Ken Myers has built a nearly five-decade career dedicated to federal water infrastructure, dam safety and flood risk management — spending more than 20 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Sacramento District and over 30 years supporting major civil works programs in the private sector. After graduating from Chico State University in 1978, he joined USACE through its two-year Junior Engineer Training rotational program. His early assignment as a construction inspector on the New Melones Dam — completed while he was onsite — sparked a long-term commitment to complex dam and flood control projects. Upon completing his rotations, Ken landed in the District’s Levees and Channels Section, where he spent many years advancing urban flood protection work and gaining deep knowledge of the federal project development and delivery process.

After more than two decades of federal service, Ken transitioned to the private sector, where he continued to support USACE and its non-federal partners across California. Over the past 14 years with ArchTam, he has remained closely aligned with the USACE Sacramento District, working with regional flood agencies and joint power authorities to deliver major dam, levee and flood system improvements. In his current role, Ken helps guide ArchTam’s partnership with USACE and advance critical water infrastructure programs that protect communities and support long-term resilience.

Tell us about what inspired your career in dams.

I attribute my interest in dams and flood control to my dad during my childhood, even though he likely had no idea he was influencing my future career path. When I was growing up in the 60s, a large dam was being built on the Feather River, not far from the small agricultural town where I was raised. My dad used to take us up to the overlook where you could see the dam under construction. It seemed like we went there every single weekend, and I remember seeing it slowly rise and take shape, bit by bit.

That river had flooded the year I was born, in 1955, and the Oroville Dam eventually alleviated a lot of that threat. Before the dam was fully completed in 1970, there were still moments when high river stages created real concern. I remember one Christmas when I was about seven or eight, the Feather River was running so high it was almost up to a bridge crossing in town. Even though the Oroville Dam wasn’t fully functional yet, there was enough of the embankment built to help buffer that flood risk. Our family left home for a few days because of the threat, and when we returned, we discovered that my dad and grandfather had moved things up off the floor — including the big console TV — to try to floodproof the house. Looking back, I had no idea how much all of that was sinking in. When you are a kid, it is not a conscious thought that you are going to become a civil engineer because of dams and flood control projects. But looking back, I’m sure those experiences shaped me — even if I didn’t realize it at the time.

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why?

One of my favorite projects at ArchTam has been the Folsom Dam Raise. The goal is to raise the perimeter of the reservoir by six and a half feet. Folsom has the main concrete dam with the spillways and tainter gates, but then around the perimeter there are these low spots, including embankment wing dams, eight earthen saddle dams, and the mile-long Mormon Island Auxiliary Dam (MIAD). ArchTam was awarded the work on Dikes 7 and 8 and MIAD, and we have been working on this project for about seven years now.

At the project kickoff, USACE let us know they wanted Dike 8 completed on an accelerated schedule, and we worked closely with them to make that happen. As we continued with the designs for Dike 7 and MIAD, project priorities evolved, and we supported USACE through an alternatives analysis to determine the best approach moving forward. Originally everything was going to be a full earthen raise, but through that process the decision was made to go with parapet walls on top of several of the embankments instead. That meant reworking some of the designs, including Dike 7 from final design and MIAD from about 65 percent, but it was the right solution for the project.

Construction of the MIAD raise has just been completed, with Dike 7 construction planned to follow. It has been a complex, multi-year effort with changing needs and fast-track milestones, but it has been incredibly rewarding. Working side by side with USACE, adapting as the project developed, and helping move a major flood risk management project forward has made this one especially meaningful for me.

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the communities in California.

A lot of the work I am most proud of has been in the Sacramento region and up through the Yuba City/Marysville area. These are places where communities were directly affected by flood risk, to the point where flood moratoriums were put in place. One example is the Natomas area, just north of downtown Sacramento. At one point, no new development was allowed, and it was very difficult for people to get flood insurance. Through the flood improvement work in Natomas, and in the Yuba River Basin as well, we were able to help demonstrate adequate progress to FEMA. There is a whole process behind that, but once the region met those requirements, the moratorium was lifted and you could start to see infill development return.

This flood protection development made a real difference for people living there. I live in a floodplain myself, and because of the work that local flood agencies have done in partnership with USACE, I believe the risk of flooding has been reduced. I still carry flood insurance, but at a much more affordable, preferred risk rate. Without these improvements, my insurance bill would be sky high. Knowing that our work has helped lower that burden for entire communities — and reduced their flood risk at the same time — is something I feel really good about.

Share a piece of career advice.

My advice is to make sure you become technically proficient in your field. A strong technical foundation really does carry you through your career. When I first started doing design work, I was drawing on mylar with a T-square and calculating quantities with a planimeter. Now technology is completely different, from digital design tools to modern surveying equipment, and it continues to evolve. It has been remarkable to see how much things have changed and how much more precise the work has become. Building solid technical skills early on will help you adapt to those changes and set you up for long-term success.

