Toilet paper and human waste only! Avoid harsh chemicals, bleaches, degreasers, septic system additives, oils, greases, solids, and pharmaceuticals.
Maintaining Your Septic System
Proper maintenance of your septic system is essential for protecting your property, the environment, and the community’s health. A well-maintained septic system ensures the safe treatment and disposal of wastewater, preventing contamination of groundwater and nearby water sources. Regular care can also help you avoid costly repairs, system failures, and unpleasant odors. By understanding how your system works and following simple maintenance tips, you can extend its lifespan and contribute to a healthier environment.
- Avoid planting vegetation or plants that have a deep root system on the leaching bed;
- Ensure that trees are at least 10 feet (3m) away from the runs in the tile bed;
- Pump the Septic tank every three to five years depending on how often the system is used;
- Do not use a sink garburator;
- Do not connect water softener backwash to the septic system;
- Ensure that materials such as tissue paper, sanitary tissues/napkins, baby wipes, grease, oil, solvents, paints, food waste, excessive laundry soaps etc. do not enter the system;
- Follow the Ontario Building Code requirements for privy’s, leach pits, holding tanks, septic tank/tile beds;
- Drill wells must be a minimum of 50 feet(15m) from the sewage system and dug wells must be at least 100 feet(50m) away;
- Do not park vehicles, trailers, equipment etc. or drive on the tile bed.
Additional Sewage System Maintenance Tips
Vegetation Around your Sewage System
A properly functioning leaching bed must have appropriate vegetative cover to allow for evaporation, transpiration, compaction prevention, and optimal treatment of wastewater.
The Town recommends large trees are kept at least 10 feet (3 m) away from the runs in the tile bed. It is essential that the leaching bed have access to direct sunlight to help reduce excess moisture to ensure proper function.
One of the most common issues seen is inappropriate vegetation on and around the system. Deep-rooted vegetation can grow into the leaching bed pipes causing system failure.
Appropriate shallow-rooted vegetative cover over a leaching bed includes grasses and native wildflower mixes. It is important that the vegetation planted is drought tolerant as the leaching bed area should not be irrigated as to not overload the system.
Since 2007, a device called an ‘effluent filter’ has been a requirement with every new septic tank installation. The effluent filter is attached to the outlet pipe within the liquid side of the septic tank. This device is a great addition to the system as it can prolong the life of your leaching bed by filtering out solids (ie. corn kernels) and small particles (ie. fuzz from your favourite fleece sweater) before clogging pipes and soil pores.
The effluent filter requires regular maintenance – we recommend having it checked and cleaned at a minimum of once per year.
As an added bonus, the bacterial life that establishes on the surface of the filter acts as additional biological treatment of the wastewater before it makes its way into the natural environment!
Septic Tanks are divided into a solids and liquids compartment. The first compartment of the tank is for the solids. The solids settle to the bottom of the tank forming a sludge, while greases and fats float to form a scum layer. According to the Ontario Building Code, the tank must be pumped whenever the scum and sludge occupy one third of the tank. It is important to pump the septic tank at this stage to ensure the solids do not build up and make their way into the leaching bed; this can lead to clogging of the pipes and even system failure.
It is important to note that there is such a thing as pumping the septic tank too frequently. If the tank is consistently pumped before bacteria has a chance to establish and find its equilibrium in the tank, the sewage can become sterile. Sterile sewage is essentially ‘dead’ and not properly treated before it makes its way into the leaching bed and environment.
It is crucial to create a customized pumping schedule with your sewage hauler that suits your usage. For example, a system that is used seasonally by two people will not need to be on the same pumping schedule as four-season usage by a family of 5. There are many licensed sewage haulers in the Muskoka Lakes area that are full of knowledge.
There are over 100 ways an onsite sewage system can malfunction. The signs to look out for include: sewage backup into the house, sluggish drainage of plumbing fixtures, sewage surfacing in the yard, and/or sewage odours. If any of these problems occur, call a professional to troubleshoot the issue. The solutions range from the replacement of a pump, to a blocked effluent filter, to a leaching bed replacement.
According to the Ontario Onsite Wastewater Association, septic systems and can last for upwards of 20 years. As leaching beds are not made to last forever, if your sewage system is reaching 20 years of age, you should begin to save and prepare for a replacement system.
In Muskoka, many systems get a break and are only used seasonally. We also have access to quality granite-based sands and stone – note that this may prolong the life of some systems in our area.
Directing surface water and stormwater away from your septic system is imperative for a properly functioning system. The systems depend on dry unsaturated soils to treat the wastewater within and around the leaching bed.
Quite often when a leaching bed is not fully mounded up; drainage swales, French drains, or ditches are created upslope of the bed to keep the system as dry as possible. These water diversion methods are often enforced at the time of the installation as part of the septic system construction inspection.
An issue our re-inspection team runs into are newly constructed driveways or landscape alterations which direct water towards the sewage system, instead of away from the area. Be mindful of this when planning your projects.
The above reasons are why it is also a requirement that eavestroughs be directed away from the system and why the leaching bed should never be irrigated.
Additives are meant to help either the septic tank or drain field and fall into three categories: inorganic compounds, organic solvents; and biological additives.
Inorganic compounds are marketed to open clogged drains and are typically strong acids or alkalis. These products should be avoided as they can kill the bacteria in the tank and stop the anaerobic digestion process allowing raw sewage to pass out into the drain field. These products can also corrode concrete tanks causing leaks.
Organic solvents are degreasers that can be effective in breaking down fats, oils and greases. However, these products can also kill the bacteria in the tank and may lead to contamination of the groundwater.
Biological additives such as yeast, bacteria and enzymes are used to enhance the existing bacteria and microbes in the tank and drain field, reactivate an “unhealthy” tank, or address a severe biomat buildup issue in the system
Should I use additives in my septic tank?
Many products claim to eliminate the need to pump out the treatment tank. These claims should be treated with skepticism. Some of the solids in the treatment tank are sand, grit, bits of plastic and other similar non-biodegradable materials that cannot be digested or broken down by enzymes or bacteria and therefore, they accumulate.
Independent third-party studies indicate that the use of additives does not prevent the accumulation of sludge. Degreasers may break down stubborn solids, but where do the solids go? If they stay in suspension, they may go out to the leaching bed, which could increase the rate of clogging in the bed. A properly functioning and maintained effluent filter may help mitigate this risk. If you choose to use this type of product, be aware that there may be unforeseen consequences to less frequent tank pumping.
The science supporting the use of additives remains inconclusive. This is partially because the benefits are difficult to predict and often a trial-and-error process is required. In some instances, supporting or enhancing bacterial populations may be helpful, even necessary to the proper treatment of effluent. If you think using an additive is right for your system, go to a trusted supplier for advice.
They will help you choose the best additive for your system. Choose one that has the Eco-Logo symbol, which indicates that the product isn’t harmful to the environment. An engaged, responsive property owner who combines any potential additive use with proper septic tank maintenance, i.e. following sewer use guidelines, pumping and effluent filter cleaning, can only be good for our industry.
Contact Us
Town of Bracebridge
1000 Taylor Court
Bracebridge, ON P1L 1R6
Phone: (705) 645 5264