notices

A Healthy Septic System is a Key to Healthy Drinking Water

If you live in a rural area or if you have a cottage, you probably depend on your very own
private sewage treatment plant called a septic system. A properly maintained septic system
works very well to treat wastewater. Wastewater includes all of the water that you use in
your house for everything from washing the dishes to flushing the toilet.

Not everyone knows whether they have a septic system, where it is located on their property
or how it works. Buried under the ground, it tends to be out of sight and out of mind. Many
people don't realize that septic systems require regular maintenance. Without regular
maintenance, septic systems can stop working. Not only are they very expensive to replace,
but an improperly functioning septic system can pollute your own drinking water or lake.

First of all, do you have a septic system? If your drinking water comes from a well or lake and
your property is in a rural area, chances are you do. How well it is working depends upon how
old the system is, how well it was maintained and how you use it.

So how does a septic system work? Although there are a number of different types of
systems, most consist of two parts, a septic tank and a tile bed. If you don't know where they
are on your property, it may take a bit of detective work to find out.

Water from your washing machine, sink, shower or toilet goes through a pipe into the septic
tank. In the tank, the solids settle to the bottom and the liquid floats to the top. This is where the
treatment of your wastewater starts. The liquid part then flows into the tile bed. This is a series
of perforated pipes. From here it filters into the ground and is further treated, mainly by bacteria
and other organisms in the soil.

This type of septic system uses gravity to flow the wastewater through the system and
bacteria to remove contaminants from the system. It is a simple but effective way to treat your
sewage.

What's the catch? The system needs to be maintained and used properly.

Your septic tank needs to be pumped regularly to remove the solids on the bottom of the tank.
Eventually the tank fills up. How often it should be pumped depends on how much use it gets
and the size of the tank. If there are a lot of people in the house, that means more sewage and
more regular pump-outs of the septic tank. The system should be checked every two years
and pumped out at least every five years, more often if it receives a lot of use.

There are other dos and don'ts for using a septic system. Don't use too much water at one
time. Activities that require a lot of water, like clothes washing, should be spread out
throughout the week. Putting too much water through the system over a short period of time
can cause solids from the tank to flush into the leaching bed and clog the pipes. You have to
allow enough time for the solids to settle.

When adding bathrooms or laundry facilities to your house or cottage, you may also need to
upgrade your septic system. This is especially important if you are converting a cottage to a
permanent home.

Very strong cleaning chemicals should be avoided. Use bleach, toilet bowl cleaners and drain
cleaners sparingly. These potent chemicals can kill off the beneficial bacteria in your septic
system that break down the contaminants in your wastewater.

Don't pour paints, thinners, motor oils, and solvents down the drain. You should not do this
even if you're not on a septic system! Please use your municipal hazardous household waste
procedure for these chemicals.

Cooking oils and fats down the drain can also clog up the system. Don't put these down the
drain.

Don't drive cars or heavy machinery over your septic system, especially the leaching bed. This
can damage the series of perforated pipes.

Don't plant trees or shrubs on or near the tile bed. Their roots can invade the perforated pipes,
causing the system to stop working. Don't plant trees with spreading root structures like
willows or poplars anywhere near your tile bed. These trees have amazing roots that have
been known to crack foundations, so save these trees for the back 40.

If you are not sure when the last time your septic tank was pumped, it's time to do it. Look in
the yellow pages of the telephone book under "Septic Tanks" to find a local, licensed company
to pump out your septic tank. This will keep your septic system working, and your drinking
water and your local lakes and rivers clean.

For more information about septic systems, call your local Health Unit or source protection
group.

Cataraqui Source Protection Area — www.cataraquiregion.on.ca
Mississippi-Rideau Source Protection Region — www.mrsourcewater.ca
Quinte Source Protection Region — www.quintesourcewater.ca