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Jasmin Mejia is Environmental Market Leader for Surface Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area.

She brings a distinctive blend of environmental knowledge, regulatory insight and strategic leadership to deliver transformative projects. Her background in water quality compliance and environmental consulting has earned a strong reputation for guiding complex, multi-agency efforts that enhance resilience and advance multimodal connectivity. Her commitment to community well-being shines through in every project, driving solutions that enhance mobility, improve accessibility, and create lasting benefits for people and neighborhoods.

Tell us a bit about yourself – your role and career journey.

Spending summers in the Dominican Republic, some of my most cherished memories are hiking through lush trails with my grandfather. Those experiences taught me to value the beauty of natural spaces and the sense of connection they create. In high school, an environmental science class opened my eyes to something even bigger: how deeply our lives are interconnected and how infrastructure shapes communities. That realization became the foundation for my education and career.

I knew I wanted to work at the intersection of policy, regulation and environmental science. I earned a Bachelor of Science in environmental management and protection, and a minor in city and regional planning from the California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. My career began at the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, where I reviewed CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) and NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) documents from a water quality perspective and processed water quality certifications. From there, I transitioned into environmental consulting, gaining a deep understanding of multidisciplinary collaboration and its role in shaping resilient, sustainable communities.

I now have the privilege of leading the environmental team and partnering closely with transportation partners to deliver projects that meet client needs and serve communities. As environmental market leader for surface transportation, that spirit of teamwork allows us to connect environmental planning with transportation solutions, helping clients achieve their goals and creating infrastructure that helps local and regional communities move and thrive.

Talk to us about a project that has been a major highlight of your career.

One of the most impactful projects I have managed was the State Route 37 Flood Reduction Project, an environmental adaptation for a vital Bay Area corridor in Marin County that connects several counties in the area. The goal was to adapt the roadway to projected sea-level rise and to improve resilience against flooding and extreme weather. This corridor is critical for commuters and for access to the wine region, contributing over US$1 billion to the local economy. Yet repeated closures from flooding have become more frequent and severe.

The project raised the roadway and added a new bridge to maintain connectivity during winter storms and flooding. What makes this project meaningful to me is its dual benefit: while improving transportation reliability, the design also enhances hydrologic connectivity, supporting wetland restoration and biological resources. It’s a clear example of how infrastructure can protect communities and the environment simultaneously.

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.

One of the most rewarding parts of my work is seeing how transportation projects improve lives.  By redesigning interchanges and improving access, we’ve transformed corridors into safer, more connected streets where walking, biking and driving are inviting for everyone. These improvements strengthen communities by ensuring continued access to jobs, healthcare and education while reducing environmental impacts through thoughtful design.

Community engagement is central to this process. We use digital stakeholder engagement tools like PlanEngage to make participation easier and make it more inclusive. It allows residents to review documents and share feedback online, reducing paper use and carbon footprint while offering translation features for diverse communities. These practices ensure transparency and give people a voice in shaping projects that affect their daily lives.

Share a piece of career advice.

Investing in your professional community is one of the best ways to grow your career. Surround yourself with inspiring people and stay engaged with industry groups like the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) — not just to find mentors, but to become one. Each stage of your career offers chances to learn from different perspectives, and those diverse views make us stronger, more adaptable and more innovative. Say “yes” to new experiences; each one broadens your skills and shapes your future path.

Above all, lead with kindness. That principle has guided my journey, including a decade on the WTS SF Bay Area board and a recent two-year term as chapter president. Ultimately, this work is about building meaningful connections and contributing to a community that supports and uplifts the next generation of leaders.

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A civil engineer with seven years of combined experience, Larry Wade previously worked for the Virginia Department of Transportation, where he focused on environmental design for transportation and infrastructure projects. That experience paved the way for his current role as a stream restoration designer on ArchTam’s team, where he continues to apply his expertise in environmental engineering.

Larry resides in Roanoke, Virginia with his wife and their dog. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, hiking, running and exploring the outdoors, activities that reflect his love for nature and adventure.

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry.

Growing up, I was drawn to the outdoors and spent my free time outside, typically hiking, fishing, biking or running. At the same time, I loved STEM subjects like math, physics, chemistry and biology, and I dreamed of finding a career that could combine my passion for nature with my interest in science. That’s what led me to study environmental science and engineering in college, where I discovered how conservation and recreation could intersect with solving engineering problems.

Over the years, my career has evolved from focusing on environmental science to working on engineering and design projects. What keeps me inspired is seeing how infrastructure can create meaningful benefits for both communities and the environment, all while advancing sustainability goals.

