Louis E. Rydell papers, 1914-1981

Louis Ernest Rydell (b. 1899) was a civil engineer whose work included the planning of river basins for development of hydro-electric power, flood control, navigation, and irrigation, both in government work and with private firms. Much of his work has been the planning of large dams, including site selection, investigation, preliminary design, cost, and economic feasibility studies and reports. Rydell worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1934-1959. From 1935-1948 he directed the project planning phase for the Willamette Basin Project in Oregon. From 1948-1959 he was Chief of Planning and Reports in the Walla Walla, Washington district, during which he worked on plans and studies for the Columbia and Snake River basins. From 1955-1959 he was assigned by the U.S. State Department as a flood control advisor to Ireland on the Shannon River. From 1959-1965 he was a consultant with Harza Engineering Company and supervised planning studies on the Indus River Basin in Pakistan. From 1966 until his death, he worked as a private consultant for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Ohio River Basin), TAMS (Brazil), and Montreal Engineering Company (Iran and Guyana).