Benjamin Stewart is the California Regional Director at WestWater Research. In his consulting work, Ben applies financial planning, economic analysis, and engineering context to advise clients in California and beyond on water and wastewater rate design, cost-of-service analysis, affordability assessment, long-term financial planning, capital investment and funding analysis, and an array of other related studies. Ben’s clients include municipalities, water and wastewater utilities, state and regional agencies, and independent oversight bodies.
Prior to WestWater Research, Ben spent over a decade at Stantec, where he rose to Principal and led the firm’s utility financial consulting practice in California. Earlier in his career, he provided technical economic and engineering services to extraction and heavy industry clients, including mine valuation analyses for economic assessments and feasibility studies, as well as mine reclamation planning and cost estimating, and reclamation bond estimating.
An active contributor to the water industry, Ben is active in the American Water Works Association and Water Environment Federation and is the Demand Elasticity Chapter Lead Author for the latest edition of the AWWA M1 Manual. He has presented at numerous AWWA/WEF Utility Management Conferences and contributed to peer-reviewed journals in environmental engineering.
Ben holds a Master of Science in Mineral and Energy Economics from the Colorado School of Mines, a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, also from Nebraska. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Colorado.
Areas of expertise
Education
- M.S. Mineral and Energy Economics, Colorado School of Mines, 2015
- M.S. Environmental Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2011
- B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009
Experience
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Principal, Stantec, 2025-2026
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Senior Manager, Stantec, 2022–2024
- Managing Consultant, Stantec, 2019–2022
- Senior Consultant, Stantec, 2017–2018
- Consultant, Hawksley Consulting, 2015–2017
- Project Civil Engineer, Tetra Tech Mining & Minerals, 2011–2015
