Saskatchewan Regulations 96/2025, enacted under The Public Health Act, 1994, amend The Private Sewage Works Regulations to establish updated requirements for the design, installation, operation, and oversight of private sewage works across the province. The regulations provide comprehensive definitions for terms including building, building drain, building sewer, private sewage works, plumbing system, effluent, lagoon, septic tank, sewage holding tank, privy vault, and other key components, clarifying their scope and application in both residential and recreational contexts. The regulations also define various land and facility types, including campgrounds, recreational camps, regional and provincial parks, shoreland development areas, reservoir development areas, and trailer courts, and specify the regulatory expectations for sewage systems in each context. Industrial waste is distinguished from domestic sewage and clear-water waste, and the regulations explicitly address the containment, treatment, and disposal of sewage and effluent to protect public health and the environment.

The amendment establishes qualifications for individuals designing private sewage works, specifying that designers must either be professional engineers with relevant scope of practice or persons who have completed recognized onsite wastewater training and are approved by the local authority. Designers are required to provide written plans and operational information to the property owner before installation. The regulations revise requirements for private sewage works located within prefabricated structures, manufactured homes, recreational vehicles, and park model trailers, referencing Canadian Standards Association standards.

The containment of sewage and effluent is emphasized, with the requirement that all non-public sewer waste must remain on the property of origin unless otherwise authorized. Seepage pits and pit privies may be installed with prior local authority approval in buildings not served by pressurized water systems. Prefabricated septic and sewage holding tanks must comply with CSA standards, with specifications for inlet baffles, and location requirements are extended to include reservoir development areas and areas near lakes and rivers. Existing parks are grandfathered under previous regulations until reconstruction or expansion occurs.

Part III.1 introduces specific provisions for private sewage works in shoreland development areas, defined as areas within 457 metres of a high water mark or reservoir development areas with residential or recreational use. Disposal of sewage in these areas requires local authority approval, and methods must comply with prescribed standards in the regulations’ appendix. Sewage holding tanks must meet minimum capacity requirements, basement installation restrictions are clarified, and outside toilets must be provided where indoor facilities are unavailable, with specifications for water closets, septic tanks, or privy vaults. The appendix outlines permissible disposal methods by distance from the high water mark, detailing options for hand basins, kitchen sinks, baths, showers, dishwashers, clothes washers, and water closets, including restrictions for dwellings without running water.

Saskatchewan (96/2025) December 16, 2025
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