Rusty Barker MS, PE

Senior Ecoengineer I

Rusty Barker is a registered civil engineer with over 13 years of applied hydrologic experience. At cbec, Rusty brings his experience to help clients develop innovative solutions to their complex water management projects while maximizing environmental and ecological benefits. His understanding of hydraulic modeling and geo-spatial concepts is bolstered by proficiency in ESRI geo-spatial suite, SMS, SRH-2D, Microsoft Office Suite, MIKE-21C, RMA2, VBA, FORTRAN, HEC-DSS, HEC-RAS, Autodesk Civil3D, and Python. He has extensive experience collecting field data and performing hydrologic surveys, while being an effective team member and leader. Rusty is well-versed in the field, performing topographic surveys with total stations, RTK (Real Time Kinematic)-GPS, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). He has a diverse background working with resource agencies, private industry, and local, state, and federal government.

He joined the water resources field in 2009 after receiving his Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the University of California, Davis; he later went on to earn a Master of Hydrologic Sciences from the same institution. His master’s thesis involved building, calibrating, validating, and applying large scale, two-dimensional hydraulic models of the Lower Yuba River. Between 2018 and 2024, Rusty applied this robust technical background to the management and improvement of flood control facilities along the Pajaro River and Salsipuedes Creek in Santa Cruz County. Working as facility civil engineer and hydrologist allowed him to blend technical engineering design, planning, and analysis, with day-to-day operations, maintenance, and emergency flood management. He values the experience gained from serving his local community and found pride in the administration of a critical piece of flood control infrastructure and a valuable ecological asset. Rusty spends his free time with his children, playing volleyball on the beach, riding his bicycle, snowboarding, hiking, backpacking, flying drones, and working around the house.