The Sewerage System Standard Practice Manual (SPM), Version 3 is the main reference source for B.C. wastewater practitioners responsible for planning, installing and maintaining onsite sewage systems, pursuant to the Sewerage System Regulation and Public Health Act.

The Ministry of Health has worked with independent contractors, the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC (ASTTBC) and industry stakeholders – including registered onsite wastewater practitioners, professional engineers and regional health authority staff – to develop Version 3 of the Sewerage System Standard Practice Manual.

The Sewerage System Standard Practice Manual, Version 3 (PDF, 7.6MB) is divided into four volumes:

• Volume I (Introduction)
  Background information on the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders and organizations affected by the Sewerage System Standard Practice Manual.
• Volume II (Standards)
  The core standards that will be applied by most authorized persons when conducting planning, installation and maintenance work.
• Volume III (Guidelines) 
  Supporting information for the core standards in Volume II.
• Volume IV (Rationale)
  Further clarification, based on scientific (peer-reviewed) references, supporting the standards and design considerations of Volumes II and III.

This improved approach to organizing the manual is based on separating the core standards (Volume 2) from the “supplementary” information in the remaining volumes, which are intended to provide supporting guidance and rationale for the core standards.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Errata
FAQs and Errata, November 2015 (PDF, 125KB) provides answers to common questions that arose during the 2014-15 roll-out workshops on the Sewerage System Standard Practice Manual, Version 3. It also includes a summary of errata (typos and link errors) in the manual.