GZA’s Robert Kortmann honored for water study

GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc. Senior Consultant Robert W. Kortmann has been awarded the New England Water Works Association’s (NEWWA’s) Dexter Brackett Award for 2021.

Established in 1916, the Brackett Award is presented annually to the NEWWA member who authored the most meritorious paper published in the Journal of the New England Water Works Association during the previous year.

Kortmann was honored for his September 2020 paper, “Layer Aeration in Reservoirs: A 35 Year Review of Principles and Practice,” which surveys advances made in improving lake and reservoir water quality through targeted, chemical-free recirculation of water through shallower zones so that aquatic plants and algae naturally restore oxygen to colder, deeper waters.

Based in Norwood, Mass., with 30 offices nationwide, GZA is a leading multi-disciplinary firm providing geotechnical, environmental, ecological, water, and construction management services. Kortmann, who is based in Coventry, Conn., joined GZA in April 2021 when the company acquired Ecosystem Consulting Service (ECS), where Kortmann served as president.

For more than 40 years, ECS has been an industry leader in developing cost-effective, 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.

GZA Chief Executive Officer Patrick Sheehan said: “On behalf of all of Bob’s colleagues at GZA, I am pleased to congratulate him on receiving this prestigious NEWWA award. It’s yet another example of the deep expertise and experience Bob and his ECS team have brought to GZA’s water resources, ecology, field biology, and natural-resources management teams.’’

Kortmann previously won the Brackett Award from NEWWA in 1989 for the paper "Raw Water Quality Control: An Overview of Reservoir Management Methods”. He is a member of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, North American Lake Management Society, and American Fisheries Society. He earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental services and teaching from Rutgers University, master’s in botany and plant ecology from the University of Connecticut, and PhD in limnology and ecosystem ecology from UConn. He served for a decade as a member of the Conservation Commission in his hometown of Coventry.