To meet increasing demand nationwide, Haskell is significantly expanding its highly respected Water and Wastewater Division.
As previously announced, Bryan Bedell, Vice President and Water Division Leader, has moved to the company’s Regional Operations Center in Salt Lake City, further extending the division’s expertise and experience in water management and resources to a region facing severe and sustained drought conditions.
With Bedell’s move west, Jason Kirk, who joined Haskell in 2018 and most recently has served as Director-Business Development for Aviation & Aerospace Manufacturing (A&AM), has been named Eastern Region Water Market Leader.
Kirk served more than 25 years with the U.S. Army, retiring with the rank of colonel. His final tour of duty was as the Jacksonville District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Commander, a post in which he led an 800-member Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) team in execution of a $500 million-a-year program of water resource management across Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Among his numerous accomplishments, Kirk led the USACE’s effort to repair the Puerto Rican electrical grid after Hurricane Maria in 2018.
Kirk’s service as an Army engineer began after commissioning as a second lieutenant from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a bachelors in environmental engineering. He also completed post-graduate studies at the Missouri University of Science & Technology (engineering management), University of Florida (environmental engineering) and the Army War College (strategic studies).
“I joined the Haskell team two-and-a-half years ago after 25-plus years in the Army serving as part of a dedicated group of high-integrity individuals doing important work,” Kirk said. “I’ve found incredible alignment at Haskell. I see in Haskell a team that holds true to those same foundational values.”
Increasingly, the water industry is implementing robust asset-management programs to prioritize their capital and operations/maintenance investments. Utilities are improving their resilience by developing and updating risk assessments and emergency response plans and deploying innovative water technologies, such as sensors and smart water-quality monitoring.
On the water side, the focus is on more than reliable and clean drinking water. Water conservation, rainwater harvesting and non-potable uses are considered as well. On the wastewater side, the focus is shifting from out-of-sight wastewater treatment and disposal to the functional use of wastewater for environmental and human needs.
“There’s a growing realization nationwide of the critical need for improvements in the water and wastewater space, and we recognize the opportunity and, frankly, the obligation to further engage Haskell’s experience and expertise,” said Pete Kinsley, President of Haskell’s Infrastructure & Transportation Group. “We’re fortunate to have Bryan’s overall leadership and newly focused efforts in the West, and Jason, with his amazing background in the Corps, is a tremendous addition to the team.”
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