Small Cabin

Small Cabin Forum
 - Forums - Register/Sign Up - Reply - Search - Statistics -

Small Cabin Forum / Off-Grid Living / Outhouses laws on Crown Land in Northern Ontario
Author Message
mother
Member
# Posted: 27 Apr 2013 19:15
Reply 


I need help in getting info about crown land and "outhouses" We will be camping on crown land this summer, and we need info about how to empty our "black water" from our trailer.

Can we just make a big hole (away from any lake, river,spring)....and empty our black water tank?..and then cover with plywood between dumpings.

Do we need to build an "outhouse" and use this to empty our black water"...and then take our outhouse with us when we are asked to move every 21 days ( just like a turtle)lol

We are in northern ontario, south of Timmins, and would appreciate any info on this.

Someone out there must know the laws concerning this!

Thank you for your time

Trapper
Member
# Posted: 27 Apr 2013 21:29
Reply 


I would contact the local MNR Office.

Just
Member
# Posted: 27 Apr 2013 21:43
Reply 


we hunt and camp on crown land every fall in nortern Ont. .we dig and set up a temp outhouse every year ,tear down and cover every year when we leave.a mnr. officer visits us most years they have never said anything about the outhouse .don't ask u might not like the answer!!! clean up when you leave and i don't think you will have a problem ..

mother
Member
# Posted: 27 Apr 2013 22:40
Reply 


today we went to a sportmans show and there were MNR there....husband did ask them and they didn't know about the outhouse part...but they did say we could not dig a hole and empty black water.....but my problem was these two MNR were very young and didn't seem to really know the law on this.

mother
Member
# Posted: 28 Apr 2013 08:29
Reply 


I think I will need to contact the Ministry of Environment. I would need them to explain what is the difference between having a hole in ground with cover on top.... or a outhouse.

We know we have seen outhouses t lots of locations, but they seem to have been there for many years and the new campers just use them.

But to build a new one attracts questions and MNR.....not sure what route to go. I just want to be able to camp in peace, without having to check if MNR are coming down the road to make us move.

creeky
Member
# Posted: 7 May 2013 13:56
Reply 


careful with the mnr. some of them are d*cks. i know. my dad was one of them. (I'm sort of kidding of course)
parks canada has some outhouses that get an tonne of use very near the water (I'm looking at you temagami
i look forward to what the mnr has to say.

mother
Member
# Posted: 7 May 2013 16:19
Reply 


Parks Canada have a plastic container inside the outhouse. I was told this today by the ministry of environment.

I am waiting for an email from the ministry of environment concerning "privy"...I think that means a hole in ground. The email is suppose to tell me what I can and cannot do concerning outhouses on crown land.

I will share the info once I get it.

creeky
Member
# Posted: 7 May 2013 19:05
Reply 


the plastic container is really funny. i'm talking about "material" that rises up past the toilet seat. (I shouldn't be laughing
of course it's a balance. parks Canada does a great great job of managing what humans carry into some very beautiful and biologically wonderful areas of Canada. and we all have to respect and care for that.
same with mnr.
We don't want limited budgets going to check if someone is handling their material properly. it's really up to us as the users to perform responsibly. thx mother for bringing up this important issue.
every camping spot it different. but for my trailer I have a portable tank that I fill with my black water and then tote that to Canadian Tire. They often have free waste stations. parks canada also has waste stations for trailers, they are single digit dollar deposits
but if you get caught out camping and the "black water" is building up... you might want to carry a straw bale to put in the hole that you pour your bw over.
again. i look forward to the mnr response. and I point you to
http://www.saskwastereduction.ca/resources/Composting/comp-toilet.html
happy camping.

mother
Member
# Posted: 7 May 2013 19:47
Reply 


Well I got the email and in it , a (Senior environmental officer) from our northern district said, there is NO PROBLEM having a "earth pit privy".

He gave me instructions on how far from water, what size the hole should be, with reinforcement on sides so it won't cave in, and of course a cover on top (plywood is ok) to make sure nothing falls in.

I can't seem to be able to upload it on this site, sorry! But, just to say, if you want to build a outhouse, or just a earth pit privy, there is not problems as long as you are the" required distance from any water source".

