Our origins are rooted in a tradition of excellence.
Although M&A was officially founded in 1984 by Dr. Errol “Monte” Montgomery, our roots date back to the 1960s. The company grew out of Monte’s long professional affiliation with Dr. John Harshbarger, founder of the renowned Department of Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Arizona. Dr. Montgomery, who also served as a professor at Northern Arizona University, worked with Harshbarger & Associates for many years, eventually founding M&A after Harshbarger’s retirement.
In the early days, we mainly provided mining-related and groundwater development services; however, our services — and our clientele — rapidly expanded in response to changing demands for groundwater expertise. After taking on several Superfund projects in the 1980s and 1990s, we soon became a leader in the soil and groundwater contamination arena. We also expanded our expertise in the areas of artificial groundwater recharge and in-situ mining.
M&A opened branch offices in Phoenix (Scottsdale) and Santiago de Chile during the late 1980s. By the early 1990s, our professional services had grown to include hydrologic modeling, vadose zone investigations, litigation support and expert witness services, and environmental permitting and compliance.
The new millennium: Fully integrated water resource services
Most recently, M&A added exciting capabilities in the area of Water Policy & Economics. Now we can help clients with water resource planning, addressing not only the hydrogeologic constraints on development but also those imposed by regulatory systems and market forces.



