Toronto Homeowner’s Guide To Finding Your Septic Tank

Some Toronto real estate owners as well as those who own recreational real estate in smaller cottage communities may have their wastewater treated by a septic tank, or if you want to get fancy, an onsite wastewater system. When buying Toronto real estate with a septic tank, you should ask the sellers when the septic tank was pumped last, and whether there have ever been tank or water quality problems.

A diagram of a septic tank and its proximity to the leaching bed and home from the University of Guelph's Ontario Rural Wastewater Centre.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a septic tank needs to be pumped every three to five years or when it is 1/3 full with solid waste, but this timeline may fluctuate depending on frequency of use or the size of your family. Additionally, new septic tanks are made of concrete or fiberglass, but home or property owners with an older septic tank may find that it’s actually made of wood or steel and could need replacing due to rot or rust.

Septic tank problems can be serious and difficult to spot. Some signs include spongy land near the septic tank, water-using appliances taking a longer time to drain, sewage odours after heavy rainfall or dangerous bacteria in well water.

When it comes time to pump or inspect a septic tank, finding the access hatches – which are buried underground – can be difficult. Approximately 25 per cent of Canadian homeowners have a septic tank on their property, but if you’re a new homeowner, finding out where on the property the access hatch is located may have slipped your mind. Some homeowners might go the “dig until you find it” route, which isn’t great if you want to entertain in your backyard or enjoy it at all during what little summer we Canadians get.

Things to look for when finding your Toronto or cottage septic tank

The weeping bed is a special, layered area of earth next to the septic tank that helps treat and filter liquid waste. This weeping or leaching bed appears as a large, raised patch of grass on most properties. In other cases, the tank itself can create a raised area of about four feet by eight feet in the backyard. A smaller depression in the soil can also indicate the access hatch if it has previously been dug for. In the winter, snow may melt oddly to create a depression just over the septic tank. A small, round vent on the side of a home on the foundation may be the plumbing waste vent, which is also directly lined up with the septic tank on the property.

Once the hatch is located, a marker such as a stake or custom-made lid that is flush with the ground (for easy lawn mowing) can make accessing a septic tank much less disruptive and difficult.

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