George K. Cotton , P.E.
Principal Engineer
Mr. Cotton has thiry years of water resources project experience. His project roles have included Project Manager of large multi-disciplinary projects and as the lead professional in a multi-disciplinary team. He has extensive design experience that includes water transmission systems, irrigation canals, transportation drainage systems, pump stations, small dams, and flood control works.
He worked for the City and County of Denver on Master Planning studies for three major drainage basins in Denver. He was recently the lead hydraulic engineer for Segment 1 of the T-REX project for the I-25 Southeast corridor (Colorado Department of Transportation, Regional Transportation District). The project involved the master planning of drainage improvements for the flood prone "Narrows" segment of I-25, and the design of major and minor drainage systems. The scale of the project is exemplified by the outfall to the South Platte River, which is a 13-foot diameter tunnel.
Other recently completed designs are for the E-470 / South Platte River bridge (Arapahoe County), six bridges on U.S. 34 in Big Thompson Canyon (Colorado Department of Transportation), 38th and Washington storm water pump station (City of Denver, Colorado), the Broadway storm water pump station (City of Denver, Colorado), irrigation canal relocation for the Lower Boulder Ditch (a delivery canal for Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District), river control structures (Sao Francisco River, Jaiba Project, Brazil). Mr. Cotton assisted Hedrick & Associates with the design river control structures and bridge waterway for the Broncos Parkway/Cherry Creek bridge (Arapahoe County).
Mr. Cotton is experienced in the design of canal and ditch lining. Mr. Cotton is a coauthor of the widely used FHWA Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 15 "Design of Roadside Channels with Flexible Linings." He authored a chapter on channel lining design for "Hydraulic Design Handbook" (Mays, McGraw Hill, 1999) dealing with the design of flood control channels. His innovative designs have included concrete channels (Outer Loop Interceptor, Phoenix, Arizona, USA), closed conduit (Upper Washington Channel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA), riprap and bentonite impregnated fabric (Emigrant Diversion Canal, Nevada, USA), and clay lining (Lower Boulder Ditch, Colorado, USA).
Mr. Cotton has developed design methodologies for channel stabilization, erosion control, and risk analysis for several agencies including: Federal Highway Administration, Office of Surface Mining, Arizona Department of Transportation, and the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Education
Colorado State University B.S., Civil Engineering, 1974
Colorado State University Water Resources, 1980
Recent continuing education coursework
July 2002 / SWMM 2000 Stormwater Management Workshop
November 2003 / Floodplain Modeling and Mapping with WMS
Registration
Professional Engineer – Colorado, PE 19501
Professional Organizations
American Society of Civil Engineers
Colorado Association of Stormwater and Floodplain Managers
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