Harald D. Frederiksen, who oversaw many significant water resources projects around the world over a lengthy career, and shared his expertise as an author of several papers for ASCE water and environmental journals, has died at 87.
Frederiksen, P.E., D.WRE (Ret.), F.ASCE, joined ASCE in 1956 and became a Life Member in 1996. Among the ASCE journals to publish his papers were the Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, the Journal of Environmental Engineering, and the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management. He was a contributor to the Middle East Policy Journal.
A native of Minnesota, Frederiksen received a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota. As a student he conducted hydraulic model studies and received a patent for a submerged breakwater design.
Following service as a U.S. Air Force officer training combat engineers, in 1959 Frederiksen began his civil engineering career in earnest as a California Department of Water Resources program manager, notably in development of the 450-mile-long California Aqueduct. He devised its “controlled volume” concept, and compiled hydraulic and operations criteria used to design conveyance facilities. He directed final design and construction documents for segments of the system’s canals, tunnels, pipelines, and fish exclusion works.
He left state government to help launch an international consulting firm offering services in resource development and engineering. As president of Frederiksen, Kamine and Associates, he guided the development, design, and construction of projects in Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Iran, and Jordan.
Frederiksen also was executive vice president and general manager at the Development and Resources Corporation, directing corporate activities and programs in integrated regional development, national planning, water resources, engineering, agriculture, and environmental services. He oversaw construction documents for Iran’s Dez irrigation project, and managed multipurpose water resources programs in Vietnam and Afghanistan.
As a former head of the World Bank’s Water Resources Unit in the Asia Technical Department, Frederiksen provided advice and support to its South and East Asia Regions, covering 21 countries. For the bank’s India Agriculture Division, he helped to develop the nation’s largest multipurpose basin development.
Frederiksen closed his career as an international consultant based in Eugene, OR. He was known for his love of camping, sailing, water skiing, fishing, hiking, and the gardens he and his wife, Mary created at their three homes, each of which naturally included a prominent water feature.
