Katala joins Garver as Drainage Leader in Atlanta

With the recent addition of Tshiams Katala, PE, CFM, CDPESC, MS4CECI, as Drainage Leader in Atlanta, Garver is poised to tackle the most complex drainage and stormwater challenges facing DOTs, municipalities, and other state and local agencies.

An award-winning drainage leader with 20 years of experience in engineering practice and eight in academia, Katala has worked in both the private and public sectors, including more than eight years of Georgia MS4 and Construction Permit Compliance. He’s a licensed professional in engineering and certified in municipal stormwater, floodplain management, and erosion control compliance.

“With his extensive experience in Georgia and his understanding of local, state, and federal regulations, Tshiams is the perfect fit for our growing team,” said Transportation Team Leader Jeff Clayton, PE. “He’s a natural leader and teacher with a passion for sharing knowledge with others, and I couldn’t be more excited to welcome him to Garver.”

Katala has been in Atlanta for over a decade, and in 2015, was awarded the Georgia DOT Commissioner’s Merit Award for his efforts with the environmental permitting of the I-285/SR 400 Design-Build project, valued at $147 million. He has worked closely with GDOT over the years, even serving as an embedded employee and trainer of GDOT employees in MS4 and erosion control.

“I joined Garver because I wanted to make an even greater impact and knew that I could with Garver’s considerable resources and excellent reputation in the industry,” said Katala. “I’m excited to build a drainage-specific team to provide essential services whose demand is only increasing.”

Katala graduated from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, with a BSCE and remained there for five years to teach before moving to the United States. After receiving his MSCE from Villanova University, he relocated to Atlanta to work in academia while also serving as a stormwater and drainage consultant.

During his impressive career, Katala has worked on a variety of projects from complex infrastructure improvements to more minor, traditional design projects. His work has also increasingly encompassed emergency projects where people’s lives are in danger due to flooding or pollution, leading to his belief that resilient infrastructure is more important now than ever.

One of Katala’s recent fast-track, emergency projects involved repairing damage from sinkholes that started forming in Athens, Georgia, near the campus of the University of Georgia. The sinkholes were in a drainage pipe near a historic structure and were comprising the foundation of buildings and endangering students.

Katala is a member of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals and Association of State Floodplain Managers.

To learn more about what Garver Transportation can do for you, visit our Transportation services page.