We provide drain cleaning in Port Perry and elsewhere in Scugog Township, from Queen Street and the Lake Scugog waterfront to Prince Albert, Seagrave, Caesarea, Blackstock and Scugog Island, with licensed plumbers sent out from our Oshawa shop. Before deciding how to clear a drain here, we ask one question: is the house connected to the Region of Durham's sewer, or to a septic tank on the property? The answer changes who is responsible for what, and whether a slow drain is a clog at all.
Town sewer or septic?
- Town sewer. Homes in the Port Perry sewer service area connect to Region of Durham sanitary sewers, and the Region treats the wastewater at its Nonquon plant in Port Perry. If the blockage is out under the street, Region crews clear the connection up to your lot line; from there to the house, the pipe is yours.
- Private septic. Outside the serviced area, the Region of Durham notes, many rural residents have private wells and septic systems. The drain from the house runs to your own tank and leaching bed, the Region's sewer rules do not apply, and the province reminds owners that they are responsible for operating their septic system.
- Unsure which one applies? The Durham Region Health Department holds septic records, but only for properties that came to it with a permit application, and none before 1974. A search carries a fee and can be requested in person on the second floor at 181 Perry Street, Port Perry.
Blocked drain or septic problem?
On a septic property, slow drains can be a symptom of the system rather than a clog in the house. Ontario's SepticSmart guide lists household drains slowing down and toilets backing up among its warning signs, together with grass over the system that is unusually green or spongy and effluent ponding on the surface. The Durham Region Health Department adds wet spots or soggy ground on the leaching bed and odours around the tank.
If one sink or tub is slow, a clog in that fixture is the likely cause. If the whole house is sluggish and you also notice the outdoor signs, cleaning the house drains will not solve it: the tank may need pumping or the system may need repair, and septic repairs need a Health Department permit. We will tell you which way the evidence points.
Port Perry's hard water
The Region supplies Port Perry from municipal groundwater wells, and its hardness table lists 274 mg/L for the town, more than double the Lake Ontario system's 125 mg/L in Ajax, Oshawa and the other lakeshore towns. Whether to soften is up to you, since the Region does not require it with its water, and its private well manual notes that hard water leaves scale on fixtures, appliances and pipes.
If you put a softener on a property with a well and a septic system, check where its backwash goes. SepticSmart says not to discharge softener backwash to the septic system unless it was designed to take it.
How a Port Perry drain call works
- When you call, tell us if the house is on the town sewer or septic, and which drains are slow.
- Our plumber checks the fixtures to see whether one line or the whole house is affected.
- A blocked fixture or main drain is cleared with a powered snake from the fixture or a cleanout.
- On a sewer line that keeps backing up, the next step is jetting the line or running a camera through it to look for roots, sags or damage. On a septic property, if the signs point past the house drains, we say so before doing more work.
Prices and Scugog permits
Our 2026 Oshawa plumbing cost guide places drain cleaning between $150 and $400, with the blockage's severity and location setting the figure. Jetting and camera work are priced after an inspection of the line, and we put the price on paper before starting.
Scugog's rule is that new plumbing systems, for example adding a bathroom or moving one, need a plumbing permit, while repairing or replacing faucets, valves, water heaters or fixtures does not. Ask at the Township office, 181 Perry Street, or call 905-985-7346. Septic permits in the township are a matter for the Region's Health Department.