Kevin G. Wheeler is an engineer and project manager with over 2 decades of experience in water resources planning and engineering, hydrologic and hydraulic systems modeling, water delivery system design and construction, and stakeholder education and capacity building. He has extensive expertise in the development and application of decision support systems for both long-term water resource planning and management as well as daily operations of reservoirs to meet multiple management objectives. His work focuses on facilitating stakeholder involvement in managing water resources by providing technical support with current modeling tools, facilitating community organization and promoting dialogue between water users for seeking solutions to complex water management problems. With experience ranging from large-scale water management to small scale community construction projects in both urban and remote environments, he provides a bridge between the policy and the practical aspects of water management.
Mr. Wheeler has been working extensively on the Colorado River since 2000. Starting with the Colorado River Interim Surplus Guidelines, he played a central role by developing the tools necessary to bring stakeholders together throughout the basin to understand and interpret proposed policies. He also worked alongside the Bureau of Reclamation and a variety of stakeholders to facilitate the required modeling for the development of the Secretarial Implementation Agreement, Multi-Species Conservation Program, and the Colorado River Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and the Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead. In 2012, he led the technical modeling efforts during the negotiations for Minute 319 of the treaty between the United States and Mexico over sharing the Colorado River during times of shortages and surplus conditions, and a pilot restoration effort for the delta. Most recently, he has supported the Future’s of the Colorado program at Utah State University. Over the last 20 years, he has consulted for federal, state, academic, private and non-profit entities that all have interests in the management of the Colorado River.
Mr. Wheeler currently supports the ongoing development of the Eastern Nile Region through model development, stakeholder training, and exploring alternatives for cooperation and coordination of river infrastructure. He collaborates closely with research institutions in Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. He is a Fellow of the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford, leading the Nile-related research for the Transboundary Resource Management Program.