Hayes Plumbing carries out drain cleaning in Uxbridge, from downtown along Brock Street and Toronto Street to Township of Uxbridge hamlets such as Goodwood, Leaskdale, Sandford, Zephyr and Siloam. Because the plumber is coming from our shop in Oshawa, a few details when you phone help them arrive prepared: which drains are slow, whether anything is backing up, and whether the house is connected to the municipal sewer or to its own septic tank.
Municipal sewer in town, septic tanks beyond it
Homes in the community of Uxbridge get their water from Region of Durham municipal wells, at a hardness of 186 mg/L, and send their sewage to the Region's Uxbridge Brook Water Pollution Control Plant. In 2025 that plant had a service population of about 12,200, the Region reports. When a sewer backup starts off your property, the Region's Works Department will clear the length from the main out to the property line; the house side of that line, indoors and out, is the owner's.
Out in the countryside, the Region says, many households draw water from their own wells and treat sewage in septic systems. The Township's Official Plan, for example, says existing development in the hamlet of Coppins Corners relies on its own wells and sewage disposal systems, lot by lot. On a septic property the drain empties into a tank on your own land, and the Region of Durham's Health Department handles septic permits and inspections for the Township.
Lake Simcoe septic inspections
The Township of Uxbridge has contracted the Health Department to run its Maintenance Inspection Program under the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan. The program covers private sewage systems put in before January 1, 2016 that sit within 100 metres of Lake Simcoe or of a lake, pond, river or stream in its watershed. Inspectors make a visual check of the ground surface between late May and the end of August, and owners don't need to be home for it.
Where a system is found not to be working properly, the Health Department can issue an Order to Comply, and the owner pays for the permits and the work to put it right. The signs it lists are wet spots, depressions or soggy patches over the leaching bed, and a sewage smell around the tank or bed.
Looking after drains that run to a septic tank
Ontario's SepticSmart guide for rural homeowners includes several habits that also keep house drains flowing:
- Keep cooking oil and food waste out of the sink, and only run a garburator if the system was designed for one.
- Never flush hazardous chemicals, medications, cigarette butts or sanitary products.
- Spread laundry loads through the week, and consider a lint filter on the washing machine's discharge pipe.
- Have the tank checked for sludge and scum every three to five years, and cleaned out when a third of its depth is sludge and scum.
- Keep sump pump water, eavestroughs and other surface water out of the septic system.
- Leave out the additives sold to boost septic performance, which the guide calls unnecessary.
Pricing and permits in the Township of Uxbridge
Our 2026 Oshawa plumbing cost guide sets a planning range of $150 to $400 for clearing a drain, and the final figure depends on how serious the clog is and its location in the plumbing. If a camera inspection shows a damaged pipe, that repair gets its own written quote.
When a repair needs a permit, inspections are booked through the Township's Cloudpermit portal; for a legacy permit or trouble with the portal, email inspections@uxbridge.ca or call 905-852-9181, extension 403. Septic permits go through the Health Department instead.