Water Resources Consulting Services

What Water Resources Consulting Services does

Water Resources Consulting Services (WRCS) is a civil engineering consulting firm specializing in surface water resources engineering, hydrology and hydraulics (H&H), and litigation-support expert witness services. Founded around 1990 and headquartered in Palm Desert, California, the firm serves law firms, insurance companies, and government entities across the United States, Canada, and Australia, and reports having completed over 500 cases in roughly 35 years of operation. Its practice covers ten specialized areas, including flood forensics, watershed and floodplain analysis, dam break and reservoir operations, storm drain and urban drainage design, scour analysis, storm sewer design, drainage and grading, dam and reservoir design, water quality, and drowning hydraulics.

The firm operates as an expert-driven consultancy rather than a software or platform business. Its technical work is conducted using established industry modeling packages — HEC-RAS, XPSWMM, HEC-HMS, MIKE FLOOD, and UNET — for simulation and analysis, with no proprietary AI/ML systems disclosed. The principal expert, Rick Van Bruggen (D.WRE, PH, CFM), leads the practice with 45+ years of experience, 30+ trials, and 100+ depositions, supported by a small associate team of credentialed engineers (Nate Millett JD, Todd Struhs PE/CFM, Daniel Raichel MS/PE/ENV SP/CFM). Revenue is generated through project-based and hourly expert witness and consulting engagements tied to active litigation matters, with no disclosed retainer or subscription model.

Name

Water Resources Consulting Services

Legal name

Water Resources Consulting Services

Website

https://hydrologyexpert.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Water Resources Consulting Services (WRCS) is a California-based civil engineering consultancy founded in 1990 that provides hydrology and hydraulics expert witness services for litigation. It serves law firms, insurance companies, and government entities across the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hydrology Expert Witness Consulting

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Water, Wastewater & Stormwater Compliance (BPAHAJAJ)

Keywords

• Hydrology expert witness
• Flood forensic analysis
• Hydraulic engineering consulting
• Litigation support services
• Water resources engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Palm Desert

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Expert Witness Services: Litigation support services including expert testimony, analysis, and consulting for legal cases involving water resources, hydrology, and hydraulics. Fees are based on case complexity and scope, with detailed fee structures provided during initial consultation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Water Resources Consulting Services (WRCS) is a civil engineering consulting firm that exclusively provides expert witness testimony and litigation support in hydrology, hydraulics, and water resources engineering. The firm forensically recreates flood events, performs watershed and hydraulic systems modeling, and analyzes dam/reservoir operations, storm drains, floodplains, highway drainage, drowning hydraulics, and channel/levee failures for legal proceedings involving flooding, infrastructure failures, and water-related casualties.

Product overview

Water Resources Consulting Services (WRCS) is a civil engineering consulting firm providing expert witness services exclusively in litigation support. The company offers a comprehensive suite of hydrology and water resources engineering services, including Watershed Hydrology Analysis, Hydraulic Systems Analysis, Flood Forensic Modeling, Dam and Reservoir Operations Analysis, Storm Drain Systems Analysis, Floodplain Analysis, Roadway and Highway Drainage Analysis, Drowning Hydraulics Analysis, and Channel and Levee Analysis. Rather than a unified software platform, WRCS operates as a professional services firm where these specialized consulting services are delivered through expert testimony, forensic analysis, and comprehensive technical reports for legal proceedings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hydrology Expert Witness Services Expert witness testimony and litigation support in hydrology, hydraulics, and water resources engineering, serving legal professionals in cases involving flooding, infrastructure failures, and water-related incidents.
• Watershed Hydrology Analysis Rainfall-runoff modeling and analysis of watersheds to determine flood hydrographs, storm volumes, and impacts of watershed development, using computer models from simple algorithms to complex geo-spatial numerical modeling systems.
• Flood Forensic Modeling and Recreations Forensic reconstruction of flood events through hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, simulating urban storm drain floods, stream flooding, reservoir operations, and highway drainage incidents to determine causes and contributing factors.
• Dam and Reservoir Operations Analysis Analysis of dam and reservoir engineering, gate operations, spillway performance, and flood control procedures, with expertise in reservoir regulation and real-time flood event response.
• Storm Drain Systems Analysis Evaluation of municipal storm drain systems, flood control standards, and FEMA National Flood Insurance Program conformance, including one- and two-dimensional hydraulic modeling.
• Floodplain Analysis FEMA floodplain regulations analysis and hydraulic modeling of floodplains using two-dimensional computer models, including floodway delineation and zone-based land use assessment.
• Roadway and Highway Drainage Analysis Analysis of highway and roadway drainage systems under FHWA and state Department of Transportation standards, evaluating design, maintenance, and operation for accident causation analysis.
• Drowning Hydraulics Analysis Expert analysis of hydraulic conditions contributing to drowning incidents in regulated waterways, storm drain systems, dams, and reservoirs, including analysis of siphons, spillways, low-head dams, culverts, and irrigation canals.
• Channel and Levee Analysis Analysis of channel stability, levee overtopping, and breach scenarios, including debris basin performance, Sacramento Valley levee system forensics, and creek channel capacity evaluation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ litigation support cases completed
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 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

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Tetra Tech: Tetra Tech is a large global engineering and consulting firm with substantial water resources and hydrology practices. While it does not specialize narrowly in expert witness services, it competes for water-related technical work and employs credentialed staff capable of providing expert testimony.
• Stantec: Stantec is a major international engineering consulting firm with a strong water resources and hydraulics practice serving municipal and infrastructure clients. It is broadly comparable as an incumbent water engineering firm with litigation-support-adjacent capabilities.
• Arcadis: Arcadis is a global design and engineering consultancy with substantial water resources, flood management, and hydraulics expertise. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the water engineering consulting space with overlapping technical capabilities.
• AECOM: AECOM is a large global infrastructure consulting firm with deep water resources and environmental engineering practices. It is broadly comparable as an incumbent offering water engineering services that may include expert testimony on major project matters.
• Geosyntec Consultants: Geosyntec is an environmental and water resources engineering consulting firm with strong hydrology and hydraulics practices. Comparable as an incumbent specialized consulting firm that can also provide expert testimony for water-related litigation.

Direct peers

• Donan: Donan is a forensic engineering firm offering expert witness and litigation support across engineering disciplines. It is directly comparable as a forensic engineering expert witness peer serving similar plaintiff/defendant attorney and insurance clients.
• Rimkus Consulting Group: Rimkus is a forensic engineering and technical consulting firm providing expert witness and litigation support across engineering disciplines including water resources. It serves as a direct peer to WRCS in the expert witness space, particularly for property, infrastructure, and water-related litigation.
• Robson Forensic: Robson Forensic is an engineering expert witness firm providing litigation support across civil, structural, environmental, and water-related disciplines. It is directly comparable as a multi-disciplinary expert witness practice competing for similar attorney clients.
• Haag Engineering: Haag Engineering is an engineering consulting and expert witness firm with deep litigation support expertise, particularly in property damage, storm, and water-related cases. Comparable to WRCS as a competing expert witness practice addressing similar attorney and insurance clients.
• Exponent: Exponent is a leading engineering and scientific expert consulting firm providing expert witness and litigation support across multiple disciplines. It is highly comparable as a direct peer offering expert testimony services to law firms in technical areas including hydrology and hydraulics-adjacent disciplines.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Water Resources Consulting Services