ADVERTISEMENT
John Verduin: Bringing People and Ideas Together at Anchor QEA
In Meydenbauer Bay Park in Bellevue, Washington, a 300-foot-long restored stream channel (left) replaces a buried storm water outfall that drains a large urban area to Lake Washington, improving water quality and habitat. An open, cobble-lined channel (right) conveys treated storm water from a new parking area to infiltration facilities adjacent to Lake Washington.
W
8 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER | June 2021
Municipal Water Leader: Please tell our readers about your background. John Verduin: I’m a geotechnical engineer by trade and am entering my 34th year in engineering practice. Most of my geotechnical engineering experiences have focused on unique design settings, not the standard foundation or shoring geotechnical-type design, which was what I did early in my career. I eventually moved toward more out-ofthe-box geotechnical problems. For example, how do you build a restoration site in a coastal environment in weak soils and make sure it’s going to be there over time? Situations municipalwaterleader.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANCHOR QEA.
orking with varied stakeholders on complicated issues to produce innovative, effective solutions is a considerable challenge, particularly for water-related issues. But John Verduin has made a career of doing exactly that, particularly in his current role as managing partner of Anchor QEA, a company that uses innovation and collaboration to solve complex environmental and water issues ranging from irrigation and municipal water supply to storm water, wastewater, and green infrastructure. In this article, Mr. Verduin tells Municipal Water Leader about Anchor QEA’s origins, the company’s approach to the challenging projects it undertakes, and how it has created a culture of innovation and collaboration both internally and externally.