I am now not as stressed out about this situation. Looking forward to going camping.

creeky
Member
# Posted: 8 May 2013 10:42
Reply 


so how far from "any water source"?
could you let us know.

mother
Member
# Posted: 8 May 2013 13:17
Reply 


hi,

the info says a "earth pit privy" needs to be 15 metres from river/lake/pond/stream/reservoir/ or a spring that is NOT a source of potable water....

BUT, if its a source of potable water it must be 30 meters,,,unless it;s a well with a water tight casing to a depth of at least 6metres
I hope this helps.

creeky
Member
# Posted: 8 May 2013 16:27
Reply 


thx mother. 15 meters is 50 ft for us old folk. that's actually pretty close. it used to be we were asked to hike 150 feet in from a shore line to do a #2. buried 8" deep to facilitate quick composting...
so for your purposes 30 meters is the real standard. as every river/lake/pond/stream/reservoir and spring is possibly someone's potable water source.
did they say what constitutes an "earth pit privy"? How deep should it be? I don't think anyone's taking a water tight casing and burying it 20 feet down...
I'm a big fan of straw bales. they make great #1 receptacles and they greatly ameliorate the problems with #2s.
thx again for this useful info mother. you rock!

mother
Member
# Posted: 9 May 2013 08:28
Reply 


Hi,

Please explain to me your straw bales method. How does it work?

Thanks

creeky
Member
# Posted: 9 May 2013 10:14
Reply 


You may have seen it on the web. there are little plastic and metal funnels that plug into straw bales. but for construction sites a straw bale for the boys makes a biodegradable composting pee repository. and it's big enough you can't miss.
or for the ladies, put 1/2 a porta potty on top of a bale (a shower curtain for privacy can help). This also keeps a lot of liquid out of your trailer tank so it will need emptying far less often.

a designated pee bale behind a privy pit can control odors too, by reducing the amount of fluid in the pit.

for the pit. cut strings/dump a straw bale into the pit before dumping your bw. If you're using the pit as an outhouse that's one thing. but bw from a trailer contains a lot of water. the straw both helps capture the water and filters/allows biological agents to do their business on yours. it's not perfect. but it helps for sure.

I have used straw bales to prefilter grey water as well.

sorry ... how deep was the privy pit to be ?

mother
Member
# Posted: 9 May 2013 11:00
Reply 


Thanks for the info on straw bales....very informative.
a)the bottom of the pit shall be at least 900 mm above the high ground water table
b)the sides of the pit shall be reinforced so as to prevent collapse therof,
c)the pit shall be surrounded on all sides and on its bottom by not less the 600 mm of soil or leaching bed fill, and
d)the soil or leaching bed fill around the base of the sides of the superstructure of the earth pit privy shall be raised or mounded to a height of at least 150 mm above the ground level
This is all I have to give you...hope it helps you

creeky
Member
# Posted: 9 May 2013 13:53
Reply 


thx mother. hopefully it helps a lot of people.

so there's no actual depth requirement?
Only that the prit be above the water table. away from potable water, surrounded by soil and a mound of soil rises past the top of the pit.

http://www.sanidumps.com/rvdumpsregion.php?region=5

has a great list of bw dump stations in Ontario.

mother
Member
# Posted: 9 May 2013 17:18
Reply 


thank u for the list of dump stations.....but in our case, when your 30 minutes in the bush, it's not practical for us to pull out every time we need to empty tanks.

creeky
Member
# Posted: 11 May 2013 09:15
Reply 


i wonder if straw is considered "leaching bed fill."

btw: i initially got the straw bale method from a "green house" construction guy. good for hunt camps too I would think.

i use(d) a portable waste transfer tank and dump at a CT when I'm "going by." For one guy, I only dump every 3-4 weeks.
have a permanent installation now. whew!

Cooks Dock
Member
# Posted: 11 May 2013 09:35
Reply 


Or google "Lovely Loo" and build one. Camped lots of times in N.O. , never thought of outhouse regulations

Your reply
Bold Style  Italic Style  Underlined Style  Thumbnail Image Link  Large Image Link  URL Link           :) ;) :-( :confused: More smilies...

» Username  » Password 
Only registered users can post here. Please enter your login/password details before posting a message, or register here first.