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 W. 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 and later added employees based in northern Arizona. By the early 1990s, our professional services had grown to include hydrologic modeling, vadose zone investigations, litigation support and expert witness services, and water-quality compliance programs.

We continue to add leading-edge capabilities to our “toolbox” — including capabilities in GIS and database management, satellite image analysis, and decision support systems.

The new millennium: Fully integrated water resource services

M&A has recently added exciting new capabilities in the area of Water Resource Policy & Economics, as well expertise in Water Quality Engineering. Now we can help clients integrate a wider range of water sources into their portfolios, developing appropriate treatment solutions to address water supply and process water disposal challenges. We also have the expertise to address not only the hydrogeologic constraints on water resource development but also those imposed by regulatory systems and market forces.

M&A won the 2006 Wells Fargo Copper Cactus Award in the category of Business Growth for companies with between 31 and 75 employees. Winners were selected from among 400 nominees in three categories: Business Growth, Community Service, and Best Place to Work. This is the oldest, largest award program recognizing small businesses in southern Arizona.