One of the water sector’s most ambitious and influential project management companies, Sequana, has appointed industry heavyweight, Gary Crisp as National Partner – Chief Engineer.
Gary will play a critical role in overseeing the growth and development of Sequana’s manufactured water projects, playing an advisory and hands-on role on some of the largest and most complex projects in the sector.
With over 43 years of water experience – 23 specifically in desalination and water reuse – Gary joins Sequana after almost four years at the WA Water Corporation where he was intimately involved in the Alkimos Seawater Desalination Plant project.
Prior to this he was Engineering Manager at John Holland Group in Perth and Adelaide after spending two years establishing Sacyr Environment USA as Director Business Development: Water, based in Washington DC.
Sequana Managing Partner, Frank Fisseler said to secure someone with Gary’s experience and industry reputation is a real coup for Sequana.
“Gary will strengthen our unique position in the Australian water sector as a premier advisory firm for any large-scale desalination projects. Gary is a true rockstar of the industry and his in-depth knowledge of contemporary desalination expertise is a game changer for Sequana,” Mr Fisseler said.
Gary developed the Water Corporation of Western Australia Strategy for Desalination in 1999 and was an integral member of all Water Corporation desalination projects, including the Perth Seawater Desalination, Southern Seawater Desalination, Burrup Fertilizers, and Kwinana Water Reuse plants. He was also Chief Technology Officer for the construction and commissioning of the Gold Coast Desalination Plant.
He has worked on five desalination projects that have won GWI Desalination Plant of the Year titles. Gary has also been involved with many North American desalination projects, most notably Carlsbad Desalination Plant, Huntington Beach Desalination Plant, Doheny Ocean Desalination Plant, Camp Pendleton Desalination Plant, BP Mad Dog II EOR and Rosarito Desalination Plant.
Gary was Engineering Manager for SA Water’s Murray Bridge Wastewater Treatment Plant employing MBBR technology with the project attaining the highest Infrastructure Sustainability Council design rating for a water or wastewater treatment plant at the time.
Prior to this, he was Sacyr Environment USA bid manager for the $110 million advanced water reuse facility for the Groundwater Reliability Improvement Program (GRIP) for the Water Replenishment District of Southern California, completed in 2019.
Gary has twice been a director of the International Desalination Association. He was awarded Western Australian Professional Engineer of the Year 2007, by Engineers Australia for his contribution to desalination and water reuse in Australia. He has been a member of the Australian Water Association since 1996 and has chaired and co-chaired the Desalination Specialist Networks Committee at which he is still a member.
A highly regarded desalination expert, Gary has prepared and presented many papers related to the field and is also an inventor with four patented inventions to his credit and his most recent invention has been patented in the USA, Europe, and Australia.
With a deep passion for desalination and advanced water treatment, Gary believes that seawater reverse osmosis and water reuse should become an integral part of any coastal city’s future water plan in the same fashion that water reuse should be part of any city’s future water portfolio.
“Joining Sequana is a real pinnacle in my career and ticks the box at the very top of the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, self actualisation, which is all around the desire to become the most that one can be.
“I am very excited to be joining such an experienced and dedicated team working on some vital projects right across the country,” Mr Crisp said.
