Meet West Yost’s Groundwater Team
California’s premier firm providing groundwater management, modeling, monitoring and Watermaster services joins West Yost
California’s premier groundwater management, modeling, monitoring and Watermaster services joins West Yost. West Yost is excited to announce the addition of Wildermuth Environmental, Inc. (WEI), a highly regarded groundwater resources firm located in the Irvine, CA area. This team formalizes new Groundwater Business Sector which includes a team of 20 professional engineers and scientists.
West Yost’s groundwater team led by Ms. Samantha Adams focuses on groundwater management, planning and modeling, monitoring, well siting and design, salt nutrient management planning, and Watermaster services throughout the West. Click on the links or read on to learn more about our key team members and their expertise.
Introducing our new team members:
- Samantha Adams, Business Sector Leader, Groundwater
- Mark Wildermuth, PE, Principal
- Andy Malone, PG, Principal Hydrogeologist
- Mike Blazevic, PG, CHG, Supervising Hydrogeologist
- Eric Chiang, PhD, Principal Scientist II
- Carolina Sanchez, PE, Senior Engineer I
- Wenbin Wang, PhD, PG, CHG, Principal Hydrogeologist II
- Veva Weamer, Supervising Scientist
Mike Blazevic, PG, CHG, Supervising Hydrogeologist
Mr. Blazevic’s technical expertise includes aquifer sedimentology, stratigraphy, and the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to complex hydrological and hydrogeological problems. He has worked throughout Southern and Central California, drilling and testing water supply and monitoring wells; collecting and interpreting basin-wide geologic, hydrogeologic, and hydrologic data; and preparing technical reports. And, he has played an important role in many surface water and groundwater modeling projects.
Mr. Blazevic received a B.S. in Geological Sciences from California State University, Fullerton in 2005 and an M.S. in Geological Sciences from California State University, Fullerton in 2008. His Masters thesis received the “Best Paper Award” in physical sciences at the 2007 Southern California Academy of Sciences annual meeting and was accepted by the Journal of Sedimentary Geology for publication in 2009.
Eric W.H. Chiang, PhD, Principal Scientist II
Dr. Chiang has more than 30 years of professional experience in hydrogeologic engineering his mission is to develop cutting-edge software tools to support the work his team and clients. His areas of expertise include hydrology, groundwater modeling, statistical analysis, numerical computer modeling, and software development. One of his most significant contributions is the development and deployment of HydroDaVESM (Hydrologic Database and Visual Explanations), which enables professionals to remotely visualize and analyze groundwater, surface water, climatic data, and model results that are either stored in the HydroDaVESM Management Service Platform in national databases that are accessible through public web services, such as USGS Water Services or the NWQMC Water Quality Portal.
Dr. Chiang developed Processing Modflow, a groundwater modeling software package that supports MODFLOW, MT3DMS, RT3D, PHT3D, PEST, and other numerical models. He has applied Processing Modflow on a number of groundwater modeling projects and has developed groundwater flow and transport models for landfills, mines, and regional groundwater resource management. Dr. Chiang has also developed two-dimensional and three-dimensional visualization applications, seamlessly integrating measured environmental data with digital maps and numerical groundwater modeling results.
Carolina Sanchez, PE, Senior Engineer I
Ms. Sanchez has seven years of professional experience in the water resources industry. Her skills include groundwater monitoring, numerical analysis, water resources, and GIS. Ms. Sanchez is involved in a variety of projects. Her tasks include: analysis of groundwater level and water quality data; data management; CASGEM compliance; developing charts and contour maps to characterize groundwater flow systems and associated water quality; conducting hydrologic and hydraulic analyses of groundwater recharge using imported, recycled, and storm waters; modeling groundwater production trends; creating tables, charts, and maps to analyze and characterize surface water discharge and associated water quality; and reconnaissance-level design of surface water management facilities.
Veva Weamer, Supervising Scientist
Ms. Weamer’s technical expertise includes data analysis, database management, water quality analysis, salt and nutrient analysis, hydrogeology, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and ground and surface water monitoring program implementation and evaluation.
As a Supervising Scientist, Ms. Weamer is involved in overseeing several ongoing regulatory compliance programs, including the Chino Basin Maximum Benefit Monitoring Program and the Prado Basin Habitat Sustainability Program.
Ms. Weamer graduated from California State University, Fullerton in 2005 with a B.S. in Geological Sciences. In 2007, she completed a M.S. in Environmental Studies from California State University, Fullerton with an emphasis in water resources management. Her Master’s research involved the quantification of groundwater movement and aquifer characterization of the Harper Lake Basin located in Mojave Desert, California, using GIS tools and bore log data. Ms. Weamer was awarded the 2006 Prem K. Saint award for outstanding work in hydrogeology for her research.
Wenbin Wang, PhD, PG, CHG, Principal Hydrogeologist II
Dr. Wang has 28 years of professional experience in the field of hydrogeology. His technical expertise includes the development of hydrological-hydrogeological conceptual models for complex surface and subsurface water systems; site/basin scale characterization; numerical modeling of multiphase flow and contaminant transport in saturated and unsaturated porous and fractured mediums; developing flow and transport codes; estimating hydraulic parameters via direct and indirect methods; applying statistics, geostatistics, and stochastic methods in hydrogeology; sensitivity and error analysis; and designing Windows-based software.
Dr. Wang is an expert in various models, including TOUGH2/ITOUGH2, MODFLOW, PEST, MT3D, PATH3D, MODPATH, FLOWPATH, HYDRUS-1D/2D, UNSAT, HEC, GSLIB, ROSETTA, AQTESOLV, PHREEQC, and MINTEQ. He has developed and applied several groundwater models to solve complex water resource challenges, including: the Antelope Valley, Arlington Basin, Beaumont Basin, Chino Basin, Cucamonga Basin, Mammoth Basin, San Bernardino Basin Area, Six Basins, Strand Ranch, and Temescal Basin.
Contact: Samantha Adams, Groundwater Sector Lead
Media Contact: Nikki McQuaid, 530.761.0255, nmcquaid@westyost.com