I was interested to know how many of your readers may have been delighted to receive an enormous bill from their trusted provincial government. I am guessing that the vast majority of people do not know that they have received it.

I am referring here to the new residential wastewater disposal laws which have been passed in Manitoba by the provincial government. Under this law, residents that have a septic ejector system of grey water disposal are required by law to decommission it and install an underground septic leech field system whenever a property is transferred by sale. They are entirely personally responsible for the cost of this change and no grant or other such aid is available.

The septic ejector system is where grey water from the septic tank (no solid matter) is pumped from the tank when it reaches a certain depth and ejected onto a surface area somewhere on their property.

The septic underground leech field system is where a system of weeping pipes are set deep underground and covered with gravel. The grey water is then pumped into them and the water slowly leeches through into the soil.

Originally intended to be introduced in environmentally sensitive areas, this draconian law is now in force for the whole of Manitoba and every resident with the ejector system has to comply. No account has been taken of the extremely high cost to the individual, which is expected to be up to $25,000 depending on the area and geology of the individual situation. This effectively devalues the property of anyone with such a system. If you cannot afford it or cannot get the work done, it makes the property unsellable.

The effectiveness of such a law in cleaning up the environment is debateable.

The ejector system, although it sounds worse ecologically, is in fact not so. The grey water, which is usually treated by bacterial agents within the septic tank itself, is pumped onto the surface where it is acted on by sunlight, soil borne agents and plant life in the area before leeching into the soil. As far as I am aware no one has ever died from this and there have been no known ecological catastrophes.

Septic leech fields, however, are difficult to repair and it is almost impossible to find the site of the problem if the system starts backing up. They have to be buried below the frost line and are susceptible to damage through ground heave and clogging. Not having the benefit of UV exposure the grey water just leeches into the ground. It still will enter the water table.

There has been very little publicity sought for this law and I am guessing that most residents of Manitoba are not aware of this. It involves a huge number of individuals in Manitoba and I would think I am being conservative if I speculated at a number of 25,000 residences where the ejector system is in use. Again it seems to punish rural residents. It is deeply unfair and places a huge financial burden on people.

There are other aspects to this law and I would encourage you and your readers to research it through the Manitoba web site. I have sent a letter to The Hon. Bill Blaikie, Minister for Conservation, asking him to intervene in this situation. I would encourage other affected residents to write a similar letter.

If any readers or you wish to contact me for more information or for an example letter to send to the province, I would be happy for them to do so.

Peter Clements.

Virden