Septic services · Campbell River
Septic Tank Pumping with Our Own Pump Truck
Campbell River Septic brings our own pump truck to service tanks in Campbell River, Willow Point, and Quadra Island. You pay $400 to $750 for a single-family pump-out, and we make sure your site stays clean when we leave. As registered maintenance providers, we can also write you a maintenance plan if your older system never had one.
A single-family tank pump-out runs $400 to $750. Filter cleaning or replacement runs $150 to $300. Installing a new tank lid or riser costs $350 to $800.
Why maintenance is the cheapest thing you will buy
When you skip regular maintenance, your system is far more likely to break down early.
A pump-out costs $400 to $750. A full drain field replacement costs $12,000 to $25,000. Pumping your tank and cleaning the filter stops solid waste from clogging your expensive drain field.
Where is your maintenance plan?
When we finish a new build, we provide you with a maintenance plan to guide your ongoing care.
We issue a maintenance plan alongside your certification letter for any system built under provincial regulations. If your system predates that, you can hire an Authorized Person registered as a maintenance provider to write one. We are registered in that category and we can write yours.
Cannot find the tank?
Locating and uncovering a buried tank runs $150 to $400.
Plenty of older lids around here are a foot under grass and nobody remembers where. If your tank is buried under lawn, we locate and uncover the lid for $150 to $400. We recommend adding a riser while the tank is exposed. It brings the lid to surface level and saves you from digging next time.
What we look at while the lid is off
With the lid off we check the tank walls, the baffles, the distribution box and the field.
We pump out your tank and inspect its internal baffles while the lid is open. We check the level the tank was sitting at, the condition of the baffles, and the walls.
We look at the distribution box to see the flow splitting evenly across the runs. Where there is an effluent pump we run it, and we test the float switch and the alarm with it. Then we walk the dispersal field looking for soft ground, for ponding, and for any sign of a repair needed.
You get a plain summary of all of that, including the parts that are fine. Nothing gets quoted off it unless you ask.
What to keep off the system
You must keep irrigation lines off your drain field and maintain at least three metres of clearance for water pipes.
Do not grow vegetables or food crops over your system. We advise planting grass over your drain field and keeping deep tree roots away. Keep sprinkler lines off the distribution field, and keep water lines three metres back from it.
What a visit covers
Tank pump-out
Single-family tanks, emptied and checked.
Effluent filter service
Cleaned, replaced, or fitted where the tank has none.
Lids and risers
So the next visit does not start with a shovel.
Maintenance plan
Written for your system by a registered maintenance provider.
How a pump-out visit runs
We maintain registration with the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians Association of BC as maintenance providers, allowing us to author official care plans.
- 1
Locate the lids — we find and uncover the tank access, and we tell you if a riser is worth fitting.
- 2
Pump the tank — we empty it and check the baffles and the walls.
- 3
Service the filter — we clean or replace the effluent filter, or install one where there is none.
- 4
Tell you what we saw — a plain summary of the tank's condition and anything worth watching.
What does this mean where you are?
Where your property sits changes the building paperwork. It never changes the Island Health filing.
Older properties in Campbell River often lack effluent filters entirely, leaving drain fields vulnerable. Fitting one is $150 to $300 and it is the single cheapest thing you can do for a field you would rather not replace.
Common Questions
How often should I pump the tank?
We specify your exact pumping schedule in your maintenance plan.
Should I add anything to the tank?
No. We advise against septic additives because they can break down sludge and damage your drain field.
What does a maintenance visit cost?
A scheduled maintenance visit runs $200 to $450.
Can I put a garden over the field?
Not a food garden. Plant shallow grass over your field and clear away any deep-rooted trees.
When a pump-out shows something bigger, see septic repair work and a septic inspection, or check every price we quote.
This work in nearby communities
Keep exploring
- Septic cost guideOur own price ranges for every kind of septic work we do.
- Septic RepairsDrain fields, distribution boxes, pumps, floats and alarms, repaired by an Authorized Person.
- Septic InspectionsWe write performance reports when you sell a home and compliance reports when you apply for a building permit.
- 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.