Claire Jackson

M.Sc., MBA, P.Eng.

Claire is WaterSMART’s COO, responsible for managing projects and for providing engineering and environmental subject matter expertise to support water strategy, sustainable development, natural resource management, and environmental policy projects. Project highlights at WaterSMART include:
  • Managing and developing WaterSMART’s Best Practices projects, including performing technical analysis and publishing two reports now widely used as industry standards: Magnesium Oxide Dosing System Guidelines and Hydrated Lime Handling System Guidelines for Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery.
  • Completing water risk assessments, including calculating a notional monetary value on water and evaluating the costs of water risks and the cost of mitigating risks.
  • Supporting the development of a new strategic business venture for a large client through market research, water data analysis, and collaboration with senior executives.
  • Leading or co-leading facilitation on a number of large scale multi-stakeholder initiatives, including:
    • The Athabasca River Basin Initiative, a collaborative water management project that developed a sustainable water management model for the basin.
    • A water exchange tool pilot for hydraulic fracturing in the Upper Red Deer River Basin.
    • “Room for the River” and proactive flood management projects in the Red Deer and Bow River Basins.
    • The COSIA Water Environmental Performance Area Best Practices Group, as well as data analysis and technical report writing.
Prior to joining WaterSMART, Claire worked as a Project Engineer at Keywest Projects, an EPCM company in Calgary. This position provided her with invaluable experience in project management, client relations and technical design knowledge. Claire holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering with a focus on Environmental Engineering from the University of British Columbia and an MSc. in Environmental Systems Engineering from University College London. As part of her thesis work, Claire created a non-linear hydroeconomic model of the groundwater and surface water resources in California. Claire is a regular speaker and presenter at national and local industry conferences on water related development issues, and throughout her undergraduate and graduate work, Claire was actively involved in Engineers Without Borders. This included acting as project manager on a project that sent two students to Kenya to the Kayole Soweto slum to work with schools to test water and help educate supervising adults and children on water treatment and water sanitation.