• Ph D Utah State University (Irrigation Engineering), 1987
• M.S. Utah State University (Irrigation Engineering), 1982
• B.S. Colorado State University (Agricultural Engineering), 1979

Andrew A. Keller (Ph.D., Irrigation Engineering) is a licensed civil engineer specializing in water resources planning, natural resources and environmental assessment and monitoring, agricultural development, and the design and management of irrigation systems and projects.

He has over 45 years of irrigation engineering and consulting experience, including:

• Economic water resources and irrigation project research, planning, and design
• Smallholder irrigated agriculture and value chains
• Sprinkler and trickle irrigation system design
• Irrigation pump systems
• Renewable energy design for agriculture
• Irrigation operation and maintenance studies
• Water resources decision support system development
• Water Balance Analyses and Accounting
• Consumptive Use Estimation
• Climate Change Analyses
• Computer-Aided Design and Management of Irrigation
• Development of Irrigation Design Manuals
• Irrigation Scheduling and Software Development
• Water Conservation Monitoring and Analysis
• Natural Resources Monitoring and Evaluation
• Agriculture and Irrigation-Related Environmental Assessments
• Water Litigation

Andy has worked as an irrigation manager, project manager, consulting water resources, and irrigation engineer since 1975. In 1989, he became a partner and senior vice president of Keller-Bliesner Engineering, LLC, and in 2010, became president of the company. From 1995 to 2001, he served as an International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Fellow, during which time he conceived and directed the initial development of the World Water and Climate Atlas produced and published by IWMI.

Since 2003, he has worked closely with iDE (formally International Development Enterprises) and is passionate about prosperity, enabling opportunities for smallholder farmers worldwide. From 2014 - 2022, he served on the iDE Board of Directors and was vice chair of the Board and chair of the Program Committee. Also, in 2014, Andy became an investor and director of Smallholder Prosperity Enterprises (SPE), a for-profit irrigated agriculture development company in Myanmar. Andy serves as Adjunct Professor at Utah State University (USU) on master's and Ph.D. committees. Andy has extensive international experience in water resources and irrigation development in over 14 countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe, working with IWMI, USAID, USDA, USU, IDE, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), and SPE. He has authored or co-authored more than 70 technical papers and reports, assisted in developing two irrigation design manuals and one textbook, and developed several major computer programs, including three large-scale irrigation and water-related decision support systems. He has participated in operation and maintenance studies of 17 irrigation projects, hydrologic modeling of 19 river basins, and water litigation studies for 16 American Indian Tribes and Pueblos as an expert for the United States.

Andy is the principal author of the effective efficiency concept, which links water quality implications and return flows to the monitoring and evaluation of real water savings. He was co-director and on the board of editors of Global Water and Food Network, an online discussion forum for agricultural water issues. Andy served on the board of directors of Campbell Scientific, Inc. from 2019 to 2022. Andy was recognized as the 2003 Distinguished Alumnus of BIE at USU and, in 2007, received the Distinguished Service Award from the same department.

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Professional Registration

• Licensed professional civil engineer in the states of Utah and New Mexico.

Affiliations

• American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
• American Society of Civil Engineers (Life Member)
• Member on On-Farm Committee, EWRI
• American Water Resources Association
• Member of Putting Irrigated Agriculture in Perspective Task Committee, EWRI
• Campbell Scientific, Inc. (past member of the Board of Directors)
• Ambassador IDE (past member of the Board of Directors)
• United States Committee on Irrigation and Drainage

Awards

• 2003 Distinguished Alumnus, College of Engineering, Utah State University
• 2003 Distinguished Service Award, College of Engineering, Utah State University

• B.S. Agricultural Engineering, Colorado State University, 1985.
• M.S. Agricultural and Irrigation Engineering, Utah State University, 1987.

Brian Westfall started his engineering career over 37 years ago helping growers in California’s Central Valley better manage their irrigation and drainage systems.  This experience gave him a great appreciation for the challenges of production agriculture and shaped his desire to develop solutions and tools to solve technical problems in water resources planning and irrigation design and management. His custom software and GIS solutions provide valuable tools to help water resource and irrigation managers more efficiently manage their land and water resources. He is considered an expert on crop water use and has provided expert testimony in litigation of forfeiture cases and Native American water rights cases. As KB’s President, Brian directs day-to-day operations.  He also provides hydrologic modeling services, water resources and irrigation consulting services, consumptive use studies, environmental compliance work; and leads KB’s digital services offerings as primary architect of the GIS and software development team.

