A Deep Dive into Dysart et al’s 2025 Septic Re-Inspection Program

Septic Re-Inspection Program

The 2025 inspection season (running from May 20th to August 29th) focused specifically on Area 5, Part 2. Here is everything you need to know about how the program operated, from exemptions to the step-by-step inspection process.

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📍 Who Was Inspected in 2025?

The focus for this season was Part 2 of Area 5, covering 8 specific lakes within Harcourt Park. If your property is within 30 metres of the water on one of these lakes, it was on the list:

• Allen Lake

• Big Barnum Lake

• East Lake

• Straggle Lake

• Little Straggle Lake

• Charlie George Lake

• Kennaway Lake

• Long Lake

The goal? To identify systems needing upgrades and ensure compliance with By-Law 2024-24.

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🚫 Inspection Exemptions

Not every property on the list required a new inspection. Owners could be removed from the 2025 schedule if they met specific criteria and provided proof:

1. New Systems: The system was newly installed or fully replaced within the last 5 years.

2. Advanced Treatment Units: The system uses an improved quality treatment unit with a current service agreement and compliant annual effluent samples.

3. Recent Compliance: The property completed re-inspection requirements under a previous program within the last 5 years.

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🔍 The 10-Step Inspection Process

Curious about what happens when the inspector arrives? The process is thorough but straightforward. While it can vary slightly based on accessibility, here is the standard workflow:

1. Arrival & Intro: The inspector arrives, introduces themselves to the owner (if present), and gathers contact info/email for reporting. 2. Voluntary Walk-Through: The inspector requests a voluntary walk-through of the dwelling to confirm bedroom counts and identify fixtures for flow testing. Water is often run to prepare for the test. 3. Accessory Buildings: A quick check of any bunkies or garages to confirm their use. 4. Visual Tank Check: Lids are lifted off both chambers of the septic tank for a visual inspection of components and levels. 5. Sludge & Scum Check: The inspector uses a "Sludge Judge" tool to measure the thickness of sludge and scum layers. 6. The Flow Test: Water is drained from the house fixtures. The inspector watches the flow into the tank, through the second chamber, and out to the bed to ensure no blockages. (They may also clean the effluent filter if needed). 7. Closing Up: Lids are reinstalled. 8. Property Scan: A final walk-around to ensure the property complies physically (e.g., no unauthorized structures over the bed). 9. Lake Health Assessment: A complimentary assessment of the waterfront is done to educate owners on shoreline health. 10. Reporting: Back at the office, the report is finalized and emailed to the owner with any necessary remedial actions.

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🚛 When is a Pump-Out Required?

You don't always need a pump-out, but specific "red flags" will trigger a mandatory pump-out order:

• Age: The tank was installed prior to 1980.

• No Records: The Municipality has no permit on file.

• Material: The tank is made of something other than concrete, plastic, or fiberglass.

• Fullness: Scum/sludge levels occupy 1/3 or greater of the settling chamber's capacity.

• Malfunction: Any visible issues with tank levels or function.

Note: If you had a pump-out within 1 year of the inspection date, you could submit that invoice instead of doing it again.

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📝 Third-Party Inspections

Property owners had the option to hire their own inspector rather than using Municipal staff. However, strict rules applied:

• Inspectors must be qualified under Part 8 of the Ontario Building Code.

• They must have signed a 10-point agreement with the Municipality.

• Only Approved Third-Party Inspectors (listed on the municipal website) were accepted.

Owners were required to submit these reports via the website along with a $50 review fee. In 2025, 108 third-party reports were submitted for Area 5.

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💰 Fees and Invoicing

The costs associated with the program are approved by Council under By-Law 2024-24. Invoices were prepared by the Tax Department and applied directly to the property tax account.

Service	Fee
Sewage System Maintenance Inspection	$220.00
Inspection Outside Program Schedule	$320.00
Remedial Action Septic Review	$150.00
Partially Complete Return Inspection	$100.00
Vacant Lot / No Plumbing Confirmation	$100.00
3rd Party Inspection Report Review	$50.00
Failed 3rd Party Inspection Attempt	$50.00

Note: If a property required multiple attempts to complete the inspection, multiple $220 invoices were issued.

Find Out What You Don’t Know-Septic Systems

 Find Out What You Don’t Know-Septic Systems

If you have been on municipal sewer systems all your life a septic system can be very foreign topic. I have had clients exclaim “it goes into the ground?” When you explain what happens to human waste. I usually can’t help myself put immediately state, yep, it goes into the ground and on the other side of the cottage you pull your drinking water from the same ground! People can’t believe this all until you take a few minutes to explain how it all works. First you have to know that since municipal services are not available everywhere in the province there has to be individual systems to deal with human waste. These systems are septic systems, composing toilets, holding tanks and just a hole in the ground with a building overtop called outhouses. We can discuss the other systems at another time. Today lets talk septic systems. Septic systems are fairly simple. The system is a series of pipes caring the waste to a tank called a septic tank. The tank can be concrete or plastic. The tank is where the magic happens! It is a biological process that reduces the solids to a combination of sludge and liquids called effluent. The effluent flows from the tank to the drainfields from distribution pipes. The soil around the distribution pipes are layers of sand and gravel that helps filter the effluent into clean water If all that goes down the drain was human waste, these systems would work great forever. But users can easily alter the biological process by introducing things that stop or slow down the process, like chlorine, grease, excessive amount of water, soap, large amount of toilet paper. Trees can be unfriendly as well to a septic system as well. Roots can find their way into the distribution pipes and clog them. Effluent does not flow through a pipe that is filled with roots very well! Every municipality has guidelines on minimum sizes of systems, setbacks, clearances and absorption area. Be sure to know these guidelines.