Environmental Research and Design

What Environmental Research and Design does

Environmental Research and Design, Inc. (ERD) is a specialized water quality engineering firm founded in 1986 by Dr. Harvey H. Harper III, P.E., headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The firm focuses on surface water and groundwater management, stormwater treatment, lake restoration, and sediment/water interaction. ERD operates an integrated service model that combines field capabilities, an in-house NELAC-certified research-grade water quality laboratory (certification #E1031026 for Basic Environmental Laboratory and Heavy Metals), and specialized engineering expertise. The company employs approximately 8 personnel including P.E.-credentialed engineers, a limnologist/director of field operations, a lab director, a senior CAD designer, a field supervisor, and administrative staff.

ERD's core service offerings span watershed and pollutant loading studies, lake restoration and management, water quality monitoring, BMP evaluations, sediment studies, sediment inactivation using alum, alum stormwater treatment system design, nutrient source identification (using tracers such as chloride, conductivity, coprostanol, and stable isotope analyses), BMP design, and groundwater seepage evaluations. The firm pioneered the modified phosphorus speciation technique (1992) for alum dose determination and GIS-linked spreadsheet models for watershed loading estimation — methodologies that have become industry standards in North America. ERD maintains an in-house equipment fleet of 25+ automatic samplers with integral flow meters, seepage meters, research boats, and 4WD vehicles that enables complete in-house project execution without third-party field dependencies.

ERD generates revenue through project-based professional services contracts with government clients — primarily cities, counties, water management districts, and state environmental agencies — throughout Florida, with additional engagements in Indiana and Washington. The go-to-market motion relies on responding to RFPs, presenting qualifications to engineering boards, and maintaining long-term relationships with public works and environmental protection departments. Notable project scale includes 60+ alum stormwater treatment systems designed (representing 90%+ of worldwide systems), 100+ lake restoration and water quality evaluations, 45+ sediment inactivation projects covering 7,000+ acres with 4 million gallons of applied alum, and operation of the Lake County Nutrient Reduction Facility (NuRF), the largest alum treatment system in existence at 300 cfs.

Name

Environmental Research and Design

Legal name

Environmental Research and Design, Inc.

Website

https://erd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Environmental Research and Design is a Florida-based water quality engineering firm founded in 1986 that serves government clients with lake restoration, stormwater treatment, and alum sediment inactivation services, having designed over 90% of alum stormwater treatment systems worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Orlando

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, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Engineering Consulting Services: Project-based professional services for water quality engineering, including diagnostic studies, design, permitting, and construction administration. Revenue is generated through government contracts and consulting agreements with municipalities, counties, and water management districts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ERD is a specialized water quality engineering consulting firm that performs lake restoration, sediment inactivation, alum stormwater treatment system design, watershed and pollutant loading studies, BMP design and evaluation, and groundwater seepage investigations for government clients. The firm combines in-house field sampling, a NELAC-certified research-grade laboratory, and proprietary engineering methodologies to deliver end-to-end services from diagnostic study through design, permitting, and construction administration.

Product overview

ERD Environmental Research & Design is a specialized water quality engineering firm providing consulting services primarily in surface water and groundwater management, stormwater treatment, lake restoration, and sediment/water interaction. The company operates a single integrated service model combining field capabilities, an in-house NELAC-certified laboratory, and specialized engineering expertise. Core services include watershed/pollutant loading studies, lake restoration and management, water quality monitoring, BMP evaluations and research, sediment studies, sediment inactivation, alum stormwater treatment systems, nutrient source identification, BMP design, and groundwater seepage evaluations. The company has developed proprietary methodologies including pollutant loading models, GIS-linked spreadsheet models, and sediment phosphorus speciation techniques that form the basis for alum dose determinations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Watershed and Pollutant Loading Studies

Quantifiable outcome

• Sediment inactivation projects covering 7000+ acres with 4 million gallons of applied alum
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers15 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

Feature5 records

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Stantec: International engineering firm with a dedicated water practice spanning water quality, watershed planning, and stormwater treatment. Comparable in serving municipal clients on nutrient reduction and TMDL projects.
• Arcadis: Global design and consultancy with strong water and resilience practice, including surface water quality, sediment remediation, and watershed management. Competes with ERD on mid-to-large municipal water quality programs.
• Tetra Tech: Global consulting and engineering firm with a large water and environmental practice including lake/pond restoration, sediment management, and stormwater design. Broader incumbent that competes with ERD on larger municipal water quality engagements.
• Jacobs: Global professional services firm with significant water and environmental engineering capabilities including surface water quality, watershed modeling, and stormwater management — competing for the same government RFPs as ERD.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with a major water and environment practice offering watershed management, TMDL support, and water quality engineering. Larger competitor that can deliver ERD's scope of services as part of broader environmental portfolios.

Direct peers

• Brown and Caldwell: Environmental engineering firm specializing in water and wastewater with strong stormwater management practice. Comparable to ERD in addressing nutrient loading, water quality, and remediation projects for municipal clients.
• Jones Edmunds: Florida-based environmental and civil engineering firm specializing in water resources, stormwater, and water quality — closely comparable to ERD given regional Florida focus and overlapping municipal/government client base.
• Carollo Engineers: Water-focused environmental engineering firm serving municipalities on water quality, treatment, and watershed planning. Directly comparable to ERD's niche of water quality engineering for government water and wastewater clients.
• Wright Water Engineers: Specialized water resources engineering firm focused on stormwater management, watershed studies, and water quality — closely aligned with ERD's consulting model serving municipal clients with similar technical services.
• Hazen and Sawyer: Specialized water and wastewater engineering firm with deep public-sector focus on stormwater, water quality, and TMDL work. Directly comparable to ERD in serving municipal and water utility clients with water quality engineering and lake/waterbody restoration services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/8257805

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Environmental Research and Design