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why?

My favorite project at ArchTam so far has been the College Lake Dam removal in Lynchburg, Virginia. The dam, classified as a high-hazard structure, posed a significant safety risk to the surrounding community. Its removal was necessary to eliminate the potential for dam failure and to restore the ecological integrity of Blackwater Creek.

Since construction began last January, I’ve been supporting construction oversight and administration for the City of Lynchburg. The project involves removing the dam, restoring more than 4,000 feet of stream and creating floodplain wetlands, all of which will deliver long-term safety, environmental and community benefits.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this project has been collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders. This includes the City, the contractor, our subcontractors, the neighboring university and technical teams across ArchTam, from dam engineers and construction specialists to environmental experts. Each group brought unique expertise that helped make this project a success.

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.

The College Lake Dam removal project is such a standout example of how a project can have a meaningful impact on a community. The project has significantly improved water quality in the river and eliminated the risk of dam failure. In addition, the restored river will provide a much higher aesthetic value and offer recreational opportunities in the future.

Beyond this project, many of our stream restoration efforts in the Mid-Atlantic, particularly within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, are driven by the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Program. These projects focus on reducing erosion by stabilizing streams, which improve watershed quality, but they also often enhance the aesthetics, and the recreational value for the communities they are located in. As civil engineers, we’re deeply committed to serving the public by improving infrastructure but it’s incredibly rewarding to work on stream restoration projects that frequently provide multiple other benefits to the public.

Share a piece of career advice.

My advice, both for life and career, is to make learning a lifelong commitment. A dedication to continual learning not only helps you build a career that is interesting, challenging and rewarding, but also enables you to create meaningful benefits for your community. Achieving this requires asking lots of questions, seeking out the right mentors, and always striving to educate yourself and grow through training and new experiences.

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As a leader in our Civil Works department, Kimberly Heenan brings a unique blend of technical expertise, strategic vision, and deep personal commitment to infrastructure resilience. With more than 19 years of experience and over $2.5 billion in constructed projects, she has led the inspection, assessment, design and construction of levees, floodwalls, dams, floodgates and stormwater pump stations across the U.S.

Kimberly’s portfolio spans more than 275 miles of levee systems and 35 dams, supporting agencies such as the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), United States International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC), and USACE Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). Under her leadership, our civil works team has grown into a nationally connected group equipped to take on the country’s most complex water infrastructure challenges. Whether managing risk assessments, engineering solutions for flood protection, or guiding large-scale alternatives analyses, Kimberly is driven by one goal: protecting communities and helping them thrive.

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry.

Hurricane Katrina occurred while I was in college, and when I saw the devastation, I felt a deep calling to do something. I wanted to help fix the levees and to be part of the recovery. I remember students from Louisiana State University, Tulane University, and other universities relocating to Texas A&M, where I was attending. Their experiences really stayed with me — I just kept thinking, what can I do?

At the time, I was still finding my footing and building confidence in my ability to be an engineer. Then, during a career day event, I handed my resume to a representative from ArchTam. They passed it along, and shortly after, I received a call about a junior Geotechnical Engineer position — working on the levees in New Orleans that had been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. It felt like a sign. Even though I was nervous about moving to the big city, I accepted the offer and committed fully to the opportunity. I worked long hours, asked questions, and soaked up knowledge from teammates who loved to teach. It was a chance to contribute to something deeply meaningful — something that had personally impacted me — and that experience became the turning point that truly anchored me in this field and shaped the trajectory of my career.

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why?

Obviously, the New Orleans levee project will always mean a lot to me. But another that stands out is the Freeport Levee Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) project. Unfortunately, the client’s funding limitations meant we couldn’t finish the project, but it gave us the space to build something special at ArchTam — a civil works group that can operate from anywhere in the country and work with anyone. 

Over the course of the work we were able to complete, we grew from a team of just six people to about 20. And it wasn’t just our group working on the project. At one point, there were over 100 people across ArchTam contributing.

The project raised our team’s visibility and gave us this incredible experience with the Galveston Corps of Engineers District. The Gulf Coast region is facing significant challenges from rising sea levels, aging infrastructure, and increasingly severe storm events. The experience positioned us to contribute meaningfully to future critical resilience work still needed across this part of the country.

And honestly, I just loved the team. The people on that project made it a favorite, too.

How has the growth of ArchTam’s civil works team prepared us to meet the infrastructure resilience challenges of communities?  

For me, it means having a team I can rely on to help design these incredible levee systems that protect people and communities, so they never have to go through something like Hurricane Katrina again. Building a civil works team that can do this work, and do it well, has always been deeply meaningful.

