Construction dewatering in Metro Vancouver
Deep excavations in the Lower Mainland often hit groundwater. Where that water goes is regulated.
Metro Vancouver’s Sewer Use Bylaw No. 299 does not allow groundwater or stormwater to be discharged to the sewer unless the discharger first has a Waste Discharge Permit, a Trucked Liquid Waste Authorization or an Order.
High-volume discharges, defined as more than 300 m³ over any 30 consecutive days or more than 30 litres per minute, are prohibited without a permit.
Metro Vancouver has a specific permit application for groundwater remediation and construction excavation sites; the applicant should be the person or business that owns the wastewater.
In Richmond, discharging construction dewatering to the storm sewer requires a permit application under the Pollution Prevention and Clean-up Bylaw No. 8475.
Plan it early
Dewatering needs belong in the geotechnical report and the excavation plan, before the hole is open. Pumps, settling tanks, permits and monitoring all take time to arrange.
Checked October 2026 against the sources linked on this page. Rules change, so confirm with the authority before work starts. General information only, not engineering or legal advice.
Got a big job coming up?
Tell us where it is, what needs to come out of the ground and when. We’ll tell you how we would do it.