Biography
Kirk Westphal, P.E. is a practicing Water Resources Engineer serving as the National Water Resources Director for Brown and Caldwell, an environmental consulting firm focusing on water, wastewater, and reclaimed water. He received his B.S. from Boston University in 1991, and after receiving his M.S. from Tufts University in 2001, his 20-year career in water has taken him to 28 states and five countries to help develop long-term water management plans. He specializes in Integrated Planning, Statewide and Regional Water Planning, Water Supply, Water Quality, Climate Vulnerabilities, and the connectivity between Water and Energy. He also focuses on the social aspects of water management: Connecting people to their watersheds, and to others with competing objectives. He has helped facilitate water agreements between Indigenous Nations and US State and Municipal governments, Utilities and Environmental Nonprofit Groups, and state regulatory agencies with competing interests in water management – the common theme is building consensus with tools, science, and respect. He has twice received the ASCE Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management award for Best Practice-Oriented Paper for journal articles on progressive tools and techniques in water supply and drought management, and has given frequent guest lectures and conference addresses across the United States.
Education
M.S. Tufts University, 2001
B.S. Boston University, 1991