Many of these flood risk projects are happening in communities that have historically been underserved. It’s not just about protecting property. It’s about protecting lives, bringing peace of mind, and in many cases, helping families financially by lowering flood insurance costs. Everyone deserves that kind of security, no matter where they live.

We’re at a critical moment in the U.S. Much of the nation’s infrastructure, including levees, floodwalls, and protection systems, was designed to last about 50 years. That time has passed. I knew we had to grow our civil works team because I knew these projects were coming. These systems either start to fail, or they get updated. Too often, people only pay attention after a catastrophic failure, but we shouldn’t have to wait for that to happen.

To me, this work is about making sure we don’t wait — that we’re ready. When we bring new people onto the team, we look for those who are driven by purpose, who genuinely want to make a difference in people’s lives. That’s what it’s all about.

Share a piece of career advice.

My dad coached women’s basketball, and he used to say something that stuck with me: “It doesn’t have to be perfect.” He noticed that many players would hesitate, waiting for the perfect moment to take a shot and by then, the opportunity was gone.

He taught me there are only three outcomes: you miss and the other team gets the rebound, you miss and your team gets the rebound and you get to try again, or you make it. Two out of three isn’t bad. I’ve carried that with me throughout my career. When I’m facing a challenge, I remind myself not to wait for perfect. Just take the shot and keep moving forward.

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Cynthia Hartley’s background includes nearly two decades in the international development sector. Since joining ArchTam in 2016, she has focused on projects ranging from economic growth, urban resilience and environment to disaster risk management, from both the business development and project implementation sides. Cynthia works closely with our clients to pinpoint challenges and engineer solutions aimed at bolstering their effectiveness in mitigating disaster losses. She also provides technical assistance for infrastructure grant applications. Her love for meeting and engaging with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds to strengthen communities inspires her work.

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry.

I’ve always been an advocate for safeguarding our environment and fostering community growth. In graduate school, I wrote my thesis on the expansion of an environmental engineering firm (MWH, now Stantec) into developing countries. The next year, I entered the Architecture and Engineering (A/E) industry working for the very same company. Several years later, I experienced firsthand the impact that natural hazards, in particular, Superstorm Sandy, can have on communities. This led me to advance my commitment and work in environmental protection, disaster risk management, and resilience, specifically in the A/E industry. In a lot of ways, it’s a continuation of the international development work I did previously. My work in our industry aligns with my desire to have a broader impact on society and leave a legacy.

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why?

A common theme that runs through all my favorite projects is strategic planning and problem solving. I recently worked with West Virginia’s State Resiliency Office to develop a forward-thinking strategic plan for the state. This involved understanding West Virginia’s historical successes, aggregating its diverse challenges and needs, identifying its strengths, and filling in the gaps to meet the objectives of a legislative mandate for a statewide resiliency plan. We worked with stakeholders who care deeply about resilience and disaster risk reduction to update the state’s flood strategy for the first time in 20 years. The two-year Flood Resiliency Plan we helped develop identifies the actions needed to achieve the greatest impact for flood resiliency in West Virginia.

One of the next steps will be to develop an education and outreach strategy to identify ways to reach all people, including local and marginalized communities. In international development terms, reaching the last mile includes reaching people at the lowest economic rungs of society, people with disabilities, and the aging population — people who do not have (or have limited) access to the internet or the information it provides. We also need to reach private sector businesses that employ people from West Virginia’s communities and depend on them to generate revenue. If you’re a dairy provider in West Virginia and the roads are closed or lives are at risk due to flooding, people will not be able to access or afford your products and your employees will not be able to show up for work. By reaching the private sector and communities, we can make this a “whole-of-society” approach, because everyone has a stake in this. We’re also starting to work with the State Resiliency Office to develop a grants management program and a grants management training manual to help raise the funds needed for outreach and education and implementation of the flood resiliency plan.

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.

At ArchTam, I’ve been able to reach across geographies and engage with my colleagues throughout the world — from offices in South Africa, Romania, Australia, Spain, and elsewhere — to share knowledge and exchange lessons learned, improving upon what we know to benefit the global community. And that’s how I find the greatest fulfillment — by collaborating with diverse people and groups to help the whole of society.

A key focus of my work at ArchTam has been helping countries, states, and cities develop strategies to build resiliency. This has included initiatives with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Agency for International Development, UN’s Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Reduction (UNDRR), and ARISE-US, the U.S. chapter of the UNDRR. ArchTam was one of the founding members of ARISE-US and through that engagement we developed the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities. I helped UNDRR review the Government of Bulgaria’s first disaster risk reduction strategy, and as part of FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance program, I worked closely with FEMA headquarters, leading a root cause analysis of its grants administration process to reduce the time it takes to obligate funding to the communities that need it the most. In all these initiatives, I’ve engaged with a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds to help communities overcome adversities and become more resilient.

