSO – ten years and older
Others – rank system risk and focus on highest risk (oldest systems and no available records)
In past inspections generally completed by students – no qualifications required.
MRSSO – Registered Inspector and Student on each site

5. Program Implementation Voluntary
Municipal
Driven by public / interest groups:
Lake Associations, Road Associations, Property Owner Associations,…
Educating the public and Officials regarding concerns
Presentations
Delegation at Council Meetings
Work Shops / Meetings
Newsletters
Lake Plans …
Consensus not necessarily needed – as they are Voluntary
Municipally funded – Partial or Fully

6. Program Implementation Voluntary
Individual
Each property covers cost of inspection
One property, one road, one bay, or all properties can be included
Municipality generally not involved
Not common

7. Mississippi Rideau Septic System Office
Voluntary Programs
Tay Valley (1998?)
North Frontenac (2005)
Central Frontenac (2010,2011, )
Committee’s formed to consider Mandatory program

8. Mandatory Maintenance inspection programs
Building Code was amended in the 2011 as part of the Source Water Protection and Clean Water Act.
Two types of Mandatory programs
1. Vulnerable areas identified in the Source Water Plans
2. Discretionary – Principal Authorities can pass by-law implementing program

9. Mandatory Maintenance inspection programs
Local programs
Conducted by Conservation Authority, (Registered Inspector and Student)
Third party inspector is an option – BCIN for Sewage Systems
Inspecting system while operating (tank at capacity)
Looking for conformance with Operation and Maintenance requirements of the Code

10. Mandatory Maintenance inspection programs
Other areas
Common for Engineering/Consulting firms (WSP completed 7,667 inspections from )
Leeds and Thousand Islands – Qualified individuals conduct inspections – and/or District Health Unit Inspectors conduct inspections.
Inspections vary from document review to visual site inspections (tank pumped) to utilizing sewer cameras.

11. Program Implementation Mandatory
By the Book
Pass a By-Law:
Principal Authority/ Municipality passes a by-law under Section 7 of the Building Code Act to implement a Discretionary Maintenance inspection program under Division C, 1.10 of the Ontario Building Code.

12. Program Implementation Mandatory
Real World
Driven by public / interest groups:
Lake Associations, Road Associations, Property Owner Associations,…
Educating the public and Officials regarding concerns
Presentations
Delegation at Council Meetings
Work Shops / Meetings
Newsletters
Lake Plans …
Try to obtain consensus – to show public support of the program
Lobby Municipality to move forward with a by-law

13. Mississippi Rideau Septic System Office
Mandatory Programs
Tay Valley (2012)
By-law No
Rideau Lakes (2016)
Drummond/North Elmsely
By-law No partnership between CA and Health Unit

14. Number of Re-Inspections 2004 – 2017
5 Municipalities (3 Active in 2017)
73 Lakes
TOTAL INSPECTIONS = 4,008

15. Record Keeping Standardized report form – triplicate NCR
Owner and Property information
Includes all systems
System Parameters
Clearance distances
GPS Locations
System Status
Tracking number
Database results – ideally linked to GIS
File paper copy with property file
Create report to summarize data

16. Sewage Treatment Types of systems What is treated Ways of treatment
Signs of failure

17. Types of Septic systems-
Class 1 –Privy
Class 2 – Greywater Pit
Class 3 – Cesspool
Class 4 – Septic Tank and Distribution Field
Class 5 – Holding Tank

18. Class 1 – Privies Also known as: Composting toilets are a Class 1
Outhouse
Earth Pit Privy
Vault Privy
Composting toilets are a Class 1
Overflow from Composting toilet must be directed to a Class 3,4, or 5.
No permit required for installation
Construction requirements and SEPARATION distances provided in Ontario Building Code and can be enforced

19. Class 2 – Greywater Pit Also known as :
French Drain
Dry Well…
Can only accept waste from fixtures – i.e. sinks, showers…
Permit required prior to construction
Systems can be very large depending on conditions

20. Class 3 - Cesspool Only accepts waste from a Class 1 system
Permit required prior to construction
Not very common

21. Class 4 – Septic Tank & Distribution Field
Most common system
Accepts both black water and greywater
Different configurations:
Trench bed
Filter media
Level IV treatment
Higher level of effluent quality
= better for the environment
Overall system size can be smaller
= less imported fill

22. Class 5 – Holding Tank No on-site treatment or disposal of sewage
Not very common in recent years – all other avenues exhausted prior to installation
Signed Agreement required with Licensed Sewage Hauler
Minimum tank size is 9000L

23. What is Wastewater?
Sanitary sewage means liquid or water borne waste(Division A, Part ):
of industrial or commercial origin, or
of domestic origin, including human body waste, toilet or other bathroom waste, and shower, tub, culinary, sink and laundry waste
Greywater - sanitary sewage of domestic origin which is derived from fixtures other than sanitary units

24. On-Site System Capabilities
The primary contents of sanitary sewage are:
Water (99%),
Organic matter, and
Inorganic matter
Highly dependent on proper installation, especially of leaching bed, and good operation/maintenance
Advanced treatment units do the same, just in a more controlled environment – less treatment required by soils

25. Wastewater Parameters
DOMESTIC WASTEWATER
SEPTIC TANK
LEVEL IV TREATMENT UNIT
Effluent Quality
CBOD5
~ mg/L
TSS
~ mg/L
~ mg/L
~ mg/L
≤ 10 mg/L
≤ 10 mg/L
% treatment prior to soil absorption
+30%
+90%

26. Method of Treatment: Conventional

27. Method of Treatment: Conventional
Septic Tank Treats:
Bacteria
Pathogens

28. Method of Treatment: Conventional
Leaching Bed Treats:
Bacteria
Nutrients
Pathogens

29. Method of Treatment: Conventional
Septic Smart

30. Method of Treatment: Advanced

31. Method of Treatment: Advanced

32. Method of Treatment: Advanced

33. Method of Treatment: Advanced
Shallow Buried Trench
Type A Dispersal Bed

34. Level IV Treatment
“Black Box” used to increase treatment of effluent – Foam cubes, Peat Moss, Aeration,…
Systems tested to meet new cold climate testing CAN/BNQ
Due to increased treatment before entering the soil leaching beds can be smaller (vertically and horizontally)
Maintenance Agreements are required to ensure systems are operating correctly and meeting requirements – cost not regulated by Building Code

35. Effluent Filters

36. Effluent Filters Provide enhanced treatment of sewage
Can prolong the life of a system
Fairly inexpensive ($70- $200)
Low maintenance (hose off and re-install

37. All Systems Will Fail

38. Signs of Failure The Leaching Bed Surface break out of effluent
Large area of dead grass
Lush vegetation
Soft, spongy ground
Odour

39. Signs of Failure The Septic Tank Elevated sewage level Lush vegetation
Soft, spongy ground
Odour

40. Impacts of Malfunctioning Systems
Malfunctioning systems can pollute:
Ground water, Surface water and soils.
Potential health risks include:
E.coli outbreak
Virus’ - Hepatitis A
Methemoglobinemia – Nitrates
Eutrophication of Water Bodies
Depreciated property values.
Blue
Green
Algae

41. Issues

42. Issues

43. Issues

44. Issues

45. Issues

46. Issues

47. Issues

48. Fiberglass Tank

49. Issues

50. Issues

51. Concrete Corrosion

52. Concrete Corrosion
Outlet wall

53. Concrete Corrosion
Lids and Partition wall

54. Roots

55. Roots

56. Risers

57. Thank You for Your Time