Pete Haug, PE, has been named manager of Ayres’ Water Resources group. Haug has been with Ayres for close to 14 years and was previously with the University of Iowa’s Institute of Hydraulic Research, where he worked as a research engineer and shop manager for over 11 years.

With his lengthy and respected tenure at Ayres, Haug is committed to leading his 10-person group in taking Ayres’ solid multidisciplinary dam services to clients nationwide.

As a senior project manager, Haug has led dam inspection, hydraulic structure design, and spillway construction observation projects in several states across the Midwest and West. He has inspected hundreds of river structures, including Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) dams, state dams under the Owner Responsible Inspection Program, highway bridges for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation bridge inspection program, interstate bridges, and coolant water intakes overseen by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Haug has helped position Ayres near the front of the pack among consultants helping clients to comply with new FERC rules – which were drafted in 2020 and took effect in 2022 – that require periodic comprehensive assessments of hydroelectric dams. Ayres is working on its fifth major assessment just two years into the new rules, and Haug expects Ayres will provide these complex services to new clients as they learn of Ayres’ mastery of the new regulations.
Haug has dealt with geotechnical, hydraulic, structural, and regulatory challenges with integrity and technical excellence. He has been the engineer of record for numerous multimillion-dollar dam projects. Haug’s peer-reviewed papers include spillway discharge uncertainty, dam removal, spillway performance, and other hydraulic topics. He is an instructor for Federal Highway Administration National Highway Institute classes (Highway Hydraulics, Culvert Design, and Urban Hydrology) and has presented multiple university seminars on spillway hydraulics.

“With his long track record at Ayres, Pete has the respect of his team,” says Anthony Alvarado, vice president. “He will pay close attention to the clients who have relied on Ayres for years to help them navigate complex regulations, and he will take that solid reputation to clients in new locations and lead his group in tackling new challenges.”
Haug holds professional engineer licensure in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Washington. He earned a Master of Science in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Iowa and a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.