Septic Systems in Sooke

Are you on the sewer or on septic?

The Sewer Specified Area is the part of Sooke hooked up to the District's sanitary sewer. If you're outside it, you're on septic. Sewer service is paid for by the people connected to it, through annual sewer fees.

What does the District ask of you as a septic owner?

The District of Sooke wants you to pump the tank when it needs it, keep the drainfield clear — no parking, no compacting, no heavy planting — and watch for odours, slow drains or wet spots.

Which authority issues your building permit here?

The District of Sooke does, under Building Bylaw No. 780, 2020. That covers new buildings, alterations, additions, repairs, plumbing work, and connecting to the municipal sewer. You might also need a Sewer Connection Request.

Don't move into a building before the District has approved it — the bylaw allows fines of up to $1,000 a day. Inspections need at least 24 hours' notice, and we book that for any work we do.

Which areas is the District studying for sewer?

The District of Sooke is looking at extending sewer to Town Centre, Henlyn Drive (east of Erinan), North Otter Point / Burr Road, and Helgesen Road — but there's no date set for any of it. Your property outside the Sewer Specified Area is on septic today, and that's what we look after.

What septic work do we do in Sooke?

In Sooke, we install new Type 1 and Type 2 systems. We repair drain fields, distribution boxes, pumps and floats, and clear blockages and lines. On schedule, we pump tanks out and service the filter while we're there. We also run real-estate and pre-purchase inspections and write up the report.

What about grey water from the laundry and the sink?

The moment it leaves the building, it's sewage. You can put it on a garden, but only through a designed, filed system, only below ground, and only on crops nobody eats. Run it out onto the surface and that's against the law — same as raw sewage.

Who we work for in Sooke

Some Sooke households are on the municipal system. The rest have a tank, a distribution box and a field out back — that's who we work for. We check your address against the boundary before we say anything else.