FAQ

Here are a few :

It is best to use a toilet and low-flow faucets to reduce the input of waste water to the drain field. It is also preferable to stagger the intake of gray water throughout the day rather than concentrating the water discharge over a short period of time.

It is prohibited to install a waste crusher with an independent sanitary installation. Permitted only on a sewer network.

Maintain your pre-filter properly. It reduces the risk of clogging the drain field and thus extends its lifespan. A pre-filter intercepts fine particles suspended in the water that have not been intercepted by the pit.

Proper drainage can make a huge difference to a drain field. If your land does not seem to drain well, do not hesitate to contact us or to find out about the possibilities of drainage to be done and the standards to respect, such as the distance to respect between a drain and a sewage field ( 5 meters minimum). If you opt for a permanent ditch, it must be adequately maintained to prevent it from filling up.

Certain land uses are not compatible above or near a drain field and should be avoided. Here are some examples: areas cleared of snow in winter, an ice rink, the planting of shrubs or trees, the passage of heavy vehicles, such as an automobile or even the planting of a tree with long roots such as a willow near the leaching field.

Not living in a residence permanently in winter can cause the drain field to freeze. It would therefore be better to cover it with leaves or straw in the fall.

No one may build a new isolated residence or an additional bedroom in an existing or new isolated residence without the isolated residence concerned being provided with a device for evacuating, receiving or treating wastewater, wastewater, lavatory or gray water in accordance with the regulations on the evacuation and treatment of wastewater from isolated residences. (Q-2, r.22)

Any person who intends to build an isolated residence or a septic installation must, before undertaking construction work, obtain a permit from the local municipality.

For several years, it has been mandatory everywhere in Quebec. If you wish to purchase land not served by domestic sewers, often the Notary will require that a percolation test be carried out before the transaction in order to validate the feasibility of a septic installation on this land.

Yes, although maintenance is minimal and varies depending on the type of installation. We indicate this information in our quotes (technical specifications).

All septic tanks must now be equipped with a pre-filter at the outlet. This must be cleaned twice a year. We offer an email reminder to our customers to remind them to clean their pre-filter in the spring and fall.

Some systems such as advanced secondary and tertiary treatments will require a maintenance contract with the manufacturer or an accredited professional. (Ecoflo, Bionest, Hydro-Kinetic, System O, etc.)

As the Perco-Design equipment is portable and the boreholes are small, the test offers the advantage of not damaging the ground because the boreholes can be plugged after the percolation test.

It mainly makes it possible to determine the following elements:

• The nature and properties of the soils in place.
• The level of soil permeability (absorption capacity).
• The depth of groundwater and bedrock as they affect the design and construction of a septic system.
• And this is to ensure the feasibility of a septic installation and to determine what type it should be. All in accordance with the regulations on the evacuation and treatment of wastewater from isolated residences of the Ministry of the Environment, the fight against climate change, Wildlife and Parks (Q-2, R.22).

It allows you to obtain:

• A municipal permit to carry out work on the site.
• Submissions from contractors.
• A purification system adapted to your site and your needs.
• A certificate of conformity, normally sometimes issued by the inspector to facilitate the resale of your house. Sometimes the city requires that the designer of the septic installation monitors the work and produces a certificate of conformity report with photos and an as-built plan.

https://www.facebook.com/PercoDesign/Nous avons des albums photos pour les différentes technologies sur notre Facebook et les différents sites des fournisseurs vous procurerons de nombreuses photos et vidéos.

Appreciable quantities of laundry detergent, highly caustic substances, acid, disinfectants or other materials likely to act against bacteria should not be poured into the septic tank. Small doses of scouring or bleaching agents, such as those used to disinfect water or sterilize dishes, would not significantly harm the work of bacteria, but routine use of large quantities could harm the sanitation system.

We recommend not sending waste water returns from the water softener backwash to the drain field since the dissolved salts can in the long term (7-8 years) form an impermeable layer with sand or soils in general.

The additives that are sometimes suggested to be added to the contents of septic tanks are not all recommended, because many have no beneficial effect.

Some of these additives can even considerably harm the proper functioning of the pit or the purifying element. The sale of this type of product is not currently regulated in Quebec, which means that anyone can sell you anything. So you have to be careful.

You must always obtain our authorization before moving the field of your septic installation. We will need to validate that the new location meets the requirements and often a 2nd site visit is required for a fee.

As for the pits, it is easier to move them as long as you respect the minimum installation distances.

Any change in the use of your building will require a verification to ensure that your septic installation will be capable of treating wastewater from your new use.

For example, if you add a commercial mixed use to the home, an engineer's report will be required for a fee. Whether for example a family daycare, a professional office, hair salon, etc.

You will also always need to confirm with your municipal inspector if zoning allows it.

