What FlowWest does

FlowWest, LLC is a privately held environmental engineering and technology firm headquartered in Oakland, California. Founded in 2009, the company integrates three service pillars — River & Floodplain Restoration, Data Science, and Software Development — to deliver ecosystem management solutions for government agencies (notably California Department of Water Resources, California Fish & Wildlife, California State Parks, and the Delta Stewardship Council), federally recognized tribal governments (The Klamath Tribes, Yurok Tribe, Upper Mattaponi Tribe, Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians), and environmental nonprofits (The Watershed Project, Water Foundation, California Water Data Consortium).

The company's underlying technology platform combines ecological engineering, geomorphology, environmental planning, GIS/geospatial analysis, statistical modeling, and custom software development. FlowWest has built a portfolio of named digital products, including the DataTackle field-to-cloud tablet application for rotary screw trap monitoring (automating QA/QC and uploads to the Environmental Data Initiative), the Klamath Tribes Water Resources Repository (integrated with EPA WQX), the Clear Lake Water Quality Data Visualization Platform for the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, the riceflows4ff R package for salmonid food production modeling across ~500,000 acres of Sacramento Valley rice fields, the Step Zero Consolidation Cost Estimator for the Water Foundation, and the Reorienting to Recovery decision-support platform for the Delta Stewardship Council.

FlowWest generates revenue through project-based professional services contracts, with no public pricing disclosed. Engagements range from smaller data-tooling builds to multi-million-dollar restoration infrastructure projects (e.g., a $3.5M Arroyo De La Laguna floodplain restoration in 2017 and a $1.7M Courtland Creek restoration in Oakland). The firm operates as a Federally registered Small Business and California Small Business Enterprise (#1190062), with no disclosed venture capital or private equity backing. Headcount is approximately 30 multidisciplinary professionals, and the company is actively hiring in Engineering and Business Operations.

Name

FlowWest

Legal name

FlowWest, LLC

Website

https://flowwest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

FlowWest is an Oakland-based environmental engineering and technology firm that provides ecosystem restoration, data science, and custom software development services to California government agencies, tribal governments, and environmental nonprofits, specializing in salmonid habitat restoration and water resources data management.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Consulting and Ecosystem Restoration Services

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water, Wastewater & Stormwater Compliance (BPAHAJAJ), Commercial/Residential Building Water Management & Leak Analytics Services (HSAHAGAK), Riparian & Watershed Reforestation (Streambank Stabilization) (AFAMACAK)

Keywords

• Environmental consulting services
• Ecosystem restoration design
• Water resource management
• Environmental data science
• Custom environmental software

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Environmental Consulting Services: Professional consulting services for ecosystem management, restoration design, environmental planning, and science-informed decision support. Revenue generated through project-based contracts with government agencies, tribal governments, and environmental organizations.
2. Custom Software Development: Tailored software and data solutions for environmental challenges including web applications, mobile apps, modeling platforms, and data management systems developed for specific client needs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

FlowWest is an environmental consulting and technology firm that delivers integrated ecosystem management, restoration, and science-informed decision support services to government agencies, tribal governments, and environmental nonprofits. Its core offerings span River & Floodplain Restoration, Ecological Engineering, Environmental Planning, Coastal and Estuarine services, alongside Data Science and custom Software Development capabilities. The firm develops bespoke web and mobile applications, data management platforms, and analytical tools tailored to environmental challenges such as salmonid habitat restoration, water quality monitoring, and climate adaptation.

Product overview

FlowWest is an environmental engineering and technology firm offering an integrated portfolio of ecosystem management and restoration services. Its capabilities span two core service pillars — Software Development Services (custom software, mobile apps, web development, cloud computing, DevOps, database design) and Data Science Services (data analysis, geospatial/GIS, statistical modeling, machine learning, data visualization, life cycle modeling) — alongside specialized River & Floodplain Restoration Services. These services are delivered through a suite of named digital products: DataTackle App (field-to-cloud tablet application for fish monitoring), the Klamath Tribes Water Resources Repository (EPA WQX-integrated water quality management platform), the Clear Lake Water Quality Data Visualization Platform (stakeholder dashboard for the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians), the Rice Flows for Fish Food Database (spatial database with riceflows4ff R package for salmonid food production), the Step Zero Consolidation Cost Estimator (web-based water system planning tool), the Tribal Data Framework for Watershed Management (EPA-integrated database for the Upper Mattaponi Tribe), the Citizen Science Water Quality Web Application (community data collection and visualization platform), the Reorienting to Recovery Platform (open-source decision support system for Central Valley salmonid recovery), the UMIT Climate Vulnerability Assessment (climate risk assessment for the Upper Mattaponi Tribe), the Klamath River Harvest Management Database (modernized open-source salmon harvest software for the Yurok Tribe), the UKB WAP (adaptive restoration planning tool for the Klamath Tribes), and the California Urban Water Data Reporting Platform (open data system for the California Water Data Consortium).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DataTackle: A field-to-cloud tablet application for collecting rotary screw trap data essential for salmon population monitoring programs.
• Step Zero Consolidation Cost Estimator
• Citizen Science Water Quality Web Application
• Klamath Tribes Water Resources Repository
• Clear Lake Water Quality Data Visualization

