Our History
After completing the Heavy-Duty Mechanics course at the former Malaspina College (now VIU), we moved our family to Gabriola Island in 1996, where Bob started working with a local excavating company. The natural beauty and community feel of Gabriola made us reconsider our plan to relocate to the big city and we decided to start our own local excavation company, Small Time Excavating, in 1999. Over the following years Bob moved away from land clearing and driveway building and began to specialize in irrigation systems, building retaining walls and landscaping.
Increasingly, his work moved towards installing and maintaining septic systems so, beginning in 2003, Bob started taking certification courses and participating in workshops. He earned his Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioner (ROWP) certification through the ASTTBC Wastewater Association and eventually added a vacuum (pumper) truck and other specialized equipment, such as a line camera with locators to diagnose septic issues. Thus, the growing local business was expanded to reflect Bob’s septic service expertise.
A Successful Local Business
In the years since, we have been here for all your septic problems, planning, installation and pump-out needs. Our goal is to evaluate systems, solve problems, give advice and find solutions for septic installations that need to fit into a particular landscape or set of regulations. We are a Gabriola-based family business, having served the island for over 22 years. Since we changed our name to Gabriola Septic Services Ltd in 2019, we have also continued to carry out business as Small Time Excavating, enabling our long-time customers to find us under our former name.
We are committed to excellent customer service and meeting all of your septic-related needs. We are proud to be Your Local Septic System Specialists and look forward to doing business with you.
“I am happy to endorse Bob Bye. We have been pleased with his work 29 years ago and a couple of years ago as well. Bob follows through when he gives a day and completes the job in a timely manner. He’s a humorous guy too which is enjoyable. I especially appreciated how he explained and educated us about our system and how to care for it. To top it off, Bob was reasonable in his rates. Love supporting our local business people.”
Zulis Yalte, Artist, Gabriola Island
Gabriola Septic Services Ltd 