Credentials and Experience Summary

Ronald K. Christensen, Ph.D, P.E.

I offer engineering consulting and expert witness services throughout the United States in hydrology, hydraulics, water resources, environmental, public lands, and all water related engineering fields. I am a Ph.D. level professional engineer/water expert with 26 years of practical experience in consulting engineering and government. I am known for my technical excellence and skill in analyzing and solving water and environmental engineering problems.

I also hold a J.D. degree in law and an Environmental and Natural Resources law certificate. My interest and knowledge in law complements and has fueled in my interest in expert witness work. I am currently serving as an expert witness for a major hurricane flooding case in Mississippi. I am looking forward to helping you with your expert witness or consulting engineering needs.

Engineering Credentials/Experience

Ph.D. Civil and Environmental Engineering (water resources emphasis), 1996, Utah State University, Logan, UT
M.S. Civil Engineering (water resources emphasis), 1980, Utah State University, Logan, UT
B.S. Watershed Science, 1978, Utah State University College of Natural Resources, Logan, UT
Registered Professional Engineer (Utah, 1984, #166380)
26 years experience in civil/water engineering and natural resources in private consulting and government

• 21 years consulting engineering throughout the United States including 5 years expert witness experience and ten years with a large international engineering firm - projects completed in Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, West Virginia and all 17 western states.
• 5 years experience as staff engineer for the largest water supply district in Utah including operations, inspections, design, and construction of pipelines, canals, tunnels, dams, and reservoirs
• 3 summers with the U.S. Forest Service as a hydrologic aid including water quality sampling, streamflow measurement, and monitoring and erosion control.

Legal Credentials/Experience

Attorney at Law, Utah State Bar No. 8530, U.S. District Court of Utah, 1999 to present
J.D. of Law with Environmental and Natural Resources Law Certificate, 1999, University of Utah College of Law, Salt Lake City, UT

OTHER SPECIAL TRAINING

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Workshops
• Water Systems Management Workshop
• Dam Tenders Workshop
Utah State University, Pipe Network Analysis Workshop (1 week).

PROJECTS/PUBLICATIONS

Recent work includes expert witness investigations in flooding, reservoir operations, stream sedimentation, deposition, and transport, and canal safety designs. Expert witness in a major hurricane flooding case. Extensive experience in storm hydrology, hydraulics, flood evaluations, and storm drainage systems analysis and design, water resource and environmental regulations, dam and spillway design/operations, hydrology and hydrologic modeling, water rights, river basin management, and designing, constructing, and operating water supply and drainage systems including pipelines, canals, diversions, storage reservoirs, and pumping stations.

Engineering projects include hurricane flood analysis, flooding and flood plain analyses, storm drainage master planning, hydrologic and river basin modeling, storm drain design, detention basin design, FEMA floodplain studies and mapping, water rights evaluations and hydrographic surveys, water quality evaluations and analyses, and municipal water supply planning. Supervised design, construction, and operation of canals, pipelines, pump stations, diversion structures, sediment removal ponds, and mechanical screening equipment. Performed dam safety inspections and completed probable maximum flood hydrology studies and spillway designs for more than 10 small dams.

Participated in an interagency team for determining in-stream fishery flow requirements. Reviewed and made comments on interagency team findings for required endangered species in-stream flows and for blue ribbon trout fishery in-stream flows including comments on study assumptions, findings, and recommendations. Reviewed and provided comments on environmental impact statements.

Extensively researched federal laws governing U.S. Bureau of Reclamation water supply/repayment contracts and water rights. Evaluated rights and interests of water users in numerous Reclamation project water repayment contracts.

A list of specific projects and a list of my publications are available upon request.