Products and services

• River & Floodplain Restoration Services Consulting and engineering services for sustainable and resilient river and floodplain ecosystems, including hydrologic modeling, hydraulic design, surface water/groundwater management, ecosystem restoration, fluvial geomorphology, floodplain management, wetlands restoration, watershed assessments, sediment transport, fish passage design, and dam removal. Served to government agencies, tribal governments, and environmental organizations.
• Software Development Services Custom software and data solutions tailored for environmental challenges, including custom software development, mobile application development, web development, API development, cloud computing, software testing, DevOps, database design and management, and software maintenance and support. Served to government agencies, tribal governments, and environmental organizations.
• Data Science Services Data science solutions for environmental management, including data analysis, statistical modeling, Python/R programming, geospatial analysis, GIS, machine learning, data visualization, life cycle modeling, database management, data cleaning and processing, data governance, and data system design. Served to government agencies, tribal governments, and environmental organizations.
• Ecological Engineering Services Ecological engineering consulting for environmental restoration projects, integrating engineering design with ecological principles to develop sustainable solutions for habitat and watershed challenges.
• Environmental Planning Services Environmental planning consulting services supporting regulatory compliance, permitting, and science-informed decision-making for ecosystem management and restoration projects.
• Coastal and Estuarine Services Consulting services addressing coastal and estuarine ecosystem management, restoration, and science-informed decision support for coastal environments.
• DataTackle App A field-to-cloud tablet application for collecting rotary screw trap data essential for salmon population monitoring programs. Standardizes field data entry, automates data validation and QA/QC, and supports automated real-time uploads to the Environmental Data Initiative (EDI) public repository. Developed for the California Department of Water Resources.
• Rice Flows for Fish Food Database A spatial database for salmonid food production on Sacramento Valley rice fields, accompanied by the riceflows4ff R package describing factors influencing suitability for fish food production and delivery, including outflow locations, distances to salmonid rearing streams, and invertebrate food mass production. Developed for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
• Step Zero Consolidation Cost Estimator A web-based planning tool that provides early-stage cost estimates for small water systems considering drinking water consolidation versus upgrading existing systems. Offers interactive scenario comparisons, visual and tabular cost summaries, and CSV/PDF export capabilities. Developed for the Water Foundation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Restored salmon spawning habitat access by removing 3 in-stream barriers on Branciforte Creek, completing construction in summer 2021
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Yurok TribecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlowWest collaborated with the Yurok Tribe to migrate their decades-old software system and modernize data analysis and management tools for their Klamath River salmon harvest management program. Deliverables included open source software customized for salmon harvest management, improved QA/QC capabilities, and increased data processing speed.
• The Klamath TribescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term collaboration with The Klamath Tribes developing the Upper Klamath Basin Watershed Action Plan (2017) and enhancing their water quality database for EPA Data Exchange integration. FlowWest developed a Restoration Prioritization Framework to guide and prioritize future restoration projects.
• Upper Mattaponi TribecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlowWest secured two EPA Exchange Network Grants (2021, 2022) for Upper Mattaponi Tribe developing comprehensive data management plan, centralized database, geospatial data warehouse, and climate vulnerability assessment integrating traditional ecological knowledge with western science.
• Big Valley Band of Pomo IndianscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership since 2016 developing Clear Lake water quality data web application and conducting climate adaptation planning for Adobe Creek restoration to benefit Clear Lake hitch habitat. FlowWest provided technical review for Big Valley Groundwater Sustainability Plan.
• Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo IndianscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlowWest secured Wildlife Conservation Board Stream Flow Enhancement grant funding and completed restoration actions including 10 acres of invasive Arundo removal, riparian corridor creation, fish passage barrier removal, and salmonid habitat features completed summer 2021.
• The Watershed ProjectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlowWest partnered with The Watershed Project to develop a citizen science water quality web application helping local communities store, manage, and understand data they collect in their local watershed. Application supports watershed education programs.
• City of OaklandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlowWest led the Courtland Creek Restoration Project in partnership with the City of Oakland (Oakland Measure DD Initiative), securing $1.7M in state/federal funding and completing restoration of 950 linear feet of creek and 140,000 sq ft of parkland.
