Stephen Simpson, P.E., F.ASCE, senior project manager and client services director for Black & Veatch, has been named a fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
Simpson’s entire career has focused on protecting public health through the provision of safe drinking water and protecting our environment through wastewater treatment, protection of water resources, and reuse/recycling. Through 36 years, he has led engineering master planning, modeling, and pilot studies, preliminary and conceptual design, detailed design and development of construction plans and specifications, and project construction phase services.
He has led the design of drinking water treatment facility projects with capacities up to 150 mgd, water distribution infrastructure projects up to 48-inch diameter, wastewater treatment facility improvement projects with capacities up to 100 mgd, and wastewater collection projects up to 36-inch diameter. He has been involved in the design and oversight of projects totaling over $500 million in construction value in the last two decades in Georgia, including directing Black & Veatch's team supporting the City of Atlanta as the Owner's Engineer during construction of the 2021 ENR Award of Merit Bellwood Quarry project for the city. This $320 million project repurposed the former Bellwood rock quarry as a 2.4-billion-gallon raw water storage facility, included a five-mile-long tunnel – 400 feet deep and 12.5 feet in diameter – and two pump stations with connections to the city’s two drinking water treatment plants and the quarry.
In addition to utility infrastructure projects, Simpson has been involved in water resources planning in Georgia, including the development of the ACF Stakeholders Sustainable Water Management Plan and supporting the Middle Chattahoochee, Upper Flint, and Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Water Councils in developing their Regional Water Plans and updates for incorporation in the State of Georgia's Statewide Water Plan. The development of these plans played a role in the greater understanding of water needs and uses throughout the basin, including supporting progress toward resolution of the tri-state litigation involving Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Simpson recently led the Black & Veatch team in developing a statewide study of wastewater biosolids, identifying the challenges, constraints, and opportunities in various biosolids management approaches to respond to changes in air, soil amendment, and landfill regulations. The technologies and approaches documented in the study will benefit utilities across the state as they respond to changing regulations and costs to minimize impacts on the environment and utility customers long-term.
As well, he serves his community through active involvement in Scouts USA and projects with Habitat for Humanity. He also volunteers time on missions to the Dominican Republic.
Simpson earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech in 1986 and is a registered professional engineer in Georgia, Virginia, and Maryland.
