WEST is delighted to announce that senior hydrologic and hydraulic engineer, Mr. Jerry Webb, P.E., D.WRE, has been awarded the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers (AAWRE) 2023 Service to the Academy Award for his significant contributions and work in furthering the mission and goals of the AAWRE. Mr. Webb was instrumental in helping develop DWRE candidate evaluation guidelines, having served on the Admissions Committee from 2007-2013. Mr. Webb also played a vital role in developing the AAWRE Awards criteria and served as a Trustee of the Board, President-Elect, President, and Past President from 2012-2016.

With nearly five-decades in the water resources engineering profession, including more than 44 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District (USACE), Huntington District, and USACE Headquarters, Mr. Webb has wide-ranging experience in water management, floodplain management, hydrology, hydraulics, and river engineering.

About this recognition, Mr. Webb stated: “I am honored to be recognized with the AAWRE 2023 Service to the Academy Award,. I accept this award on behalf of all the great leaders in our industry that have devoted their lives to elevating the standards and advancement of the profession of water resources engineering. I am humbled to be added to the list of previous recipients, which includes many of my mentors and colleagues. I have truly been blessed to be associated with AAWRE since 2005 and to have the opportunity to serve in multiple roles. Thank you to the Academy for this recognition and all the contributions of the organization – past, present, and future – to the advancement of our profession.”

Before joining WEST, Mr. Webb served as the Principal Hydrologic and Hydraulic Engineer and Hydrology, Hydraulics, and Coastal Community of Practice (HH&C CoP) Leader at the USACE Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He represented USACE in international and national forums with duties encompassing all aspects of hydrologic, hydraulic, and coastal engineering. From 2003-2015 he was responsible for planning, developing, and directing the execution of all aspects of technical policy related to the worldwide design and construction mission assigned to USACE.

Mr. Webb has extensive international experience including serving as the Chairman of the Columbia River Treaty’s Permanent Engineering Board Engineering Committee, where he coordinated water management operations in accordance with the Treaty. He also served as the Senior Advisor to Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR). While in this position supporting Iraq reconstruction, he oversaw more than 12,000 personnel operating the world’s oldest water resources system. Also, he was the interim Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Environment during January-February 2004.

Before his assignment to HQUSACE, he was Chief of the Water Resources Engineering Branch for the USACE Huntington District, where he was a key member of the Dam Safety Committee and was responsible for design, construction, and maintenance of dams and appurtenant structures and water management activities for 35 reservoirs and 9 navigation locks and dams.

Mr. Webb has demonstrated expertise and service to the water resources community in many leadership roles. He served several years as the Hydraulics Committee chair and two terms as a U.S. Society of Dams (USSD) Board member. He was a USACE representative for the Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI) and the Hydrology and Sedimentation national subcommittees. He served two terms as a Board member and is Past-President (2014) of the AAWRE and acted as a Department of Defense representative to the National Dam Safety Review Board.

Mr. Webb served as the Program Manager for the USACE Water Management System (CWMS) from 2003-2015. He led the development of a national implementation plan for USACE and was the primary author for several recent updates to water management guidance/policy. He also served as a senior advisor to USACE Dam Safety and Levee Safety senior oversight groups. In this capacity, he provided significant contributions in the overall advancement of policies incorporating risk and uncertainty principles into the programs and was recognized as the Tommy Schmidt Dam Safety Professional of the Year in 2015. He also served on Board of Experts in hydrology and hydraulics addressing design flood/dam safety issues for the Beauharnois Rehabilitation Project with Hydro-Quebec.

Learn More

The AAWRE Service to the Academy Award was instituted by AAWRE in October 2014 to recognize a Diplomate, Water Resources Engineer or an individual that exemplifies leadership and service to the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers. This award is given annually to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding and extensive service or contributions to the Academy. Mr. Webb is the 9th recipient of the AAWRE Service to the Academy Award. To learn more, visit https://www.aawre.org/news/aawre-service-academy-award.

To read more about Mr. Webb’s career, see https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-webb-57386341/.

WEST Consultants, Inc. is an internationally recognized specialized water resources engineering firm and Small Business with offices in Arizona, California, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. WEST has a staff of over 70 highly trained engineering and scientific professionals and support staff.