• Water FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Water Foundation to develop the Step Zero Consolidation Cost Estimator tool addressing the consolidation planning bottleneck for small water systems in California, with support from State Water Resources Control Board.
• California Water Data ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year collaboration since 2022 to improve urban water data reporting, access, and use. FlowWest worked on identifying challenges in water reporting and developing recommendations for improved data publication across agencies.
• California Department of Water ResourcescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlowWest contracted to lead development of Spring Run Juvenile Production Estimate data management system supporting salmon monitoring across multiple Central Valley streams. Developed DataTackle tablet application for field data collection.
• Delta Stewardship CouncilmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlowWest leading modeling efforts for Reorienting to Recovery project, collaborating with science advisory and technical teams to update CVPIA SIT models and develop documentation and data visualization tools.
• Friends of Orinda CreeksmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on San Pablo Step Pools Restoration Project designing boulder weir step pools to replace failing concrete channel lining, improving fish passage while maintaining channel stability.
• Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz CountymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Branciforte Creek Fish Passage Barrier Removal Project with local landowners, restoring access to critical spawning habitat for coho salmon and steelhead trout by removing three in-stream barriers.
• Friends of Courtland CreekmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDecades-long collaboration on Courtland Creek restoration efforts, working alongside the City of Oakland and community partners to transform neglected waterway into vibrant public park and restored habitat.
• Friends of Butte CreekcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Butte Creek Floodplain Reconnection and Channel Restoration Project restoring over two miles of floodplain and side-channel rearing habitat for threatened Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon.
• Tuolumne River TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlowWest providing full suite of planning and floodplain design services for Basso/La Grange Reach Floodplain and Spawning Habitat Restoration Project led by Tuolumne River Trust, Tuolumne River Conservancy, Turlock Irrigation District, and Modesto Irrigation District.
• Trout UnlimitedmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Wildcat Creek Fish Passage Project alongside Contra Costa Flood Control, The Watershed Project, and Mithun to improve habitat for native steelhead through $1M grant from CA Department of Water Resources.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stillwater Sciences: Stillwater Sciences is a hydrology and aquatic ecology consulting firm specializing in river restoration, fish passage, and watershed assessments. Closest direct competitor to FlowWest in California-focused river and floodplain restoration with similar multi-disciplinary science teams.
• Anchor QEA: Anchor QEA provides water resource, environmental, and coastal engineering consulting with strong Pacific Northwest presence. Comparable to FlowWest in restoration design, sediment management, and salmonid habitat work, though at larger scale.
• River Design Group: River Design Group specializes in river restoration, fish passage engineering, and geomorphic assessment. Directly competes with FlowWest on California fish passage and floodplain reconnection projects for similar state agency and tribal clients.
• Environmental Science Associates (ESA): ESA is a California-based environmental consulting firm providing planning, permitting, and restoration services. Overlaps with FlowWest on environmental planning, CEQA documentation, and water resource restoration, though at significantly larger scale.
• Stillwater (separate entity / ESSA-style): ESSA Technologies is an environmental consulting and modeling firm combining ecological science with software development. Highly comparable to FlowWest's multidisciplinary model, integrating data science, modeling, and restoration planning for water resource management.
• Cramer Fish Sciences: Cramer Fish Sciences specializes in fisheries science, salmonid ecology, and data management for West Coast fish agencies. Closely comparable to FlowWest on salmon monitoring, juvenile production estimates, and fisheries data systems for agencies like CA DWR and tribal clients.

Broad incumbents

• Tetra Tech: Tetra Tech is a large global consulting and engineering firm with a major water and environment practice. Competes with FlowWest for large state and federal water contracts but operates at vastly larger scale and broader scope, including engineering, remediation, and international development.
• ICF International: ICF is a major consulting firm with deep environmental and water resources practices serving federal agencies. Comparable to FlowWest on EPA-adjacent data and climate adaptation work, but with substantially broader geographic and service scope.
• WSP Environment & Infrastructure: WSP is a major global engineering and environmental consulting firm with significant California water practice. Competes for large-scale water infrastructure and restoration projects, with broader scope and deeper pockets than FlowWest.

Emerging players

• Natural Heritage Institute: Natural Heritage Institute is a California-based nonprofit working on integrated water resource management and ecosystem restoration. Overlaps with FlowWest on collaborative salmonid recovery and floodplain reconnection projects in the Sacramento-San Joaquin system.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/flowwestca
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/flowwest-llc

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FlowWest