Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Manager – Water Monitoring and Planning

🎯 Role Definition

The Manager – Water Monitoring and Planning leads the design, implementation and continual improvement of municipal, regional or watershed-scale water monitoring programs. This role oversees field and laboratory operations, ensures regulatory and permit compliance (local, state and federal), translates monitoring data into planning inputs and policy recommendations, manages budgets and contracts, and coordinates cross-disciplinary teams including scientists, technicians, planners and external stakeholders. The successful candidate ensures data integrity through robust QA/QC, leverages GIS and statistical tools to analyze trends, and drives strategic monitoring that supports resilient water infrastructure and ecosystem management.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Water Quality Scientist / Senior Hydrologist
Environmental Monitoring Team Lead
Water Resources Planner or Environmental Programs Coordinator

Advancement To:

Director of Water Resources / Director of Environmental Monitoring
Senior Manager, Watershed Planning & Resilience
Head of Environmental Programs / Chief Sustainability Officer (for larger organizations)

Lateral Moves:

Permit & Compliance Manager (Water)
Asset Management / Infrastructure Planning Manager
Environmental Data Science Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, implement and manage comprehensive water monitoring programs (surface water, groundwater, stormwater, estuarine systems) including study design, sampling frequency, site selection, instrumentation and reporting that align with regulatory, permitting and planning objectives.
Lead the preparation and continuous refinement of detailed sampling plans, chain-of-custody procedures, field protocols and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure legally defensible and scientifically robust data collection.
Oversee field operations and supervise teams of field technicians and contractors, including scheduling, training, safety briefings, site access coordination and performance management.
Establish and manage laboratory relationships and contracts, including oversight of analytical method selection, turnaround time management, analytical QA/QC programs, and verification of laboratory reports against acceptance criteria.
Ensure compliance with federal, state and local water quality regulations (e.g., Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, NPDES permits) and maintain documentation and reporting required for regulatory inspections and audits.
Design and implement QA/QC plans for monitoring programs, including calibration schedules, field and lab blanks, duplicates, matrix spikes, and corrective action procedures to maintain high data quality and traceability.
Lead water quality and quantity data analysis using statistical methods, trend analysis, time-series analysis, and modeling tools to detect changes, identify pollutant sources, and support management decisions.
Integrate monitoring data into GIS and centralized databases, manage metadata, and develop interactive dashboards, maps and visualizations for internal and public reporting.
Prepare technical reports, monitoring summaries, regulatory submittals, permit applications and transparent public-facing summaries that translate complex data into clear recommendations for planners, engineers and decision-makers.
Manage program budgets, grants and contracts, including developing scopes of work, procurement, vendor selection, invoice review and ensuring work is delivered on schedule and within budget.
Coordinate with planning, engineering and infrastructure teams to ensure monitoring results inform capital projects, operational changes and adaptive management plans.
Lead stakeholder engagement, public consultation and interagency coordination activities to communicate monitoring findings, solicit input and build consensus for management actions.
Design and implement adaptive and targeted monitoring strategies (e.g., event-based sampling, high-frequency sensors, load-based monitoring) to optimize resource allocation and improve detection of emerging conditions.
Oversee installation, commissioning, routine maintenance and troubleshooting of monitoring instrumentation (multiparameter sondes, automated samplers, flow meters, remote telemetry) and ensure telemetry data flow to central systems.
Supervise the integration of remote sensing, automated sensor networks and emerging technologies (IoT) into monitoring approaches to enhance spatial and temporal coverage.
Lead incident response and investigation for pollution events, algal blooms, illicit discharges or contamination, including rapid assessment sampling, source tracking and coordination with emergency responders and regulators.
Develop and conduct staff training programs on field safety, sample collection, data handling and interpretation, health & safety compliance and professional development pathways.
Prepare and lead grant proposals and funding applications to support monitoring program expansion, research collaborations and capital upgrades.
Evaluate, implement and maintain data management systems (LIMS, environmental databases) and ensure data governance, access control, backup, archival and long-term stewardship of monitoring datasets.
Review and interpret Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and technical studies related to proposed developments, infrastructure projects and land-use changes to determine monitoring needs and mitigation measures.
Provide leadership in the development of water quality targets, trigger values and monitoring thresholds used in planning, permitting and performance evaluation frameworks.
Supervise contract environmental consultants, review deliverables for technical adequacy and ensure alignment with organizational objectives and regulatory requirements.
Present monitoring results, risk assessments and strategic recommendations to senior management, elected officials, stakeholder groups and the public in written, oral and visual formats.
Drive continuous improvement by evaluating program performance, benchmarking against best practices and standards (e.g., ISO 17025, EPA methods), and implementing process improvements and cost efficiencies.
Contribute to interdisciplinary planning initiatives such as watershed management plans, climate adaptation strategies and green infrastructure programs by providing monitoring-based evidence and scenario analysis.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to answer operational and planning questions using monitoring datasets.
Contribute to the organization's monitoring data strategy and roadmap, including standards for metadata, interoperability and open data publication.
Collaborate with business units, planners and engineers to translate monitoring needs into technical requirements and actionable monitoring objectives.
Participate in project planning, agile ceremonies and cross-functional working groups to coordinate monitoring efforts with capital and operational projects.
Provide technical mentorship to junior staff and promote a quality culture across field, lab and data teams.
Support public outreach, workshops and educational programs to increase community understanding of water quality issues and monitoring results.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Comprehensive knowledge of water quality monitoring program design, sampling theory, and field sampling techniques for surface water, groundwater and stormwater.
Strong understanding of regulatory frameworks and permitting processes (Clean Water Act, NPDES, SDWA, state water quality standards).
Experience with laboratory QA/QC, method selection, sample handling, chain-of-custody and interpretation of analytical reports.
Proficiency with GIS tools (ArcGIS, QGIS), spatial analysis and integrating monitoring data into geodatabases and mapping products.
Data analysis and statistical skills using R, Python, MATLAB or SAS for trend analysis, time-series analysis, load calculations and hypothesis testing.
Familiarity with hydrologic and water quality modeling tools (e.g., SWMM, HSPF, WQX, QUAL2K, EPA models) and the ability to apply model outputs to planning decisions.
Experience with environmental data systems and LIMS, database management (SQL), ETL processes and data visualization platforms (Power BI, Tableau, Grafana).
Working knowledge of sensor technologies, telemetry, remote monitoring systems, automated samplers and their maintenance/calibration.
Practical experience with QA/QC standards and laboratory accreditation frameworks such as ISO/IEC 17025 and EPA-approved methods.
Contract and vendor management skills, including scope development, bidding, procurement, IOUs and consultant oversight.
Budgeting, grant writing and financial management for monitoring programs and capital projects.
Experience preparing technical reports, regulatory submittals and public communication materials; strong technical writing skills.
Familiarity with source tracking methods (stable isotopes, microbial source tracking) and pollutant fate & transport concepts.
Competency in health & safety practices for fieldwork (confined space entry, PPE, hazard assessment, HAZWOPER basics).

