Mandatory Septic Inspections

Jul 03, 2014

I give Councillor Norm Guntensperger credit for being the one to raise an important, and potentially serious, issue at Central Frontenac Council – regarding bringing in mandatory septic system inspections.

I join with the proponents of the plan in their desire to ensure that septic systems are in working order and that groundwater sources are adequately protected. It occurs to me that you would be hard-pressed to find anyone in Central Frontenac Township who would actually want polluted drinking water anywhere.

Having said that, Guntensperger was the only one reported in the article in the Frontenac News to raise the all-important question – how much is this going to cost people?

There was a lot of talk about deferring the $140 inspection fee, but I would like to hear an answer to the $15,000 question. That, of course, is the average price for a conventional septic system in Ontario. That is also what it will potentially cost any homeowner in Central Frontenac Township if they fail the proposed inspection.

In short, each year for the next ten years, we will tell a group of people that they need to come up with $15,000 if they plan on continuing to live in their home. You may very well be one of these lucky souls.

The representative from the Health Unit argued that, in 29 years, no one has been kicked out of their house for that reason. Then again, mandatory inspections have not existed in the last 29 years. Saying you haven’t gone after someone in the past for a bylaw that does not yet exist is bureaucratic bafflegab. Besides, does anyone actually believe that the township and the Health Unit would bring in a “mandatory” scheme that allowed people the choice not to comply?

I’m not against replacing outdated septic systems and protecting ground water. It's an important health and safety issue, but the typical resident of Central Frontenac Township just doesn’t have $15,000 stuffed in a cookie jar on the kitchen cupboard to pay for it. They can’t call their broker, or withdraw the money from their offshore account in the Cayman Islands. Many of the folks in Sydenham who had to shell out $25,000 each to hook into the municipal water plant are still making payments on bank loans they had to take out in order to finance their compliance.

If the township proceeds with this plan, I would certainly hope that council and staff alike will acknowledge the fact that Central Frontenac is not populated with retired Bay Street bankers, and that $15,000 is a significant amount of money to most. Offering a break on a $140 fee just isn’t going to cut it. If this goes ahead, they will have to do much, much better than that.

Brent Cameron