Guide · Septic and wells
Septic and wells on a rural build.
On a property without municipal services, the septic approval is usually what sets the schedule. Three inspections, each needing four business days of notice, and a permit that has to be in hand before a good deal else can happen.
The County does this, with one exception
Northumberland County issues septic permits and carries out the inspections for all of its member municipalities, with a single exception. The Municipality of Trent Hills handles its own, and the County holds no septic records for properties there.
That matters more than it sounds. If you are buying in Trent Hills and want the history of an existing system, the County is not where it lives. Plumbing permits are different again, since those go through your local municipality and are usually bundled into the building permit fee.
When you need one
Adding load counts, not only adding a system.
Needs a permit
● Installing, changing or repairing a private septic system
● Taking out all or part of one
● An addition or a new building with plumbing
● Changing a building’s use
● Finishing a basement or a room with plumbing in it
Generally does not
● Minor repairs
● A Class 1 system
But there is a middle category. Work that adds load to an existing system triggers a Sewage Disposal System Review rather than a full permit. The County also runs that review when a municipality asks for comments on something as ordinary as a shed, a pool or a garage.
The pattern worth internalising is that the septic system is assessed against what the house will actually put through it. Finishing a basement with a bathroom in it is a septic question even though nothing outside the house changes.
What it costs
The County publishes its fees.
These come from the County’s own schedule. Fee schedules get revised, so confirm the current figures when you apply, but the structure tells you what to budget for.
The record search fee is not refunded if no record turns up, which is worth knowing before you order one on an older property.
The schedule driver
Three inspections, four business days of notice each.
This is the part that quietly governs a rural build. The inspections are staged through the work, not clustered at the end, and each one needs booking ahead.
1. Test pits. Three of them. One may be accepted, but the inspector can require more.
2. Readiness to construct. So the inspector can review the base cut with the installer.
3. Final, before backfilling. Which means the bed stays open until it has been seen.
Each booking needs your name, the permit number, the property address, the inspection type and a preferred date. Four business days of notice on three separate occasions is real time, and it is time that sits in the middle of the project rather than at the front of it.
The other thing worth getting right is the application itself. It has to arrive complete, with a site plan, cross-section drawings and building construction drawings. An application missing any of those is treated as incomplete rather than reviewed.
Buying rural
If there is no record of the existing system.
On older rural properties this happens often, and it is the single most expensive surprise in this part of the process.
A Sewage Disposal System Review normally wants the original permit or installation record alongside the proposed and existing plans. Where no record exists, you may need an engineer or a licensed installer to excavate and report on what is actually in the ground before anyone can assess whether it carries the addition you have in mind.
Outside Trent Hills, an existing system can also be re-inspected on request under the County’s By-law 18-2022. Pumping costs sit with the owner, and anything the inspection turns up may need a permit of its own.
Do this before closing. A $75 record search, or a $175 re-inspection, is a small price for knowing whether the system on a property you are about to buy can carry the house you intend to build on it. Finding out afterwards turns a renovation budget into a servicing budget.
Wells
Provincial rules, not municipal ones.
Wells sit under Regulation 903, the Wells Regulation, made under the Ontario Water Resources Act. That puts them on a different track from the septic approval entirely.
A business that constructs wells for compensation needs a well contractor licence, and anyone physically doing the work needs a well technician licence of the right class. There are five classes. Class 1 is drilling, Class 2 is digging and boring, Class 3 covers driving and jetting, Class 4 is pump installation, and Class 5 covers inspecting, monitoring, sampling and testing. A contractor licence on its own does not permit the holder to physically construct a well.
There is a landowner exemption. A landowner, or a family member, may work on a well on the landowner’s own property without a technician licence, and someone else may do it for them where no compensation is paid. The exemption is narrower than it first appears, because an exempt landowner still has to meet every other requirement in the Wells Regulation.
The regulation also carries reporting requirements covering both construction and abandonment, so an old well being taken out of service is its own obligation rather than something to simply cap and forget.
Running the tracks together
On a rural build you are often dealing with the County for septic, your municipality for the building permit, and potentially a conservation authority on top of that if the land is regulated. Those are three separate approvals with three separate clocks.
Run sequentially they stack up. Run together, with the drawings prepared so each body gets what it needs first time, they overlap. That is most of the difference between a rural project that moves and one that waits.
County inspections are reached at 905-372-1929 or inspections@northumberlandcounty.ca, from 600 William Street in Cobourg. Record searches go to a separate address, nemech@northumberland.ca. We have been building across this county since 1999.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who issues septic permits in Northumberland County?
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The County issues them and carries out the inspections for all of its member municipalities, with one exception. The Municipality of Trent Hills handles its own, and the County holds no septic records for properties there. Plumbing permits are separate and go through your local municipality, usually bundled into the building permit fee.
Do I need a septic permit to finish my basement?
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If there is plumbing in it, yes. Finishing a basement or a room with plumbing is on the permit list, as is an addition or new building with plumbing, and changing a building’s use. The system is assessed against what the house will actually put through it, so work that adds load matters even when nothing outside the house changes.
What does a septic permit cost in Northumberland County?
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From the County’s published schedule: $965 for Class 2, 3 and 4 systems, $500 for a tank replacement or a Class 5 system, and $500 for repairs or alterations to an existing system. A Sewage Disposal System Review is $250, a re-inspection of an existing system is $175, and demolition is $165. Permit revisions are $275 with a site visit or $175 without. A permit record search is $75. Fee schedules get revised, so confirm the current figures when you apply.
How many septic inspections are there?
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Three, and each needs four business days of notice. The first covers test pits, three of them, though one may be accepted and the inspector can require more. The second is readiness to construct, so the inspector can review the base cut with the installer. The third is the final inspection before backfilling, which means the bed stays open until it has been seen. Each booking needs your name, permit number, property address, inspection type and a preferred date.
What if there is no record of the existing septic system?
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This is common on older rural properties and it is the most expensive surprise in the process. A Sewage Disposal System Review normally wants the original permit or installation record along with the proposed and existing plans. Without a record you may need an engineer or a licensed installer to excavate and report on what is actually in the ground. Outside Trent Hills an existing system can also be re-inspected on request under the County’s By-law 18-2022.
Can I dig my own well?
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A landowner, or a family member, may work on a well on the landowner’s own property without a well technician licence, and someone else may do it where no compensation is paid. The exemption is narrower than it sounds, because an exempt landowner still has to meet every other requirement in the Wells Regulation. A business constructing wells for compensation needs a well contractor licence, and anyone physically doing the work needs a technician licence of the right class.
What are the well technician licence classes?
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There are five under Regulation 903, the Wells Regulation, made under the Ontario Water Resources Act. Class 1 is drilling, Class 2 is digging and boring, Class 3 covers driving and jetting, Class 4 is pump installation, and Class 5 covers inspecting, monitoring, sampling and testing. A contractor licence on its own does not permit the holder to physically construct a well.
Building on a well and septic?
Tell us about the property. We will tell you which approvals it needs and what order they belong in.
Request a Free Estimate (905) 376-5585Keep reading
If the land is near water or a valley, read building on the shoreline as well. For a second unit on a rural lot, see ADU rules in Clarington. Otherwise see our custom home builds and the guides section.