Share a piece of career advice

Stay true to your passion and goals. If you have a fire in your belly to do something, then pursue it. Consider the multitude of opportunities that will present themselves as you pursue a particular goal. You may have to diverge at a point to something that’s tangentially related to what you want to pursue, and that’s OK, because it will help build your strengths more broadly and provide you with one more tool in your toolbox.

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This week, we are highlighting Doug Bellomo, a flood risk management expert from our global Water business line, based in Arlington, Virginia. Doug shares how he and his team conducted a study that demonstrates the lifesaving and economic benefits of disaster resilient building codes. 

Doug specializes in flood risk management and emergency services. Following his previous tenure with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), he moved to ArchTam to pursue his interest in private sector innovations and solutions that help shape public policy and create more resilient communities, businesses and natural landscapes. Prior to joining us five years ago, he oversaw the execution of several federal programs including FEMA Risk MAP, National Dam Safety Program and FEMA’s Mitigation Planning Operations with an average annual budget of $260 million. 

Tell us about a project that has impacted or been a major highlight of your career. How is it delivering a better world?  

What drew me to ArchTam was its mission of delivering a better world. I researched the company, talked to people, and decided ArchTam would be a good fit for me. Public service, flood risk reduction, building community resilience and delivering positive environmental and social outcomes have always been a big part of why I do what I do — and that’s also the case for so many of my colleagues at ArchTam.  

Having witnessed firsthand the devastating impacts of flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, I am grateful to be able to play a part in promoting the value of disaster-resistant building codes. In 2020, I worked on a FEMA project called “Building Codes Save: A Nationwide Study of Loss Prevention,” which demonstrates how disaster-resilient building codes can prevent the direct losses — economic harm and human suffering — often caused by three types of natural hazards that are earthquakes, flooding and hurricane winds. It compares average annual losses between buildings designed with higher codes versus minimum codes. ArchTam, as part of the COMPASS Joint Venture (JV), played a pivotal role in managing the work and developing the analytical framework, which was based on a database of 18 million buildings, the hazard frequency in each locality, and the type of building code in effect at the time. This work resulted in user-friendly materials with actionable guidance to help emergency management professionals, policymakers and others adopt modern building codes and avoid future losses.   

What was a key challenge you/your team faced while working on this project? How did you solve it?  

The technical side was difficult. There is no detailed national data set of adopted building codes. We had to comb through various resources to make sure the data accurately represented which elements of codes were adopted. We also experienced a lot of challenges around organizing the data sets, making sure the data was aligned and distilling credible results at the end. We worked closely with the client to effectively meet their objectives in a technically sound manner, despite a variety of constraints.  

The COMPASS JV team and I collaborated with ArchTam communications specialists to help FEMA develop a brochure of the findings. Despite the benefits of resilience outweighing the costs of resilient construction, we discovered that as much as 65 percent of U.S. counties do not have modern building codes.  

We also sought to predict how hazard resilience may change over time. With an expected average of 577,000 new buildings per year, approximately 13.9 million buildings will be added to the U.S. inventory between 2016 and 2040. We projected that about 70 percent (approximately 9.7 million) will be built to international codes (I-codes) or similar codes. Based on results of the Average Annualized Losses Avoided (AALA) — a risk-based metric —the cumulative savings will be $132 billion. That number would grow significantly if there was broader adoption of modern codes.   

Since the study’s publication, the federal government (through its Federal Flood Risk Management Standard) and the American Society of Civil Engineers have continued the push to improve resilient building design. It is really exciting to see the continuing conversation around the importance of building codes.  

How has ArchTam enabled you and your teams to cultivate the expertise needed to deliver this project and future work like it?  

I have always been impressed with ArchTam’s breadth of experts and capabilities, including the architects who take concepts and present them in much more compelling ways than the tables and charts engineers often use. As an engineer with a flood hazard and risk management background, having access and opportunities to learn from experts in other fields has been a great way for me to develop professionally. I also learned a lot from our communications experts during this study. I am a big fan of these experts because they help us to simplify complicated information and make it more accessible to the public and decision makers.   

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Gordon Geoffrey started in the industry in 1979 as a technologist with a diploma in Civil Engineering. He designed land development projects in the winter and was the on-site inspector in the summer. After working for six years, he went to university and completed his engineering degree. Since then, he transitioned to an office role as a designer and project manager of water resources and conveyance projects for public institutions and private industry. Over the years, this expanded into team management and then into department management.   

