Wet Weather Program Expands with New Leaders
McKim & Creed continues its growth in the infrastructure industry by expanding its wet weather program leadership team.
Carlos Espinosa, PE, a 40-year veteran of the water and wastewater infrastructure industry, has joined McKim & Creed as wet weather program manager. Accompanying him is Derek Holderman, who will serve as operations manager for wet weather program services.
Wet weather program services address the aging infrastructure issues that contribute to inflow and infiltration (I&I) and infrastructure capacity and condition inefficiencies that lead to sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). Flooding, spills and overflows cause billions of dollars of damage each year in the U.S., according to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.
McKim & Creed’s wet weather program specialists provide sanitary sewer evaluation survey (SSES) services that include flow monitoring, smoke testing, hydraulic modeling, I&I analysis, CCTV inspections, collection system monitoring and optimization, compliance consulting, asset inventory and rehabilitation design.
During his career in the private and public sectors, Carlos has earned a reputation for successfully developing and implementing compliance solutions and infrastructure improvements for public utilities. Often these utilities are grappling with consent decrees that require infrastructure owners to clean up and resolve wet weather collections issues within a specific time period or face costly penalties.
Prior to joining McKim & Creed, Carlos served as the chief of asset management for the Baltimore City, Maryland Department of Public Works. There he initiated proactive inspection and preventative maintenance programs to optimize the service life of infrastructure. Under his leadership, the city implemented a strategic approach to managing its assets at a sustainable cost, transitioned to a more proactive mode of operations, and incorporated risk-based planning and other best management practices to make sound asset management decisions. Carlos holds engineering degrees from the United States Naval Academy and Johns Hopkins University.
Derek Holderman brings national experience in managing field operations that include smoke testing, flow monitoring, I&I abatement and manhole inspection. He is adept at finding the most appropriate and effective equipment and technologies to deal with specific flow characteristics and has managed pipeline rehabilitation projects from bid to completion. Derek has a degree in organizational leadership and learning from the University of Louisville.
“The experience and expertise that Carlos and Derek bring to McKim & Creed elevate the level of service we can provide for our clients as related to wet weather programs and consent decree compliance,” said Street Lee, PE, ENV SP, president of engineering for McKim & Creed.
“Joining McKim & Creed affords me the opportunity to continue advancing the practice of water infrastructure condition assessment and asset management. I am very excited to be part of a firm with a strong presence and reputation in the industry,” added Carlos.
McKim & Creed established its wet weather program in 2012 and has helped communities throughout the U.S. assess, monitor and repair their aging infrastructure. Recently the company developed a long-term solution to alleviate SSO issues in Largo, Florida that mitigated the risk of $2.6 million in fines.
