Because stormwater infiltration and filtration projects can be complex, it’s critical that they be effectively planned, designed, and constructed to operate correctly over the long term with reasonable ongoing operations and maintenance (O&M).
Geosyntec practitioners will make major contributions at the Washington State Municipal Stormwater Conference (MuniCon) on May 20 and 21, 2025, in Vancouver, Washington.
John Knutson is a Senior Principal Engineer based in Washington with more than 30 years of experience focused on planning and design, floodplain management, and stream restoration projects for public and private clients throughout the US Pacific Northwest.
Our clients understand environmental and occupational safety and health risk management is a vital component of maintaining overall operational excellence. Geosyntec's environmental management team builds compliance solutions, distinguishes between potential and actual environmental risks, and develops strategies to decrease energy and water utilization. Environmental and health & safety (EH&S) management system support services benefit our private and public sector clients who are committed to achieving high standards of EH&S performance and compliance. We develop documented management systems that allow our clients to identify, prioritize, and manage more efficiently the potential EH&S risks associated with their operations using a plan, do, check, act framework to ensure continuous program improvement. With a diverse portfolio of services, Geosyntec improves public and private sector clients' environmental and health and safety performance; manage risk; and reduce environmental liabilities consistent with their financial and stewardship goals. Our compliance, permitting, and auditing specialists have technical expertise across a broad range of disciplines. Accordingly, we are able to help our clients by proactively identifying compliance obligations and opportunities to improve their compliance record. Geosyntec practitioners specialize in solving complex challenges of occupational safety and industrial hygiene that affect workplace operations, staff comfort and productivity, or occupant health. Addressing such challenges involves the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of known risks and emerging hazards in the workplace. Our practitioners conduct assessments using the sound scientific principles and practices of industrial hygiene, public health, and toxicology. We provide comprehensive Process Safety Management (PSM) and Risk Management Program (RMP) services to meet our clients' needs as they relate to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) 29 CFR 1910.119 PSM Standard and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 40 CFR Part 68 RMP. The standards require the development and implementation of a system of procedures aimed at preventing accidental releases of hazardous chemicals from subject processes. All levels of an organization can benefit from our assistance in managing the daily aspects of its operations through development of environmental management systems, compliance programs and procedures, and regulatory research and applicability assessments. We accomplish this by implementing tools in a plan-do-check-act framework to ensure continuous program improvement.
Across industries and project types, delivery is increasingly shaped by regulatory complexity, environmental constraints, stakeholder expectations, and the need to accelerate schedules while managing costs.
Low impact development (LID) aims to mimic natural hydrology by using small-scale, decentralized techniques that infiltrate, evaporate, and transpire rainwater. The guiding principles of LID are to reduce imperviousness, disconnect imperviousness, conserve natural resources and areas, maintain natural drainage courses, and minimize clearing and grading. Geosyntec practitioners have designed and integrated a number of innovative system architectures to help clients meet each of these goals. Through the use of the latest green infrastructure (GI) and by implementing new sustainable practices, many of our clients have addressed challenges that previously were intractable, unachievable, or not cost effective using conventional passive solutions. We provide specialized stormwater and watershed management services for private facilities, large developers, stormwater utilities, and municipal agencies throughout the United States and have implemented many of the nation's first GI projects. Our stormwater management specialists form one of the leading practices in the country and include individuals whose applied research earned the American Society of Civil Engineers Civil Engineering State-of-the-Art Award and similar accolades at the state and regional level. Our firm's efforts in LID are geared to lower costs for stormwater infrastructure and maintenance, improve surface water quality and groundwater recharge, and design an attractive, ecologically functional landscape. We also have incorporated LID approaches into new development and retrofit projects to improve control of both quantity and quality of stormwater. Geosyntec personnel continuously shape the state of the practice with projects that involve original research, development, and application of LID techniques. Our engineers and scientists are represented on the Board of Directors of the Low Impact Development Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancing LID technology, and maintain joint research projects with civil engineering faculty at leading academic institutions.
Geosyntec provides comprehensive water-quality permitting and receiving water-assessment services. Our services include the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting negotiations and technical support for wastewater and industrial wastewater treatment plant discharges, groundwater discharge, combined sewer overflow systems, and stormwater management. Our water-resources practitioners also specialize in water-quality assessments in large watersheds, rivers, and reservoirs. Many of these projects are multi-year efforts where our services have eliminated unnecessary treatment works, saving clients significant costs. Antidegradation and Water-Quality Reviews Antidegradation and water-quality reviews are essential for permitting wastewater discharge expansions. Regulators use these reviews to determine treatment-system requirements and effluent limitations. Permittees must prepare the review submittals for new or expanded treatment plants. These reviews can range in complexity from basic qualitative evaluations to complex modeling scenarios using actual stream data. Using our thorough understanding of antidegradation and water-quality review processes,we help clients select the most appropriate review approaches when pursuing new or expanded wastewater treatment plants. Regulators with the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and state regulators emphasize water-quality-based permitting of municipal, domestic, and industrial wastewater discharges.They do this to address water-quality concerns and attain water-quality standards within receiving streams, rather than basing permits on technology-based limitations that may not adequately protect the specific water resource. Waste-Load Allocation Geosyntec's water-quality-based permitting and waste-load allocation studies may range greatly in complexity, and regulatory involvement and negotiations are critical elements within such projects. Waste-load allocations may be derived using a variety of approaches, and water-quality-based permit limits are derived after determining the most appropriate and defensible waste-load allocation. Our engineers and scientists use state-of-the-art field monitoring approaches to calibrate water-quality models and establish appropriate water-quality criteria. We have saved our clients several millions of dollars in infrastructure investments by investigating conservative permit assumptions and ensuring a sustainable balance between resource needs and practical budget constraints.
Geosyntec's engineers and scientists stand among the world's foremost experts in urban stormwater management. We are innovators who design best management practices to mitigate impacts to surface water quality, enhance water conservation strategies, and contribute to municipal water supplies. Our professionals develop and implement comprehensive water quality master plans and site-specific designs using green infrastructure concepts for long-term stormwater control. We also guide the development and design of construction, industrial, and municipal programs for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulatory program compliance. We have evaluated the opportunities, constraints, effectiveness, and costs associated with a variety of low impact development and green-streets options and have provided conventional treatment control BMPs for maintaining water quality control. We provide end-to-end solutions for a wide variety of applications from proprietary cistern sizing and optimization modeling and water collection and pre-filtration strategies, to designs for filtration, treatment, and water distribution systems. Our water resources engineers specialize in surface-water and groundwater interactions, ecosystem restoration, multi-beneficial project development, hydromodification management, and erosion and sediment control. In addition, our practitioners have been instrumental in developing, publishing, and supporting numerous stormwater guidance and design manuals. Geosyntec professionals established and continue to contribute to the International Database on Urban Stormwater BMP Design and Performance. We frequently present state-of-the-practice training sessions and workshops on stormwater management, NPDES regulatory program requirements, erosion and sediment control technologies, and BMP performance and design.
Geosyntec's water and natural resources practice is a collaborative group of nationally recognized scientists and engineers dedicated to balancing built and natural environments. Their practice specialties represent many disciplines, including geomorphology, ecology, biology, statistics, construction management, computer science, and engineering. Our practitioners are at the forefront of policy analyses, regulatory compliance, and technology applications that promote sustainable water resources management and ecosystem restoration.
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