His current role is Discipline Lead, Civil Engineering in the Calgary water department. In this role, he works as a technical design manager for utilities and site civil works on a wide variety of projects including roads and highways, light rail transit, water and wastewater treatment plants and pipelines. He leads design teams and interacts directly with other discipline project teams to ensure the project meets the clients’ needs. Additionally, he is responsible for the overall quality control for work output from the water department, serving as a senior reviewer and Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) responsible member. 

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry. 

As a kid, I had a big sandbox where I created intricate roadways with bridges and tunnels. After trying a few other career types after high school — and not enjoying them — I ended up going back to my childhood fun space: designing and building civil infrastructure.  

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why?

My favourite project is the North Calgary Water Servicing Study for the City of Calgary, Canada where I was a technical design manager. We considered innovative methods to convey a high flow rate of potable water into north Calgary, which would reduce reliance on a single, older, large diameter water transmission line. The original proposed route had significant issues including high pumping heads and power costs, very high transient pressures and a very large public impact to over 10 kilometers of roadway.

Through a very intensive alignment review process, we identified a route that used deep tunnelling to remove the engineering and operational obstacles by removing the requirement for pumping and routing half the alignment away from roadways. Using net present value analysis, we clearly proved that, while very expensive, the tunnelling route would end up saving hundreds of millions of dollars over a 60-year period. This project allowed me freedom to think and work outside the box, reviewing concepts and ideas collaboratively with our client and then generating a design. 

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.

Most of my engineering work has been focused on serving as a trusted advisor to improve the quality of life for communities — enhancing mobility, decreasing chance and impact of flooding, improving resiliency and reliability of basic water and sanitary systems, reducing environmental impacts, and reducing installation, operations and maintenance costs of the local civil infrastructure. These are some of the ways I have positively impacted the communities I have worked in. 

Share a piece of career advice.

Never stop learning. Always look for opportunities to expand your knowledge horizon. 

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Youvrani Thimmegowda is an environmental engineer with extensive experience working in the United Kingdom and Ireland water sector. She is currently the team lead for our Southern Region Modelling Team working for our client Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water).  

Youvrani is focused on implementing effective review and verification processes to ensure compliance with project specifications, industry standards and client requirements. She is also responsible for management and delivery of projects, as well as engaging with stakeholders like EPA, local authorities and other engineering consultants to understand their perspectives, interests and concerns. 

What inspired you to join the industry? 

My passion for water and the environment developed during my childhood. My father, who worked as a chief officer in our municipal office, often took me to water treatment plants, exposing me to processes that captivated my imagination. My desire and commitment to help build a better world for the community led me to pursue a career as an environmental engineer. I firmly believe in Aristotle’s quote, “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work” and I am committed to applying this principle in my career. 

My journey with ArchTam continues to evolve as I progress from senior engineer to principal engineer within the Water team. I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with a forward-thinking client, a highly supportive manager and a talented team on a range of water infrastructure projects. With each project, I further develop my leadership and technical skills while driving innovative solutions to complex challenges. The collaborative environment has fostered strong relationships, allowing me to contribute meaningfully to the team’s success and growth. I look forward to continuing this rewarding experience and shaping sustainable outcomes in the water sector. 

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why?  

We are supporting Uisce Éireann (UÉ) with the planning of their water and wastewater capital projects and programmes as part of their Capital Investment Plan and the Growth and Development programme. I am currently leading Storm Water Overflow (SWO) programme, which is one of the key UÉ programmes. 

Our team is developing solutions to improve drainage system and water quality by reducing the spill to water bodies. There are various options our team has developed like sustainable urban drainage systems that use permeable surfaces, green roofs, and soakaways to manage rainwater where it falls, reduce runoff, and prevent overloading drainage networks; surface water separation from combined sewer systems to reduce overflow during heavy rainfall, preventing sewer flooding and spills; upgrades to increase the capacity of existing sewer systems or introduce separate stormwater sewers to reduce spills to water bodies. 

My team identifies the right options to mitigate flooding and pollution through detailed site assessments, modelling and stakeholder consultations. We analyse local conditions, environmental impacts and cost-effectiveness to select tailored solutions that optimize drainage performance, prevent pollution and protect communities. 

This is my favourite project because it has allowed me to collaborate with a diverse team. I am leading a large team with varied backgrounds and expertise, based in Ireland, UK and India. They bring multiple perspectives to the table, which helps to identify complex environmental challenges and develop innovative solutions. This project has provided me an opportunity to work collaboratively with both the client, various stakeholders and a diverse team to deliver high quality modelling solutions that enhance flood management and improve water quality.  

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community. 

My work on the SWO programme has significantly impacted the community by improving water quality and building resilience against flooding. To resolve the overflow issues, it is important to accurately determine the spills via monitoring and surveying of all existing overflows. Under this programme, I am involved in prioritising the installation of monitors, reviewing telemetry and survey data quality. The real-time data is imperative to accurately predict overflows and enable proactive measures to prevent spills.  

