Erik James

Affiliation

US Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District

Biography

Erik James is a professional civil and geotechnical engineer and geologist in California with more than 18 years of experience. Erik is the Chief of Levee Safety and the Levee Safety Program Manager for the USACE Sacramento District. He was previously the chief of Soil Design, where he led both the civil and military geotechnical programs. He has specialized experience in cutoff wall planning, design, and construction and has been involved as a designer, reviewer, or advisor on cutoff walls of all types for both dams and levees. He is the primary author of the Deep Mixing chapter of the Corps Seepage Cutoff Wall Engineering Manual. He has taught risk-based flood risk management for geotechnical engineering for the Corps.  He is also the chair of the Sacramento Levee Practice Group and the leader for the USACE South Pacific Division Regional Risk Community of Practice sub-group. He is a member of AEG, USSD, and DFI. Erik has a BS in Geology with specialization in geophysics and hydraulic science from the University of California at Davis, a 2^nd bachelor’s in civil engineering with an emphasis in hydraulic engineering, and graduate coursework in geotechnical engineering from Sacramento State.