Soft Skills

Strong leadership and people management: ability to hire, mentor, motivate and evaluate multi-disciplinary teams and contractors.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills to explain technical findings to non-technical stakeholders and senior leaders.
Strategic thinking and planning: align monitoring programs with long-term organizational, regulatory and climate resilience goals.
Stakeholder engagement and diplomacy: work effectively with regulators, NGOs, community groups, utilities and elected officials.
Project management skills: scheduling, prioritization, risk management, and delivery of complex multi-year programs on time and on budget.
Problem solving and critical thinking: interpret complex datasets, troubleshoot equipment and adapt monitoring approaches.
Attention to detail and quality orientation in data review, documentation and reporting.
Change management and continuous improvement mindset: ability to lead process improvements and technology adoption.
Time management and the ability to manage multiple concurrent projects with shifting priorities.
Ethical judgment and professional integrity in handling sensitive environmental data and regulatory matters.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Hydrology, Water Resources, Environmental Engineering, Chemistry, or a closely related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree or higher in Water Resources Management, Hydrology, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science, or related technical discipline.
Professional certifications such as Certified Professional in Stormwater Quality (CPSWQ), Professional Engineer (PE) with water specialization, or Certified Environmental Professional (CEP) are advantageous.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Hydrology and Water Resources
Environmental Science / Environmental Engineering
Chemistry, Geosciences or Ecology
Data Science / Statistics (for applied monitoring analytics)
Public Policy or Environmental Planning (for planning integration)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 7–12 years of progressive experience in water quality monitoring, hydrology, environmental compliance or related fields, including at least 3–5 years in a supervisory or managerial role.

Preferred:

10+ years of combined field, laboratory and program management experience.
Demonstrated experience managing multi-disciplinary teams, complex monitoring networks, and interfacing with regulatory agencies and stakeholders.
Proven track record of delivering monitoring-based inputs to planning, permitting and capital project decisions.