My focus on data quality ensures that the solutions we develop are based on reliable information, leading to more effective and efficient infrastructure improvements. We deliver solutions to ensure that sewer systems are better equipped to manage heavy rainfall and prevent overflows, which in turn protects water bodies from pollution.  

Share a piece of career advice. 

My advice would be to find a good mentor, as this is important for personal and professional growth. They can help you set goals, build confidence and develop new skills. A mentor also offers a broader perspective on your industry and helps expand your professional network. Additionally, their feedback and encouragement can accelerate your learning curve and help you avoid common pitfalls. A good mentor-mentee relationship can be a game-changer in achieving your career goals. 

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Ivy Xiong is a licensed professional engineer with 11 years of experience in civil engineering with a specialization in complex integrated 1D/2D hydrologic and hydraulic modeling. Currently based in Dallas, Texas, Ivy is dedicated to technical excellence in all her projects and brings a passion for knowledge growth and mentoring to the water resources group. She serves in multiple leadership roles including ASCE EWRI Dallas Chapter Outreach Chair, ArchTam Dallas office Young Professional Committee Chair, and hiring lead for multiple departments in Surface Water.

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry. 

My inspiration to become an engineer came from both my family and my education. I grew up in Beijing, at a time when there were many fast-growing cities in China. Both of my grandparents spent decades working as structural engineers on infrastructure projects and they would take me to their design institute where they had a big table filled with hand drawings (AutoCAD did not exist at the time).  

That exposure led me to realize I was interested in both the art of architecture and engineering sciences, and eventually I went to school to study water and wastewater engineering. During my senior year, I participated in an exchange program and was selected as one of the top two students to come to North Dakota State University, where I met a great mentor, and shifted into water resources. Over my studies, I found a passion for water. Water resources felt like a hybrid of art and science to me, and I have enjoyed the collaboration across disciplines that my career path has provided.   

Throughout my career and studies, I have been able to live in many places. From China to North Dakota, to California and now Texas. It has been inspiring to experience these different places and bring ideas and skills from each to new projects and challenges.

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why?

I started at ArchTam two years ago as a technical reviewer and was quickly promoted to case manager for FEMA Letters of Map Revision (LOMR) and Conditional Letters of Map Revision (CLOMR) review. I’ve supervised over 100 cases for FEMA Region 6 (Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma) in the past two years. Concurrently, I worked as the hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) lead modeler for the TxDOT Southeast Connector Design-Build Project. This project has been one of the most rewarding and intense projects of my career, requiring the completion of H&H analyses and reports with over 500 pages within one year.  Over 14 large bridges and 90 piers, and their accompanying drainage, had to be considered for this report , and I also had to work with the roadway to ensure that the drainage would function properly. 

During the final design phase of the project, I developed a Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) two-dimensional (2D) unsteady flow hydraulic model to evaluate the drainage impact analysis for the proposed project within an extremely tight schedule. I worked very closely with the construction team and other stakeholders and when we shared the model with the client, we were able to provide cost-effective solutions to mitigate challenging flooding issues that could not be appropriately analyzed using the traditional one-dimensional (1D) approach within FEMA floodplain for the project. I was awarded the ArchTam Make A Difference Bravo Award for that work.

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.

Across our different projects, we’ve had the opportunity to leave positive impacts on the many communities we’ve served. When I am working with communities as a FEMA case manager, I can review a submittal and help inform clients as to what’s needed within a certain timeframe. Not all clients are acquainted with the basics, so I can lay out a plan to help them complete their project needs — and benefit local communities in the process.   

One specific project with a positive impact has been my work with the City of Garland, Texas. I was involved as the drainage reviewer in their program to mitigate storm water flooding. I was able to directly benefit the community by consulting with the city bond program management team to help guide their work and create a design that would best meet the criteria for their submittal.  

We at ArchTam take our quality control seriously, for ourselves and for our clients, and I felt that we really maintained that quality during the design phases of this project.  We did our due diligence and used our knowledge to ensure the inlet and storm water system could mitigate the urban flooding issue, and ensure the drainage infrastructure was designed appropriately by the engineer consultants. If the community experiences flooding, that will lead to residents paying insurance out of their own pockets, but these solutions will help the community be more proactive. 

Share a piece of career advice. 

It is important to be well-rounded as an engineer and continue to build your ‘database’ of skills and experience across disciplines to help advance your career. And don’t be shy about asking questions or seeking out mentors to help you along the way.  

I’ve been very lucky to have a lot of great mentors through my journey from my family, my school, in the industry, or at different companies. They have always been willing to help and provide their unique perspectives to give me something new to consider.   

