Walt has over 45 years of experience in geotechnical, coastal, and hydraulic engineering for a variety of construction projects, with particularly extensive work on coastal structures. In 2001, he founded TerraCosta Group, a geotechnical and coastal engineering firm, based in San Diego, California. Walt has managed numerous coastal and hydraulic projects, ranging from major flood control facilities and shoreline protection structures, including stone revetments, bulkheads, groins, and various patented products, to dams and detention structures. He has considerable experience with sedimentation and fluvial processes in inland streams and littoral processes in the nearshore zone.
Walt specializes in the geotechnical aspects of coastal engineering, addressing coastal-induced erosion and the geomorphology of coastlines. He has considerable experience in landslide and coastal bluff stabilization, and he pioneered the use of free-form structural tied-back shotcrete walls, textured and colored to blend in with surrounding natural bluffs.
Walt managed seven extensive coastal erosion studies, all of which focused on variations in erosion rates from a coastwide perspective and the sensitivity of the various geomorphic indicators for estimating future trends in coastal erosion. All seven studies presented in-depth alternatives analyses for mitigating coastal erosion, and all seven projects/studies were ultimately approved by the California Coastal Commission.
In 2021, Walt’s company TerraCosta Group merged with ENGEO Incorporated forming a team that is unrivaled in technical excellence and client service.
“We’re excited to join ENGEO’s deep bench of talent and bring their unique, client-focused technical capabilities to our clients. In addition, combining ENGEO’s and TerraCosta’s intimate familiarity with California’s geotechnical, coastal, and seismic setting will significantly enhance the value that we bring to our clients.”
