Septic services · Campbell River
Installing a New Septic System in Campbell River
Campbell River Septic installs Type 1 and Type 2 systems across Campbell River, Willow Point, and Quadra Island from $18,000 to $45,000 or more, plus Type 3 installs by custom quote. We file your Type 1 and Type 2 plans with Island Health before we build, then submit your letter of certification within 30 days of finishing. When your site calls for a Type 3 system, we install it to match your professional's design.
A new Type 1 system with a tank and a gravity field runs $18,000 to $30,000. A Type 2 system with a treatment unit runs $25,000 to $45,000 or more. A Type 3 system, built to a professional's design, is a custom quote.
What is the difference between Type 1 and Type 2?
A Type 1 system uses standard tank treatment, and we can add a pump if your lot requires one.
A Type 1 system settles wastewater in a tank before sending it out to your drain field. A Type 2 system adds a treatment unit that brings effluent under 45 mg/L suspended solids and under 45 mg/L five-day biochemical oxygen demand. The soil test tells us which one your lot will take.
Who is allowed to install your system?
An Authorized Person means either a Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioner or a professional.
The Sewerage System Regulation requires an Authorized Person to handle system construction, alterations, or repairs. We hold ROWP status with the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians Association of BC, enabling us to install Type 1 and Type 2 systems under 9,100 litres per day. An engineer or geoscientist designs larger systems handling up to 22,699 litres per day.
We install Type 3 systems too, but we do not design them. If your property demands a Type 3 system, a professional designs the setup and we install it for you.
Which regulation covers your system?
If your system handles under 22,700 litres per day, it falls under the Sewerage System Regulation. If daily flow reaches 22,700 litres per day or more, the Municipal Wastewater Regulation takes over.
Systems discharging under 22,700 litres per day operate under the Sewerage System Regulation. This covers single-family homes, duplexes, multi-building parcels, and shared strata properties. At 22,700 litres per day or more, the Municipal Wastewater Regulation under the Environmental Management Act takes over instead.
What does Island Health actually approve?
Island Health does not approve the design. It receives the filing and checks the minimum criteria.
Island Health receives your filing and checks that the submission meets minimum criteria. It does not approve the design. We take full responsibility for ensuring your system design suits your specific property.
What we install
Type 1 system
Septic tank and dispersal field, by gravity or pumped.
Type 2 system
A treatment unit ahead of the field, for lots that need the higher effluent standard.
Type 3 system
Built to a professional's design. We install Type 3 systems according to a professional's design, but we do not design them ourselves.
Sand mound and pressure-dosed systems
For lots where a conventional gravity field will not disperse the flow.
Sewage holding tank
Where no system can be installed on the parcel at all.
How we build your system
You cannot put a new system into use until the letter of certification reaches the health authority.
- 1
Site and soil assessment — we dig test pits, log the soil and confirm what your lot will take.
- 2
Design and filing — We draft your system design and submit all required plans, specs, and property covenants directly to Island Health.
- 3
Construction — we install the tank, the field and the controls.
- 4
Certification — within 30 days we submit the signed letter, and you get the as-built diagram and your maintenance plan.
What does this mean where you are?
Where your property sits changes the building paperwork. It never changes the Island Health filing.
Your lot location dictates local building permits, but your Island Health septic filing stays the same everywhere. Inside the city you deal with the municipal building department for the building side. In Electoral Area D you deal with the Strathcona Regional District. In Areas A, B and C there is no building bylaw at all. We complete the exact same Island Health filing regardless of your local neighbourhood.
Common Questions
Can I install my own septic system?
You may build it yourself, but an Authorized Person still has to design it, file the documents and supervise the construction.
How big a system can a ROWP design?
We design and install Type 1 and Type 2 systems for homes producing under 9,100 litres per day.
Is the Island Health filing an extra charge?
No. We include the filing in the system design fee rather than billing it separately.
When can I start using the system?
Once we have submitted the letter of certification to the health authority, and not before.
Read about site assessments and repairs, or view our system cost guide.
This work in nearby communities
Keep exploring
- Septic cost guideOur own price ranges for every kind of septic work we do.
- Site and Soil Assessment and System DesignSoil logs, a system design sized to your daily flow, and the Island Health filing that goes with it.
- Septic RepairsDrain fields, distribution boxes, pumps, floats and alarms, repaired by an Authorized Person.
- Campbell River Septic home
Ready for a quote on your Campbell River septic system?
We quote for free. We reply to your request within 24 hours.