About GeoAdvice

Why GeoAdvice is the Key

Why GeoAdvice:

At GeoAdvice, our staff members are all water resource engineers and municipal utility experts who are dedicated to the use and advancement of hydraulic and hydrologic modeling.

About GeoAdvice:

Geoadvice team

Founded in 2006 by Dr. Werner de Schaetzen P.Eng., GeoAdvice Engineering Inc. is a civil engineering consulting firm located in Vancouver, BC. We are a team of water resource engineers who provide consulting services for urban infrastructure modeling, planning, analysis, and optimization to municipalities across Canada and worldwide.

A growing company, GeoAdvice is the only company in Canada that offers the full suite of advanced engineering-focused modeling services, training, and tools for sanitary sewer, drainage, and water distribution systems. GeoAdvice staff members are also certified hydraulic modeling instructors and have trained over 3,000 engineers.

Awards

In May 2010, Dr. de Schaetzen received the BC New Canadian Entrepreneur Award in the category of Environmental Technology.

Dr. de Schaetzen also received the 2016 Excellence and Innovation in the Water and Waste Industry Award in the Leadership and Innovation category. The Industry Excellence Awards program is run by the BC Water & Waste Association (BCWWA) and recognizes leaders and innovators in the water and wastewater sectors throughout BC and the Yukon.

On May 27, 2021, the Vancouver Francophone Chamber of Commerce awarded GeoAdvice Engineering the 2021 Palme Bleue Small Business Award. This prestigious award recognizes the entrepreneurial excellence and achievements of Francophone or Francophile small and medium-sized enterprises in the Province of BC.

Finally, GeoAdvice has met the requirements for Organizational Quality Management (OQM) certification and is officially OQM certified, with our last audit successfully passed in August 2018. While this program has been recently phased out, the principles of the program remain, facilitating our transition to the new Permit to Practice requirements. Our team has been collaboratively working with EGBC to implement the policies and procedures necessary to ensure the highest level of quality in all our projects. At both the individual and the organizational level, the OQM program, and the principles carried forward under the Permit to Practice, aims to improve the quality management and overall efficiency of professional engineering practices by building consistency across operations. Applications to obtain the new Permit to Practice opened on July 2, 2021 and GeoAdvice’s application has already been approved (GeoAdvice EGBC Permit to Practice: 1000623).

GeoAdvice awards

Here at GeoAdvice we are proud of our many awards.

Geoadvice logo

2023 Great Place to Work™️ Certified
2023 Best Workplaces™️ in Professional Services
2022 Best Workplaces™️ in British Columbia

Meet Our Team

Werner de Schaetzen Ph.D., P.Eng.

Werner de Schaetzen Ph.D., P.Eng.

President/CEO/Founder

Dr. de Schaetzen is a leading expert in computer modeling of water and wastewater systems. Dr. de Schaetzen is internationally recognized as an expert in the hydraulic modeling of water systems. He has more than 25 years of professional experience working with engineering consulting firms, water utilities, universities, and government agencies throughout Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and internationally. His work on genetic algorithm optimization applied to water systems has earned him both international recognition and numerous awards. Dr. de Schaetzen is also the leading author of over 30 papers published in international journals, conference proceedings, and internal research reports.

Dr. de Schaetzen has trained over 3,000 engineers in water and sewer systems modeling, optimization, and analysis during in-person sessions in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. He has also designed, implemented, and maintained several hydraulic modeling software applications. He often peer reviews scientific journals, including Urban Water (UK) and the ASCE Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management (USA).

Sandy de Schaetzen, LL. B., CPE

Sandy de Schaetzen, LL.B., CPE

Executive Admin Assistant

Sandy has been working at GeoAdvice since the company’s creation in 2006. She oversees all accounting and administrative tasks. She is also responsible for HR and legal aspects of the business.

Andrea d’Andrade, P.Eng.

Andrea d’Andrade, P.Eng.

Water Sector Lead

Andrea has eleven (11) years of experience working on water utility modeling and system optimization projects. She has worked on many municipal models (including model building/updating) and calibration and analysis projects. Andrea specializes in water system master planning and complex water system optimization. Furthermore, Andrea is an expert in hydraulic modeling and analysis with InfoWater and WaterCAD.

Adrien d’Andrade, P.Eng.

Adrien d’Andrade, P.Eng.

Sewer and Stormwater Sector lead

Adrien has nine (9) years of experience in developing sanitary sewer and stormwater models, conducting model updates, and undertaking complex RTK calibrations and I&I studies. Adrien has been the lead engineer on many hydraulic modeling, analysis, and master plan projects, including dozens of wet-weather RTK calibration sites over the last seven years. Furthermore, Adrien is an expert in hydraulic modeling and analysis with InfoSWMM (and many other modeling packages), with years of experience in conducting model builds and troubleshooting model stability and continuity errors.

Ben Loewen, P.Eng., PMP

Ben Loewen, P.Eng., PMP

Senior Hydraulic Modeler

Ben has four (4) years of experience working on utility engineering, modeling, and optimization projects. He has worked on many municipal models (including model building/updating) and calibration and analysis projects. He is experienced in water system subdivision design and water system network optimization. Furthermore, Ben is an expert in hydraulic modeling and water quality analysis using InfoWater.

Renaud Dufays, M.Sc.

Renaud Dufays, M.Sc.

Senior Hydraulic Modeler

Renaud has over four (4) years of experience working on water utility modeling and system optimization projects. He has worked on many municipal models (including model building/updating) and calibration and analysis projects.

Sean Zoschke, EIT

Sean Zoschke, EIT

Junior Hydraulic Modeler

Sean has over three (3) years of experience working on utility engineering, modeling, and optimization projects. He has worked on many municipal sewer models including model building/updating, calibration and capacity analysis projects. He is also experienced with reading and extracting information from as-built drawings, processing GIS data, and analyzing flow monitoring data.

Cole Dinsdale, B.Sc., MLWS

Cole Dinsdale, EIT, MLWS

Junior Hydraulic Modeler

Cole has two (2) years of experience working on utility engineering, modeling, and optimization projects. He is also experienced with reading and extracting data from as-built drawings and developing survey plans.

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Christopher Moens, B.Sc., M.Eng.

Junior Hydraulic Modeler

Christopher has over one (1) year of experience working on utility engineering, modeling, and optimization projects. He is also experienced with reading and reviewing GIS data, developing UDF plans, and analyzing pipe shutdowns.

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Natasha Mudie, EIT

Junior Hydraulic Modeler

Natasha has one (1) year of experience working on utility engineering, modeling, and optimization projects. Her focus is working on municipal water and sewer models to complete calibration and analysis projects, including model updates, extracting GIS and record drawing data.

Jin-Jhoo Detienne, MA, MComm

Admin Assistant

Jin-Jhoo has been at GeoAdvice for under one (1) year. With her communication and creative background she supports the team for all administration tasks such as invoicing, proposal drafting, client communication, as well as social media and website management.

Constance de Schaetzen, B.Sc.

Constance de Schaetzen, B.Sc.

Project Assistant

Constance has been working at GeoAdvice for over seven (7) years. She has experience with proposal writing, project assistance, website design, data analysis, and administrative work.