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• Works with the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) Office of General Council to help protect the Community's Water Rights through GIS and satellite image interpretation.
• Works with GRIC to coordinate the scheduling of 311,800 AF of Central Arizona Project water.
• Responsible for monitoring the water use and riparian development of two managed aquifer recharge sites on the Gila River using drone imagery.
• Developed and supports web GIS based lease document database management systems for Pima Leasing and Financing Corporation and Wild Horse Pass Development Authority.
• Developed and maintained a web-based water order and electrical load management system for use on approximately 77,000 acres of irrigated agriculture on the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project near Farmington, NM.
• Works with the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians on monitoring water use.
• Developed a custom web-based GIS system for the Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project and Gila River Indian Community to aid in managing Community land and water resources.
• Completed the Gila River Indian Community Comprehensive Water Management Plan.
• Provided expert report and testimony on crop water use for the Hopi Tribe in the Little Colorado River water rights litigation.
• Completed consumptive use studies for several Native American Tribes and served as an expert witness for US Department of Justice on Native American Water Rights Cases.
• Completed concrete and geotechnical design for irrigation structures for the Chircani/Zirnesti Irrigation Rehabilitation Project located in the Lower Prutt River Valley, Moldova. Work was performed under contract to the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
• Completed a study to estimate future costs of the Operation, Maintenance, and Replacement of the Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project which is located within the Gila River Indian Community, Arizona.
• Represents the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the San Juan River Recovery Implementation Program Biology Committee that advises USFWS on endangered fish species recovery activities in the San Juan River Basin.
• Completed the Gila River Indian Community Comprehensive Water Management Plan.
• Managed a multi-year IDIQ contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to help the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project (NIIP) meet their environmental compliance commitments
• Managed two projects that restored habitat for endangered fish at selected sites on the San Juan River between Shiprock, NM, and Four Corners. The Nature Conservancy and the NM River Ecosystem Restoration Initiative sponsored the project.
• Represents the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Upper Rio Grande Water Operations Model (URGWOM) technical committee. This has included Riverware modeling and analysis of the Six Middle Rio Grande Pueblos' prior and paramount water rights.
• Development of a water resources decision support system that links to a groundwater model for the Gila River Indian Community Comprehensive Water Management Plan. This plan will help the Community determine how to best use up to 653,000 ac-ft of water per year authorized by the Arizona Water Settlements Act.
• Developed a custom surface water hydrology database management and collection system for the Gila River Indian Community.
• RiverWare modeling of the San Juan River Basin in support of various projects on the San Juan River.
• Long-term geomorphology and habitat studies on the San Juan River and Tributaries.
• Riverware Modeling of the Jemez Basin in New Mexico.
• Irrigation scheduling software development.
• Dam failure flood inundation modeling, preparation of standard and emergency operating procedures for a dam in Central Utah.
• Participated in the design and construction management of a 10,000-acre gravity pressure sprinkle irrigation system in Northern Nevada, including main pipeline, laterals, and center pivot system design.
• Irrigation development simulation modeling for various Native American water rights studies.
• Design of irrigation system for land application of effluent from a hog operation in eastern Colorado.
• Completed hundreds of irrigation evaluations in the San Joaquin Valley, CA.
• 1990 - 1991 Project Engineer for ASCG, Inc./Cooper Consultants, Inc., in Portland
• 1987 - 1990 Staff Engineer for J. M. Lord, Inc. in Fresno, California.

Professional Registration

Licensed professional engineer in the states of Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, and California.

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• M.S. Irrigation Engineering Utah State University, December 2005
• B.S. Biological Engineering Utah State University, May 2001

Aaron M. Beutler is a licensed civil engineer with over 24years of experience in agricultural development, water resource planning, municipal water supplies, irrigation analyses, irrigation/drainage design, and construction.  Combining a background of family farming and engineering education and experience provides him a unique and comprehensive perspective.  

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His engineering and consulting experience includes:

• Irrigation and Water Resources Engineer since 2001
• Hydrographic Survey on lands in Utah to fulfill requirements of Navajo Nation water rights settlement (2022-Current)
• Canal Sugar: Irrigation design & costs in Minya, Egypt (2020-Current)
• Crop Water Use Requirements, Irrigation system evaluations and Quality Control of Climatic Data for projects in Utah, California, Arizona, Montana, Navajo Nation lands, Moldova, Kansas, and New Mexico.
• Navajo Indian Irrigation Project. Authored annual NIIP irrigation and drainage reports (2005-current) helped develop web-based water order and electrical load management program (2005, 2016-17), evaluated 200+ center-pivot irrigation systems (2002-05), co-managed irrigation scheduling program for 60,000 acres (2001-05), planned, designed, and assisted in the construction of subsurface agricultural drains (2001-02)
•  Dayton City Engineer (2013-current), Replacement Wells (2021), Water facility planning study (2020-21), outdoor multi-sports court, gravity-fed water main replacement (2014), Well rehabilitation, and VFD installation (2013). Water protection grants and construction (2013-14)
• PIA Studies: Aqua Caliente, CA (2020-21), Ute Mountain Ute, NM (2009, 2019-21), Northwest Shoshone, UT (2017), Navajo San Juan UT (2014-16), Navajo San NM (2010-13)
• Gila River Indian Community. Design for reclaimed water recharge basin, analysis of canal lift pump capacity requirements, estimation of long-term replacement, Operation, Maintenance & Replacement costs for 90,000-acre irrigation project (2013-17)
• Irrigation system evaluations

Aaron has worked with Keller Bliesner, LLC since 2001 and became the Senior Vice President in 2023. He has been the lead author of numerous technical reports and memorandums, technical society papers, and coauthor on several other publications. He has served as an expert witness on cases in Idaho, Utah and New Mexico. Aaron is devoted to preserving agriculture with economic growth. This has been an integral part of his city government service beginning in 2010 including city council, mayor and city engineer in Dayton, Idaho.  As many agricultural areas are becoming urbanized, he enjoys using his education and experience to facilitate compatible growth. Aaron especially enjoys spending time in the field, surveying, working directly with growers and construction crews, and taking part as designs and creative solutions come to life.

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Professional Registration:

Licensed professional engineer in the states of Utah and Idaho.

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Professional Affiliations & Honors:

• Member of ASCE, and USCID
• Mayor, City of Dayton (2014-2017)
• Franklin County Community Service Citizen of the Year Award,2014
• City of Dayton City Council, (2010-2013)

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