Every NewSewerLines.com guide, by topic
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Apply
2 guides
How long a new sewer connection takes, step by step
How long a new sewer service connection takes in Canadian cities: each step from application to sign-off, and the waits that cities publish.
Sewer connection permits: what you apply for, who applies, and what to submit
How a sewer connection permit works in Canadian cities: the approvals behind a new service, who files them, what to submit and when to apply.
Basics
3 guides
How a new service is tied into a sewer main, and who is allowed to do it
How to tie into a city sewer main: wye fittings, saddle taps, manhole connections, live taps and clay transitions, and who each city lets do it.
Sanitary, storm and combined sewers: which pipes a new building connects to
Combined sewer vs sanitary sewer vs storm sewer for new service connections: what goes where, storm tie-ins, foundation drains and downspouts.
What is a sewer tie-in, and what makes up a new service connection?
What is a sewer tie-in? The parts of a new sewer service connection, from the tap on the main to the building drain, who owns each part, and tie cards.
Inspect
1 guides
Plan
4 guides
Can a house have two sewer lines? When services are shared, and when they must be separate
Can a house have two sewer lines? When the plumbing code and Canadian cities require separate sewer services, when buildings may share one, and easements.
Servicing a multiplex: sewer, storm and water for a fourplex to an eightplex
Multiplex sewer servicing for fourplexes to eightplexes on infill lots: shared or separate services, capacity reviews, storm connections and costs.
Can the old sewer service stay? Reuse rules for rebuilds and infill, city by city
Reusing an existing sewer service on a rebuild: what Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Saskatoon require, and why.
Planning the water and sewer services together on an infill or multiplex build
Water and sewer tie-ins planned together for infill and multiplex builds: one water service per lot, meters, shut-offs, fire flow and cover depth.
Size
2 guides
When a new building cannot drain by gravity: pumped services and duplex ejector pumps
When an infill house, suite or multiplex needs a pumped sewer service: sumps, sewage ejectors, duplex ejector pumps, code rules and costs.
How a building sewer is sized for suites, duplexes and multiplexes
How a building sewer is sized in Canada: fixture units, the code capacity table by slope, the NPS 4 minimum, city minimums and worked examples.
Suites
2 guides
Laneway houses, garden suites and coach houses: how the sewer gets there
How a laneway house, garden suite or coach house connects to sewer in Canadian cities: sharing the house service, new connections, fall and pumps.
Secondary suite plumbing: what changes for the sewer when a house becomes two dwellings
Secondary suite plumbing requirements that touch the sewer: added fixture load, backwater valves per unit, water shut-offs and meters.
Tools, costs & reference
14 pages
What a new sewer connection costs: the city's half and yours
New sewer connection cost in Canada: published city fees for Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax and more, plus a planning range for the private side.
Building sewer fixture load estimator: will one service carry the whole building?
Tally fixture units for every unit and suite in a multiplex, find the smallest building sewer the code allows, and test the existing service against it.
Service connection planner: what your city will ask for before the new sewer goes in
Pick a city and project to see who builds each side, the application route, published fees, reuse rules and a planning range for a new sewer service.
New sewer service connections, city by city
How eight Canadian cities handle new sewer service connections for infill and multiplexes: who builds each side, fees, suites, reuse rules and sources.
New sewer service connections in Calgary: DSSP, permits, reuse and fees
New sewer service connections in Calgary for infill homes, suites, semis and multiplexes: the DSSP, permit routes, reuse limits, City fees and inspections.
New sewer service connections in Edmonton: EPCOR, IWASS and infill rules
New sewer service connections in Edmonton run through EPCOR IWASS: servicing plans, backyard houses, side-by-sides, multi-family rules, fees and depths.
New sewer service connections in Halifax: Halifax Water routes, charges and backyard suites
New sewer service connections in Halifax: Halifax Water application routes, tapping and inspection fees, development charges and backyard suites.
New sewer service connections in Ottawa: coach houses, infill specs and what to confirm
New sewer service connections in Ottawa: coach house servicing, infill pipe specs, backwater valves and what to confirm with 3-1-1, from City PDFs.
New sewer service connections in Saskatoon: licensed contractors, pre-review and depth
New sewer service connections in Saskatoon: licensed contractors on both sides, Water Pre-Review for 3+ units, garden suites, fees, depth and inspection.
New sewer service connections in Toronto: application routes, 2026 fees and reuse rules
New sewer service connections in Toronto: who builds each side, 2026 City fees, CCTV reuse rules, garden suites and multiplex routes, checked September 2026.
New sewer service connections in Vancouver: permits, city crews and by-law fees
New sewer service connections in Vancouver: the combined residential permit, laneway houses, multiplex engineered permits, by-law fees, reuse and timing.
New sewer service connections in Winnipeg: Service Permits, detached suites and reuse deadlines
New sewer service connections in Winnipeg: Service Permits, licensed contractors, detached suites, the 18-month reuse window and published City fees.
Glossary of new sewer service connection terms
Plain definitions of new sewer service connection terms in Canada: tie-ins, building sewers, fixture units, inverts, servicing plans and abandonment.
Questions about new sewer service connections, answered
Answers to common questions about new sewer service connections for infill homes, suites, laneway houses and multiplexes in Canadian cities.
Describe the problem once. Get a straight answer.
Send the symptoms and anything you already know — age of the house, what a camera found, what you have been quoted. The HAUSE Sewer desk replies with next steps and, where available, a local contractor for the job.
Sewage backing up right now? Stop using water, keep people away from the water, and do not touch electrical equipment near it.