CDM Smith is pleased to announce that water reuse regulatory expert, Karthik Kumarasamy, PhD, PE joined the firm as an environmental engineer. With 14 years of experience in drinking water, wastewater, water reuse, regulatory compliance, permitting and modeling, Dr. Kumarasamy will apply his advanced knowledge in his new technical role at CDM Smith.

Previously a principal engineer at the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Dr. Kumarasamy developed the framework for regulating direct potable reuse (DPR) in the state of Arizona as the architect of Arizona’s Advanced Water Purification (AWP) regulatory program. As the Chair of the Technical Advisory Group comprised of 68 experts of diverse backgrounds, he established minimum treatment and operations standards for DPR under a flexible permitting paradigm in the state. He worked collaboratively and closely with utilities large, medium and small to develop the advanced water treatment operator certification program for Arizona. He secured funding and worked with Arizona universities to characterize the chemical and pathogen makeup of wastewater to develop rules that are tailor made for the state. To facilitate a smooth permitting process under a flexible permitting framework, he secured funding and worked with six national consulting firms to develop AWP Guidance Manuals covering corrosion control, membrane and carbon trains, operations, source control and WRF design.

Dr. Kumarasamy is also an adjunct faculty member at Arizona State University and has authored over a dozen peer-reviewed publications. Additionally, his abstract for the 2023 AZ Water Conference won 1st place, and he also won the Governor’s award in Arizona for developing a machine learning model to predict public water system non-compliance.

Dr. Kumarasamy has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from Utah State University, and a PhD in civil and environmental engineering from Utah State University.

His extensive knowledge will be instrumental as we assist other states in drafting reuse policy and guide our clients through compliance. senior vice president jennifer osgood

“We are thrilled to welcome Karthik to our team, bringing his unique experience in implementing potable reuse regulations,” said senior vice president Jennifer Osgood. “His extensive knowledge will be instrumental as we assist other states in drafting reuse policy and guide our clients through compliance. Together, we are committed to advancing sustainable water solutions and ensuring safe, reliable water for all.”

“As the architect of Arizona’s DPR program, or what we call here in Arizona, the AWP program, one of the documents I relied heavily on was the EPA’s potable reuse compendium that CDM Smith authored. I instantly knew that the values of the company align with mine,” said Dr. Kumarasamy.

CDM Smith is a privately owned engineering and construction firm providing legendary client service and smart solutions in water, environment, transportation, energy, and facilities. Passionate about our work and invested in each other, we are inspired to think and driven to solve the world’s environmental and infrastructure challenges.