The Island Health filing is part of the design fee
Site and Soil Assessment and System Design in Sooke
Sooke Septic runs the site and soil assessment that a septic design is built on, in Sooke, East Sooke, Otter Point and Metchosin. The assessment runs $1,200 to $2,500, and the design runs $1,500 to $3,500. We file the design with Island Health for you.
A site and soil assessment, perc test included, runs $1,200 to $2,500. The system design runs $1,500 to $3,500 — the Island Health filing's included in that.
What does the assessment involve?
We dig the test pits, read the soil profile, and work out what your ground can take — that's the perc test. It's billed design work with its own price, separate from the free visit that gets you a quote.
What does the design have to settle?
The design sets the system type and the daily flow. As Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioners, we can design and install a Type 1 or a Type 2 system, up to 9,100 litres a day.
Under 22,700 litres a day, your system falls under the Sewerage System Regulation. At 22,700 litres a day or more, it moves to the Municipal Wastewater Regulation, under the Environmental Management Act.
What gets filed with the design?
Island Health gets the Filing form, the drawings and specs, the site plan, and any covenants, easements or reports registered against your land — all before construction starts. That filing is covered in the design fee.
What if no system will fit the land?
When the ground won't take a system, a holding tank is the other option. We'll tell you if your assessment points that way, and walk you through what a holding tank means for your property.
What's included
Site and soil assessment
Test pits, the soil profile and the perc test on your property.
System design and filing
The system type, the daily flow, and the filing documents we send to Island Health.
How the assessment and the design run
- 1
Free site visit — we walk the property with you and look at where a system could go.
- 2
Test pits and soil reading — we dig, log the profile, and record what the ground will take.
- 3
The design — we set the system type and the daily design flow, and we draw it.
- 4
The filing — we send the whole package to Island Health, and construction waits on it.
What is different about your area?
Building permits come from a different authority depending on your address. Sooke runs its own building department, so does Metchosin, and the Capital Regional District covers East Sooke and Otter Point. Your address doesn't change the filing — it's provincial, so the assessment, the design and the paperwork run the same way for every property we work on.
What does a typical job look like?
- The problem
- You want to add a suite, and you're on septic in Sooke.
- What makes it harder
- More bedrooms means more daily flow, and the system likely needs updating.
- What we do
- We assess the site, work out the flow the design has to carry, and file the design with Island Health.
People also ask
What is a perc test?
It's part of the site and soil assessment. We dig test pits and read the soil to work out what the ground can take.
Is the assessment part of the free quote?
No. The site visit that gets you a price is free. Billed design work is separate — the assessment runs $1,200 to $2,500.
What does the design cost?
$1,500 to $3,500, and the filing is included in that.
How big a system can you design?
Type 1 and Type 2, under 9,100 litres of daily design flow.
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Ready for a quote on septic in Sooke?
The site visit is free, and we reply to you within 24 hours.