Septage – A Serious Problem
By Jack Ellis

Last year The Tiny Cottager pointed out that the septage that gets pumped out of all our septic tanks could become the next financial assault on your wallet. The Province’s Nutrient Management Act makes it clear that the days of spreading septage on farmer’s fields – a relatively inexpensive method of disposal – are numbered.

More than a year ago, haulers of this waste made a presentation to Tiny’s Council, and to other Simcoe municipalities, urging them to wake up to the need to take action. In December, Keith Sherman, head of the Severn Sound Environmental Association, did likewise. The Federation and Tiny’s Residents Working Together jointly wrote to Council last November urging them to ensure that the problem is dealt with.

All the above wasted their time. The members of Council have made no attempt to solve the problem.

Tiny Township is 100% dependent on private sewage systems, each generating septage. When the present spreading sites are phased out, septage will have to be taken to a sewage plant in another municipality for treatment, as Tiny doesn’t have a sewage plant. (In our vicinity, only Midland, Barrie and Orillia have sewage plants capable of treating septage.)

New developments and even the expansion of your existing dwelling eventually may be restricted unless there is a municipal site or an inter-municipal agreement for where that septage is going to go. When haulers can no longer use their own disposal sites, costs are going to skyrocket as tipping fees rise at sewage plants and trucks have to go farther to dispose of the septage.

At the moment, the Province is waffling on the phase-out schedule, probably waiting to see which way they want to go with requirements for rural areas like Tiny Township. Tiny Township likely will have to have an inter-municipal agreement or build a septage treatment plant, which could draw on Federal-Provincial infrastructure funding.

What we need NOW is a pro-active approach to at least study the problem on a cooperative inter-municipal basis and plan for a solution, such as Grey County recently did.

Some Hints for Caring for Your Septic:
• Low flow toilets are good for your septic. If you put too much water through your system you can dilute the contents of the tank sufficiently that the anaerobic process ceases to work.
• Sludge builds up in your holding tank over the years and should be pumped out every three years or so, depending on the number of people in your house and the amount of use.
• Grease can clog your tile bed. Don’t put it down your sink.