Professional Engineer · Septic & Stormwater · British Columbia

Septic designs that get approved the first time.

Engineered onsite wastewater and stormwater systems for property owners, builders and developers across British Columbia, mostly in Abbotsford, Mission, Maple Ridge and Chilliwack.

Call (778) 201-3837 Request a consultation

Free initial consultation · Straight answer on whether your site will work

Why property owners call an engineer

✓Any system type: Type 1, 2 and 3, including advanced treatment on difficult sites
✓Hard sites welcome: steep slopes, shallow soils, high water table, small lots, lakeshore setbacks
✓Stormwater too: drainage reports and servicing designs municipalities will accept
✓Design-only: we don't sell or install systems, but we can point you to installers we trust

100+Projects

100%Permit approval

5+Years in BC

P.EngBC licensed

When you need an engineer

Some sites need an engineer's seal.

Under BC's Sewerage System Regulation, most standard septic systems can be designed by a Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioner. Some can't. A Professional Engineer is required for Type 3 advanced treatment and for stormwater and drainage submissions to a municipality, and it's the right call when the ground, the lot, or the lender makes a standard design hard to get approved.

Dykstra Consulting Ltd.

Professional Engineer

✓Designs any system type, including Type 3 advanced treatment
✓Takes on tough sites: slope, shallow soils, high water table, small lots, lakeshore setbacks
✓Sealed stormwater and drainage reports for municipal submission
✓Design and inspection only. We don't sell or install, but we can point you to installers we trust

We work alongside ROWPs and installers. If you're a practitioner with a site that needs an engineer's seal, we're glad to help. Been told your lot won't work? Get a second opinion before you walk away from a build. A site that fails a standard design will often pass an engineered one.

About the engineer

Miguel Dykstra, P.Eng.

Miguel is a Professional Engineer registered with Engineers and Geoscientists BC. He works in onsite wastewater and stormwater, and Dykstra Consulting Ltd. is his firm, based in Abbotsford.

He studied civil engineering at the University of British Columbia and has more than five years of practice behind him, from single-lot septic designs to stormwater reports for municipal review. When you call, you speak to him. He does the site visit, the design, the filing and the inspection himself.

Clear communication, honest timelines, and engineering that holds up in the field.

P.Eng. Engineers and Geoscientists BC
Permit to Practice #1006521 Registered practice area: Civil, Water/Sanitary
University of British Columbia Civil engineering
Abbotsford, BC Fraser Valley and across the province

What we do

End-to-end, from first soil pit to as-built.

One engineer accountable for the whole file: assessment, design, health authority filing, and construction sign-off.

Septic System Design

Full engineered design for new builds, subdivisions and replacements, conventional fields through to Type 3 advanced treatment, sized to your actual soils and usage.

TYPE 1 / 2 / 3NEW BUILDSUBDIVISION

Stormwater Management

Runoff modelling, detention and infiltration design, conveyance sizing, and drainage reports prepared for municipal and regional district submission.

DRAINAGE REPORTDETENTIONMUNICIPAL

Site Assessment & Perc Testing

Soil profiling, percolation testing and hydrogeological review. The honest yes-or-no on whether a property will support the build you have in mind.

PERC TESTSOIL PROFILEPRE-PURCHASE

Permits & Filings

Sewerage system permits filed with Fraser Health, Interior Health, Vancouver Coastal Health or the First Nations Health Authority, depending on where the property sits. Subdivision servicing and development variance submissions too, prepared to be approved, not argued over.

HEALTH AUTHORITYSUBDIVISIONVARIANCE

Construction Oversight

Field inspection during installation, letters of assurance, and as-built documentation so the system you paid for is the system that went in the ground.

INSPECTIONAS-BUILTSIGN-OFF

Failing & Non-Compliant Systems

Assessment of failing fields, remediation planning, and redesign to bring older or non-compliant systems up to current Health Authority standards.

REPAIR DESIGNREMEDIATIONCOMPLIANCE

How it runs

You'll always know what's next.

Clear stages, honest timelines, and one point of contact from start to finish.

STEP 01

Free consultation

A short call about the property, the build and the constraints. You'll get a straight read on feasibility and cost before spending anything.

STEP 02

Site assessment

Site visit, test pits, soil profiling and perc testing to establish what the ground will actually accept.

STEP 03

Engineered design

System selected and sized for your soils, usage and setbacks, with drawings and specifications built to be constructed.

STEP 04

Permit filing

Documentation prepared and filed with Fraser Health or the relevant health authority, or with the local government for stormwater, and we handle the questions that come back.

STEP 05

Build & sign-off

Inspection during installation, then as-built records and letters of assurance for your file and your lender.

Where we work

Mostly Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley, with sites anywhere from the coast to the Interior.

Most of our septic and stormwater work is in Abbotsford, Mission, Maple Ridge and Chilliwack, for homeowners, builders and developers.

If your area isn't listed, call. We travel anywhere within an eight-hour drive of Abbotsford.

AbbotsfordMission Maple RidgeChilliwack Fraser ValleyLower MainlandOkanagan Thompson & Shuswap Sunshine Coast Sea to SkyKootenays Cariboo

Common questions

Before you call.

I've been told my lot can't support a septic system. Is that final?

Often not. A site that fails a standard design can frequently be made to work with an engineered one: advanced treatment, a different field configuration, or a re-sited dispersal area. It's worth an engineer's opinion before you give up on a build or walk away from a purchase.

How long does the whole process take?

It depends on the site and the authority's queue, but the shape is consistent: site assessment first, design once the ground is understood, then the permit review period with the health authority (Fraser Health for most of our Fraser Valley work). You'll get a realistic timeline at the consultation, not an optimistic one.

What does a septic design cost?

It varies with site complexity, system type and how much testing the ground needs. We'll give you a clear quote after the initial consultation, once we know what we're dealing with.

I'm buying rural property. Can you assess it before I close?

Yes, and this is one of the smartest calls you can make. A pre-purchase site assessment tells you whether the property supports the home you're planning, and what the wastewater system will realistically cost, before the conditions come off.

Do you install the system too?

No. We design, permit and inspect, and we can point you to installers we've worked with. Keeping design separate means the system specified is the one your site needs, and we can inspect the installation without a conflict of interest.

My existing system is failing. Where do I start?

Start with an assessment. Some failures are repairable; others need a redesign to meet current standards. Either way you need a documented engineering opinion before money goes into the ground, particularly if a sale, a lender or the Health Authority is involved.

Get started

Free initial consultation.

Tell us about the property and what you're trying to build. If it's straightforward we'll say so. If it's complicated, that's the interesting part.

Phone (fastest)(778) 201-3837 Emailinfo@dykstraconsulting.ca

ServingFraser Valley and most of BC

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