Submitted by Elizabeth Thorn
For four years, with the support of the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the Bruce Peninsula Biosphere Association has helped homeowners with properties backing onto a watercourse improve performance of their septic systems. The geographic focus areas have been Stokes River, Old Woman’s River and recently Little Lake. Improving water quality is a key Biosphere Association objective and underperforming septic systems impair water quality.
A September 2019 report by the Federation of Ontario Cottage Owners (FOCA) referred to in a recent Cottage Life magazine article which states that there are 250,000 waterfront properties in Ontario. Fifty six per cent of their septic systems were installed twenty years ago and some have never been looked at since the original installation. Some Municipalities require re-inspection and in another study shared in that same Cottage Life article it stated that data collected by ESSE Canada, a company that serviced septic systems between 2015 and 2017 showed 41 per cent of systems inspected had major deficiencies. FOCA is advocating for municipal re-inspection programs. There is no residential septic system re-inspection program in the Municipality of Northern Bruce.
By the end of this year’s septic program, the Biosphere Association will have provided $4,000 per system to support replacement of over 40 failing septic systems and assisted with pump outs and minor repairs of 120 more systems. Now that is concrete action to improve water quality!
As part the Biosphere Association Septic System Program we will offer workshops to review good septic systems management practices. Each workshop will be held outside, with appropriate physical distancing and limited to eight people unless these numeral restrictions are increased by the government.
In the meantime take the quiz at right to see if you could use a brush up on your knowledge of how to maintain your septic system.
Contact info@bpba.ca for more information on how to benefit from the $4,000 incentive and pump out or to register an interest in attending a workshop. Funding is limited so email asap.
Test your knowledge on how to manage a septic system
1. Bleach is good to use because it cleans out your septic system.
True False Not sure
2. Cooking oils or grease can be put down the drain and it won’t affect the septic system if they are in liquid form.
True False Not sure
3. Tampons and condoms are biodegradable so it is ok to flush them down the toilet.
True False Not sure
4. Long weekends with many overnight guests can strain a septic system to the point of failing.
True False Not sure
5. Installing low flow fixtures for toilets and showerheads may improve septic system functioning.
True False Not sure
6. Using a garbage disposal in your kitchen sink is a septic system best management practice. does not affect your septic system.
True False Not sure
7. An old cottage with several leaking fixtures is a water conservation problem, not a septic system concern.
True False Not sure
8. Where water is exceptionally hard, using a water softener protects the septic system.
True False Not sure
9. An iron filter does not negatively affect the function of a septic system.
True False Not sure
10. It is good practice for me to check out the weeping bed occasionally.
True False Not Sure
11. Septic systems should be professionally pumped out and inspected.
-Every year
-Every three years
-Every five years
-Every ten years
-No need to have them pumped out, unless there is a problem
-Don’t really know for sure
-Depends on how much you use it
12. We can pump out our septic system less frequently as we are not really at the cottage that often.
True False Not sure
13. If we get a new bathroom or upgrade new fixtures we may need to upgrade our septic system.
True False Not sure
14. It is okay to have gardens, or shrubs on top of my septic tank.
True False Not sure
15. My eaves trough empties over the septic bed but this is not a cause for concern.
True False Not sure
16. A septic system means:
-A concrete tank
-A tank made out wood or metal
-A tank with two chambers
-A weeping bed
-A holding tank
-A sewer
17. Do you or someone in your house have an understanding of the age, design and location of your sewage system?
-Don’t know anything about it
-Don’t know much about it
-Know location of tank
-Know location of tank and septic bed
-Know the location of system components
-Know the age of system
-Know the number of bedrooms/bathrooms it was designed for
-Have complete knowledge of system and copy of original permit
18. Select all of the following that would signal a problem in the operation of a septic system
-Septic odors
-Frequent alarms
-Lush growth over the tile bed
-Sewage leaking onto the ground surface
-Sewage backing up into the house
-Water draining too slowly –not clear from where
-Problems in wet weather
19. E-coli bacteria are found in both human and animal waste.
True False Not sure
20. Beaches along Lake Huron are closed if e.coli levels exceed Provincial guidelines.
True False Not sure
21. Improperly treated human waste in a septic system can contaminate streams and make my neighbour’s or my own drinking water unsafe.
True False Not sure
22. Algae blooms along the Lake Huron shore can be caused by poorly functioning septic systems.
True False Not sure
23. The quality of water in our streams and rivers does not have a measurable effect the quality of water near the shore on Lake Huron.
True False Not sure
24. We should test the drinking water from our well
-every month
-every quarter
-at spring runoff and after storm events
-every year
-after 18 months or longer
