GZA Acquires Leading Water-Quality Solutions Provider Ecosystem Consulting Service (ECS)

NORWOOD, Mass. & COVENTRY, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc. (GZA), a leading multi-disciplinary firm providing geotechnical, environmental, ecological, water, and construction management services, has acquired Ecosystem Consulting Service (ECS), a leader in nature-based water-quality management solutions for drinking water supplies and recreational lakes and ponds.

ECS President Dr. Robert W. Kortmann will become a Senior Consultant at GZA, and ECS will initially operate from its current Coventry, Connecticut location as a division of GZA.

Specializing in “applied limnology’’—implementing solutions based on the branch of science that studies biological, chemical, and physical features of lakes and other bodies of fresh water—for more than 40 years, ECS has developed natural solutions for preventing cyanobacteria and other algal blooms, controlling invasive plant and fish species, and solving issues of drinking-water taste, odor, safety, and quality. ECS has successfully completed hundreds of projects in New England, across the nation, and as far away as Brazil, and developed dozens of Watershed-Based Plans (WBPs) to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory requirements for water suppliers.

GZA CEO Patrick Sheehan said, “Bob Kortmann and his team at ECS add deep experience and expertise to GZA’s water resources, ecology, field biology, and natural-resources management teams. ECS’ ability to develop nature-based solutions to improve water quality in reservoirs, lakes, ponds, and watersheds is second to none, and we’re proud to welcome them to the GZA family.”

“My colleagues at ECS and I are excited to join GZA, a firm we’ve worked closely with on client projects for decades and deeply respect, and to bring our research, consulting, and implementation capabilities to GZA clients throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes regions and beyond,’’ Dr. Kortmann said. “Our guiding principle has always been that in diagnosing and correcting the causes of water-quality problems, the task of technology is not to correct nature, but to imitate it as closely as possible.’’

ECS is a member of the American Water Works Association, American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, American Fisheries Society, and North American Lake Management Society. Dr. Kortmann holds four U.S. patents for water-quality-related technologies, and ECS has been honored with the EPA’s Innovation Technology Award for its Layer Aeration solution for water supply reservoirs and recreational lakes.

About GZA

GZA is a multi-disciplinary, employee-owned firm providing Geotechnical, Environmental, Ecological, Water, and Construction Management services. GZA’s more than 700 professionals are based in 30 offices in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Great Lakes States. Our corporate headquarters is at 249 Vanderbilt Avenue, Norwood, MA 02062.