Water Quality Specialist (Ventura Water)
About The Position
The City of Ventura is seeking a Water Quality Specialist to join Ventura Water and fill a critical role in protecting public health and ensuring compliance with drinking water quality standards. This position supports the development, implementation, and oversight of water quality monitoring, regulatory compliance, and water management programs for the City’s drinking water systems. This is an excellent opportunity for a water quality professional who enjoys technical analysis, regulatory work, and collaboration across operations, engineering, and regulatory agencies. The Water Quality Specialist works closely with internal staff and external partners to ensure water quality data is accurate, compliant, and used to support sound operational and planning decisions.
Requirements
- A combination of education, experience, and training equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Science, or a closely related field, and three years of compiling, evaluating, and monitoring water or wastewater data and regulations is required.
- Possession of a valid California Class C driver license.
Nice To Haves
- Possess a strong understanding of drinking water quality regulations, monitoring, and compliance requirements
- Have experience compiling, evaluating, and monitoring water or wastewater data and regulatory standards
- Demonstrate the ability to analyze water quality data and identify trends, discrepancies, and compliance issues
- Be experienced in developing and coordinating sampling plans and reviewing analytical results
- Communicate effectively with operations staff, regulators, consultants, and the public
- Exercise sound judgment and work independently on complex regulatory and technical matters
- Be highly organized, accurate, and comfortable managing multiple projects and deadlines
- Bring a collaborative approach and a commitment to protecting public health and water system reliability
- Experience analyzing water or wastewater sampling data and maintaining compliance with California Code of Regulations Title 22
- A Water Quality Laboratory Analyst certification from the American Water Works Association (AWWA) is highly desirable
Responsibilities
- Reviewing and evaluating water quality data from sanitation labs, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, and United States Geological Survey (USGS) sources to ensure compliance with Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and related regulatory requirements and maintaining data on groundwater and surface water production, consumption, and projections
- Overseeing water facility operations and monitoring sampling and reporting activities to ensure regulatory compliance
- Developing and implementing sampling plans for treatment and distribution systems, including coordinating schedules and verifying chain-of-custody documentation
- Investigating water quality issues within treatment and distribution systems and recommending corrective or optimization measures
- Preparing regulatory compliance reports, consumer confidence reports, and water quality reports for agency submittal and public release
- Reviewing and interpreting analytical data, design plans, specifications, and environmental documents related to water treatment and supply
- Evaluating water source quality and system conditions to optimize supply, corrosion control, and disinfection practices
- Coordinating permitting activities for water operations and hazardous materials storage, including responding to notices of violation and inspections
- Monitoring proposed regulations and treatment technologies and evaluating impacts to City operations
- Providing technical guidance and training to staff on monitoring, reporting, and regulatory procedures
- Supporting long-term water management initiatives, including water loss reduction and system reliability programs
- Preparing detailed technical reports, spreadsheets, maps, and records to support compliance audits and program evaluation
Benefits
- Medical Insurance options include HMO, PPO, City Paid Dental and Vision Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Vacation & Holiday Compensation
- Deferred Compensation
- CalPERS Retirement
- Tuition Reimbursement & Bilingual Pay
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Number of Employees
1,001-5,000 employees
