Karla Waters
Civil Engineer, Schwab Eaton
Office Location: Salina, KS
Education
- BS, Civil Engineering, Kansas State University
Professional Associations
Kansas Society of Professional Engineers
American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC)
American Public Works Association
Kansas State University Engineering Advisory Council
Karla grew up on a farm near Concordia, Kan. and loved math. Through encouragement from her high school math teachers and guidance counselors, and knowing that she liked challenges, she decided to pursue an engineering degree. She attended Cloud County Community College for two years then completed her BS in Civil Engineering at Kansas State University. She has worked in the transportation design field her entire career for two consulting firms. She is currently with Schwab Eaton in Salina.
Karla’s project experience has ranged from design of large multi-lane highways, urban and rural highway projects to municipal and county projects. Her responsibilities as a civil engineer have ranged from a Design Engineer to a Project Manager predominately on Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) projects. Design responsibilities have included establishment of horizontal and vertical alignment, design of drainage structures, storm sewer, erosion protection, and overall development of construction plans for major rural and urban highway. One of her favorite projects was K-61 in Reno County, converting a 2-lane facility into a 4-lane divided facility. Some of project features included new alignment for a portion, drainage design challenges and face to face meetings with property owners along the corridor. Recently, she has been assisting KDOT as an embedded engineer with their traffic department, designing traffic control for projects and reviewing plans by other consultants.
While her career may not appear to be glamorous, she takes pride in what she has accomplished as a Kansas farm girl. In fact, her two daughters, both KSU graduates, are in the math field - one being a high school math teacher and the other one a civil engineer. In addition, she is active in several professional associations such as, Kansas Society of Professional Engineers, American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), American Public Works Association, Kansas State University Engineering Advisory Council, and community service organizations, such as, City of Salina Planning Commission, Trinity United Methodist Church which she truly enjoys. Through these organizations and committees, she has developed long lasting relationships with the members and connect with them at conferences and events.