As an example, when I was a student, a mentor shared that even though you are an engineer you need to be skilled in business: it’s essential to explain your designs and business plan to others and provide a convincing case as to why you provide the better service. That planted a seed in my head and led me to pursue my MBA at the same time I received my master’s degree in engineering. I entered my career with a unique perspective and was able to better understand the full picture of the company’s functions including organizational behavior, economics and marketing.  

I think of all my skills as a framework for my career ‘database’, and I continue to find pieces to fill in the puzzle over time. I’m currently expanding my skillset with ongoing education in legal studies and construction management from the University of California, Berkeley, and I encourage the interns that I mentor to ask questions and be thoughtful about their own opportunities to expand their own ‘databases’.  

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Murray Coburn joined ArchTam in 2022 as a graduate engineer after completing a master’s degree in civil engineering. While in university, he gained valuable experience in the flood risk management sector working for local government during summer work placements. Having developed unique expertise in hydraulic modelling, flood risk assessment and design of blue-green infrastructure, he now works within our flooding team in Edinburgh. 

What inspired you to join the industry? 

My hometown has a rich history in the textile industry, and as such, developed around textile mills positioned for power generation on the riverbanks — and by extension, the floodplain. As a result, repeat instances of disruptive floods have plagued my town for years and are becoming more frequent as the effects of climate change ensue. Growing up in this environment has made me all too familiar with the disruptive and devastating consequences flooding can have on individuals, families and communities. However, as I discovered, engineers can play a huge part in mitigating this risk. 

During my latter years of high school, a large multimillion-dollar flood defense project was constructed to help protect homes and businesses in my town against flooding. The sheer scale of the project turned the whole place into a construction site, making the amazing engineering hard to ignore. Many residents and businesses are now afforded greater protection against frequent flooding and the wider community has benefitted from increased amenity value along the riverbanks as a result of new footpaths, cycleways, kids’ playparks and artwork.  

This sparked my interest in civil engineering. Knowing that my work could have such a positive impact on other similarly affected communities led me to pursue a career in the industry. 

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you’ve worked on and why?

Undoubtedly the most rewarding project I have worked on is the Mansfield Sustainable Flood Resilience Programme — an ambitious plan to create the UK’s first ‘sponge city’ by retrofitting a range of sustainable drainage interventions to transform Mansfield into a greener and safer place to live, work and play. 

My team was responsible for planning and designing detention basins across the town to accept stormwater drainage from surrounding streets and relieve pressure on the existing sewer network. To simulate how these would benefit and integrate with the rest of the network, we pulled on our expertise in hydraulic modelling to create a digital twin for each basin prior to construction. Having a 3D representation of the proposed infrastructure also helped to design out utility clashes. One of the key challenges encountered during the design process was poor infiltration test results. We overcame this by creating an online solution — integrated into the wider sewer network as opposed to an offline solution where water is completely removed from the sewer network — whereby the basins hold back stormwater and discharge back to the sewer network through a flow control device at a reduced rate to attenuate flows. 

Being involved in the project all the way from initial site selection through to outline and detailed design has been a great learning experience. However, the best bit always comes last — construction. Seeing the product of your hard work in the flesh for the first time is a moment you spend years dreaming of whilst studying at university, so to finally experience this has been very rewarding. 

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.

Part of the important work I support my team on are flood studies and surface water management plans which aim to propose mitigation options to reduce flooding in defined vulnerable areas. One such project I was recently involved in was for the town of Dunkeld, Scotland. Various mitigation options were considered including the creation of flood walls and earth embankments to protect development from out-of-bank river flow and culvert upgrades to raise the spill level and allow high flows to pass more freely. 

During a public consultation event, we engaged local residents and shared our mitigation proposals. One woman resident gave an emotional account of the distress and hardship she endured after unwittingly moving to a property at flood risk. Thanks to our work, many properties in Dunkeld — including that of the resident who shared her experience — will benefit from a greater standard of protection against flooding, decreasing flood risk from an annual probability of 50 percent down to 2 percent. There is now also a greater awareness of flooding in the community, with residents and businesses more educated on how they can make their properties more flood resilient. 

It is sometimes easy to lose track of the true reason and purpose of your work, but hearing personal accounts like this is a sobering reminder of its importance and is just one of many ways my work helps in delivering a better world. 

Share a piece of career advice. 

Many people consider being a ‘yes person’ as a negative trait — but I disagree! At ArchTam, I have found no shortage of great early careers opportunities which is so important for gaining that breadth of experience to help discover your true passions. If you never explore such avenues, then you will forever wonder whether something exciting was waiting around the corner. Opportunities create opportunities. You never know where simply saying ‘yes’ may take you! 

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