Maintaining Your Onsite Sewage Disposal System

Maintaining Your Onsite Sewage Disposal System

The moment you step out of urban environments you’ll find onsite sewage disposal systems are in wide use throughout BC. The Capital Regional District (CRD), the Saanich Peninsula, and western communities all the way to Port Renfrew rely on onsite sewage disposal. There are many methods to discharge effluent from the treatment system into the environment. These include gravity dispersal, shallow drip dispersal and raised sand mounds to provide a vertical separation for adequate removal of remaining pathogens.

Summertime is the best time to inspect your field

Generally, summertime is an excellent opportunity to see the outline of your disposal field and to gauge the performance of your onsite sewage disposal system. It’s then when surrounding grass areas turn brown from lack of summertime precipitation. Take this opportunity to inspect the condition of your disposal field. Are there any areas which are noticeably more damp than others? This can be as little as excessive growth of grass, to surfacing of water like a puddle. A broken pipe could be the problem in more serious cases, as water floods the field each time a pump cycle occurs. This is the time to call a service provider for repairs.

You can complete minor repairs with little fuss and get your system operational again with little impact. Opportunities for further inspection and potentially flushing of the disposal laterals may be considered in conjunction with the service provider. When was the last time your septic tank was pumped? The septic tank is designed to settle solids and provide slow treatment and breakdown. This creates a sludge settling on the bottom of the tank and as it rises, the treatment capacity of the septic tank diminishes. A good operating system should be pumped every 3 to 5 years. More frequently if there is high usage of the system.

Watch for plant growth patterns

As noted in the photographs, the first system is obvious as that is where the vegetation grows. The field is in good condition, and the field is the only source of moisture at this time, hence the growth. The second photograph is from a wetter community and you can still see the disposal laterals. This field is in good condition, and routine maintenance ensures a reasonable operating life for the system.

Feel free to call MSR Solutions to discuss your onsite sewage disposal issues. We are more than happy to assist you and provide support as required.

See our Services page for a listing of all our services.

Cottages on Osoyoos Lake, Oliver, BC

Cottages on Osoyoos Lake, Oliver, BC

Cottages on Osoyoos Lake is a 300-home residential development on Osoyoos Lake.

We were retained to design a water treatment plant and wastewater treatment plant co-housed in a single treatment building and obtained approval from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC). Wastewater works include screening, equalization, chemical nutrient removal and flat plate membranes from WesTech Engineering. Discharge is to rapid infiltration basins and subsurface drip irrigation. We provided construction oversight and commissioning support.

We continue to provide ongoing operation support.

See our Wastewater Treatment Services page for more information on what MSR Solutions can do for you.

Port Renfrew CRD – Water System Upgrades

Port Renfrew CRD – Water System Upgrades

An ongoing project to upgrade the capacity of the water system in Port Renfrew, BC to allow for continued growth within the community.

The first phase of the Port Renfrew project involved upgrading the well pump, booster pumps and the associated piping and controls in order to increase the water supply available to the town. The second phase will involve upgrades to the town’s storage capacity by adding a second reservoir, providing increased water supply for fire protection and emergency storage.

 

Stonebridge Land Development

Stonebridge Land Development

The Limona Group has obtained rezoning development approval for a 325-unit housing development on the property known as the Stonebridge Development. There will be additional development in the area including higher density and commercial density in the future. As a condition of the development, a community sewer system is to be provided which will be owned and operated by the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD). The Limona Group has retained MSR Solutions to design and construct a community sewer system to serve the requirements for the development at build-out, to be built in stages. Limona has proposed to commence with initial 40-50 single family homes as the first stage of the development including Townhouse site and single-family homes on the south side of Shawnigan creek and single-family homes on the northern part of the property on the Shawnigan Mill Bay Road.

A design report was submitted to Limona by MSR Solutions in December 2014, which identified three stages to proceed to total build-out. Stage 1 Sewage Service Area was identified with minimal servicing requirements, with connection to the existing shopping centre Permit PE6503. Stage 2 Sewage Service Area was identified, based on an infrastructure funding application with the federal government. The areas identified within this stage of servicing included 325 Stonebridge single family equivalent homes, Pioneer Square shopping centre and any other areas based on capacity and determined by CVRD. A MWR application with the CVRD as the applicant was proposed for this stage of development. Stage 3 Sewage Service Area was identified to create a Town centre community sewer system including the Brulette Place sewer systems, the Stonebridge site, and surrounding developments.

It was proposed to provide a treatment plant that is modular and to which units could be added as the development progresses to first accommodate Stage 2 and then new development as capacity is available. Disposal was proposed to ground, within the Stonebridge property as well as in the Brulette area. The option of reclaimed water discharge to a constructed wetland with overflow to Shawnigan creek was identified following an Environmental Impact Study.

Project Manager: Mike Seymour
Client: The Limona Group
Location: Mill Bay, BC