There is no deadline for the validity of a report in the regulations. However, in order to remain compliant when resuming the project, you must ensure:

• That the Ministry or municipal regulations have not been modified with your inspector.
• That no modification to the land that could affect the septic installation has been made (example: new well less than 30 m or 100 ft away, filling, artificial lake, etc.).
• If the report is more than 5 years old, often the municipal inspector will request that we revalidate the report following a site visit.
• Sometimes new technologies or ways of doing things are added that could benefit you and may require an update to the report for a fee.
• Do not hesitate to contact us about this.

The study of soil hydraulic load capacity is more commonly called percolation test or percolation test.

In a simple way, this study is carried out to determine and design the best way to treat wastewater from a residence that is not served by a sewer network. An objective company like us will provide you with plans and quotes for all the technologies that could be installed in your home. You will therefore have the freedom to choose the installation you prefer.

You will receive a report in PDF format by email of the plans and quotes for the installation(s) that can be installed. This type of report can have between 30 and 60 pages on average. We can also provide paper copies upon request.

A copy must be given to your municipal inspector when applying for a permit. The contractor will also consult it for its quote and to carry out the work. You can make photocopies of the document if necessary.

In general, we are able to obtain the cadastral plan of your land on the internet. It is only when the land is a land register currently being registered that you will need to provide us with a copy of the future land register plan.

If you have a site plan for the new construction, you can send us a copy. You will also need to:

• Tell us the location of the future house (new house) and the entrance (parking) to the best of your knowledge.
• Tell us the location of the existing septic installation if it is an existing house.
• Tell us the number of bedrooms you will have in the residence (plan in the long term if there will be an addition of bedrooms and note that an office or a closed room must often be considered as a bedroom).
• Tell us the location of drinking water wells (artesian well, surface well, drinking water pipe) on the land and on neighboring land (less than 100 feet, or 30 meters, from your land).
• Tell us any important element that you are thinking about or perhaps plan to add in the future on your land such as: garage, shed, swimming pool, spa, pond, garden, extension, etc.
• Give us an idea of the height of the foundation to be built.
• Let us know if you will have plumbing in the basement.
• Notify us of the presence of conduits, wires, drains or other underground elements that could be damaged by our drilling.
• Any municipal standard different from the regulations of the Ministry of the Environment.
• If you have a watercourse on your land (lake, pond, river, stream) validate with the city the width of the required riparian strip.
• If you have a wet area, provide us with a study from a Biologist. We can do a wetland characterization for you as an option.

Although we can often make certain assumptions, it is not possible to know this dimension with certainty before carrying out field tests.

The dimensions vary greatly, they can be from + or - 10 square meters (100 square feet) to more than 300 square meters (3000 square feet).

The following factors will influence the dimensions (Soil permeability, slope of the land, available space, type of installation, number of rooms, etc.)

Different field names can mislead owners.

The septic field is the conventional field that will follow a simple septic tank. This type of field will usually be the largest in surface area and its lifespan will be the shortest due to its progressive clogging. It will have an average operating life of 20 years. It requires a greater thickness of soil, i.e. 600 to 1800 mm of permeable soil.

The polishing field is the field that will follow a septic tank and an advanced secondary treatment system such as Écoflo, Bionest, Hydro-Kinetic, Système O, etc. This type of field will usually be much smaller than a drain field. Its lifespan will be longer than a septic field because the water that receives it has been pre-treated and will not clog it. It could easily last twice as long, or 40 years. It requires a thickness of permeable soil of only 300 mm. It is therefore more common in more difficult areas as is often the case in Estrie.

The drain field is no longer popular due to a regulation change. It was at the time used with a septic tank to treat gray water for installations with a sealed toilet water tank. At the time this type of field could be less than 30 m from a well but this is no longer the case today.

As we cannot control demand and the weather, upon request, we will notify you of the approximate expected wait before receiving your documents. Normally, we are able to complete your order within 5 to 15 working days.

This varies depending on your municipality. Some inspectors will do a quick and summary inspection of the work. On the other hand, the new trend is to see more and more municipalities requiring that we carry out work supervision followed by a work certification report.

If your municipality is one of them, you can budget an amount starting from $850 + taxes. This amount may vary if your excavator has material expectations on site and depending on the distance.

The following cities require our monitoring, but always confirm with your inspector as this list changes regularly:

Abercorn, Ascot Corner, Austin, Bolton-Est, Bolton-Ouest, Bonsecours, Bromont, Canton de Stanstead, Canton d'Hatley, Compton, Danville, Eastman, Granby, Lac Brome, Lac Drolet, Magog, Mansonville, Melbourne, Orford, Potton, Racine, Shefford, Sherbrooke, St-Alphonse-de-Granby, St-Étienne-de-Bolton, St-François-Xavier-de-Brompton, Ste-Anne-de-la-Rochelle, Ste-Catherine-de- Hatley, Stanstead, Stoke, Valcourt, Val-Joli, Waterloo, Waterville.

Please notify us ideally 1 week in advance of the date of the work in order to reserve a Technologist for monitoring.