About Us

Our Company History

In 1978, Bob McDowell founded McDowell & Associates as a geotechnical firm with a focus on heavy construction. McDowell has worked closely with industrial and commercial clients in Michigan, on various types of projects since our firm's founding.

We have provided a full range of Environmental and Construction services to industrial, commercial and residential clients since 1978. As of March 2009, McDowell has completed over 34,000 projects in fourteen (14) states, Africa, Argentina, Chad, Chile, Germany, Greece, Japan, Korea, and Mexico.

Much of our early hydrodynamic and groundwater control engineered solutions were innovative approaches that have today become common practice for work with contaminated groundwater.

Along with the residential building boom in Michigan came the dominance of the residential building and McDowell was positioned to become the consultant of choice for the leading residential construction firms in the state. In 1987, Dr. John Lamb joined the firm and was a maverick in the field of expert witness testimony.

With the emergence of increasingly stringent environmental laws in the mid to late 1980s, provision of environmental site assessments to lending institutions and other clients was a natural extension of our experience and expertise. Since that time, we have completed over 4,000 environmental projects, including Phase I ESAs, Phase II ESAs, Baseline Environmental Assessments, voluntary closures, Underground Storage Tank Closures, and consulting work.

Robert McDowell, M.S., Chief Executive Officer, was recognized in 1992 as "Outstanding Civil Engineer" by the Southeast Michigan Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Our Company Today

Today, our Professional staff includes licensed Professional Engineers and degreed engineers with expertise in Environmental Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Environmental Science. This group has more than 200 years combined experience.

We provide consultation services for a number of Fortune 500 Companies, including the 10 largest residential builders in Michigan. We have completed some of the most significant and largest projects in the state of Michigan and environmental projects in the state of Michigan including the evaluation, collection, and containment of contaminated groundwater.

McDowell & Associates provides the following services: Geotechnical, Environmental, Hydrogeological, Construction Testing, and Drilling and Well Installation.

As environmental law and regulatory requirements have not remained static, McDowell routinely supplements our training and experience with timely courses and seminars on environmental issues. In addition, we have an established network of experts in environmental fields such as chemistry, remediation, toxicology, industrial hygiene, wetlands, and biology with whom we consult.

Our Company Tomorrow

As we sit on the cusp of the "redirection" of Michigan, we intend to adapt to our clients changing needs and opportunities. However, one thing that will not change is our guiding principle - that is providing our clients with practical solutions to real problems.