Expert Details
Water Resources Engineering, Hydrology, Hydraulics, Floods, Drainage and Stormwater Management
ID: 731217
California, USA
He is an expert in, and testifies on, the hydrology of flood events and the hydraulics of storm water, highway drainage or irrigation systems. We investigate floods, roadway vehicle accidents and drowning's.
He offers Surface Water Hydrology and Hydraulics consulting services, water resources engineering design services, and expert witness capabilities in many fields of expertise related to Surface Water Resources Engineering including: storm drain system analysis and design, FEMA floodplain investigations, stream channel and detention basin designs, sediment production and erosion control, and analysis of historic storm and flood events. We have municipal, commercial and professional clients internationally.
Fields of Expertise in Water Resources Engineering:
Watershed Hydrology
*Storm Events
*Historic Floods
*Dam and Reservoir Operations
*Meteorologic Storm Frequency Analysis
*Hydrologic Flood Frequency Analysis
Hydraulic Systems Analysis
*Floodplains
*Storm Drains
*Irrigation and Drainage
*Street and Highway
Forensic Modeling and Re-Creations
*Urban Storm Drain Floods
*Stream and River Flooding
*Reservoir Operations
*Drownings Occurances
*Vehicular Accidents / Highway Drainage
Design, Operation and Maintenance Standards
*Flood Control Systems
*Channel and Levee
*Dam and Reservoir
*Highway Drainage
New Years flood of 2005, Ross Valley, San Anselmo Creek - Marin County, California. The hydraulic impacts of 17 bridges and channel infringements along San Anselmo and Ross Creeks was determined using HEC-RAS. The individual and cumulative effects of the structures were quantified for the clients in this class action law suit.Testified in Court Trial on the Factors Involved in Flooding That Occurred in Downtown Redding, California. The storm's return frequency, the city storm drain system's design level of protection, and the impacts of watershed development were all discussed as they related to the level of flooding experienced at a downtown apartment complex.Provided Testimony in Jury Trial on Evaluation of Municipal Storm Drain System Improvements, Cumberland, Maryland. Established design factors of a storm drain system improvement project which induced greater flooding of downstream residents than would have occurred prior to its completion.3-D Animation of Roadway Drainage Patterns Presented to Jury as Part of Testimony on the Cause of a Fatal Mudslide, Mill Valley, California. The hydrology and hydraulics of how a section of roadway drained throughout a winter season were modeled, and the results graphically illustrated in 3-Dimensional space, as part of a PowerPoint presentation on the contributing factors leading to the mudslide. Expert Testimony Provided in Jury Trial on Whether Highway Drainage Conditions May Have Led to Fatal Auto Accident, Stockton, California. Highway drainage plans and high resolution laser survey of highway road surface were analyzed in connection with storm event rainfall data, indicating that the roadway had no anomalies or sheet flow conditions that could have created a potential for hydroplaning of the vehicle. No Dangerous Condition of the state highway was found to exist, 12-0, by the jury in the case.
Education
Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
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Year: 1981 | Degree: MS | Subject: Water Resources Engineering | Institution: UCLA |
Year: 1980 | Degree: BS | Subject: Environmental Systems Engineering | Institution: UCLA |
Work History
Years | Employer | Title | Department |
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Years: 1989 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: President | Department: |
Responsibilities:He has been the Principal Engineer and President. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1987 to 1989 | Employer: Camp, Dresser & McKee, Inc. | Title: Project Engineer | Department: Walnut Creek, California Office |
Responsibilities:Expert was a Project Engineer for Surface Water Engineering Projects. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1984 to 1987 | Employer: Harding Lawson Associates | Title: Project Engineer | Department: Novato, California Corporate Offices |
Responsibilities:Expert was a Project Engineer for Surface Water Engineering Projects. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1981 to 1984 | Employer: US Army Corps of Engineers | Title: Reservoir Operations Engineer | Department: Los Angeles District, Hydrology Section |
Responsibilities:Expert was a Project Engineer for Hydrology and Hydraulics Projects and conducted real-time Reservoir Operations during flood events. |
Government Experience
Years | Agency | Role | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Years: 1981 to 1984 | Agency: US Army Corps of Engineers | Role: Project Engineer | Description: Expert was a Project Manager and Reservoir Operations Engineer. As such, he conducted real-time flood control operations during flood events and developed and screened alternatives for flood control and other civil and military construction projects and conducted public workshops for community review. |
International Experience
Years | Country / Region | Summary |
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Years: 2012 to 2013 | Country / Region: Queensland, Australia | Summary: Hydrologic and Hydraulic investigation into the reservoir operations leading to the Queensland floods of January 2011. |
Years: 2012 to 2012 | Country / Region: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. | Summary: Expert investigates a new City highway overpass project that floods nearby businesses after drainage patterns and conveyance systems are modified - Edmond, British Columbia. A review of the project's design indicates that the downstream flow conditions were not properly taken into account in the project's design and allowance for pre-existing backwater conditions was not made. |
Career Accomplishments
Associations / Societies |
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* American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE); - Engineering Ethics Committee - Global Climate Change Committee * American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC); - California State Water Resources Committee * Forensic Expert Witness Association (FEWA); - National Board of Directors, San Francisco Chapter President * American Public Works Association (APWA); - California State Storm Water Quality Task Force * Floodplain Management Association of California (FMA) |
Licenses / Certifications |
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PE, D.WRE |
Professional Appointments |
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San Francisco Chapter President and a State Board Member of the Forensic Expert Witness Association (FEWA) |
Additional Experience
Expert Witness Experience |
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Expert has experience testifying as an expert witness, having testified in well over one-hundred cases, representing both the defense and the plaintiffs at an approximate 50% split. He has provided sworn expert testimony on the stand in 25 trials, to date. |
Training / Seminars |
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He is a Diplomate Water Resources Engineer and a member of the American Academy of Water Resources Engineering (AAWRE). Each year AAWRE hosts special engineering ethics and expert witness sessions as part of the annual EWRI World Water and Environmental Resources Congress. Expert instructed Being an Effective Expert Witness at the 2011 EWRI Congress in Palm Springs, California and the the 2014 EWRI Congress in Portland, Oregon. These sessions explored the role of the expert witness in litigation support and trial testimony. The session offered various methods for being a more effective expert, both in dealing with client lawyers and providing more effective and memorable testimony to the judge and jury at trial. |
Language Skills
Language | Proficiency |
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Spanish | Expert is semi-fluent in Spanish and has conducted engineering investigations in El Salvador as part of an Engineers Without Borders project. |
Fields of Expertise
drainage, flood control, flooding, hydraulics, levee, reservoir engineering, river engineering, storm drainage, storm drainage system, stormwater, stormwater management, surface water, watershed hydrology, runoff, reservoir, drowning, flood insurance, culvert, spillway, water, highway design, water flood, embankment, erosion control, concrete dam, stream, rockfill dam, river, hydrology, ditch, dam, civil engineering, channel, buttress dam, arch dam