Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Water Quality Officer

🎯 Role Definition

The Water Quality Officer is responsible for designing, implementing and managing water quality monitoring programs across drinking water, surface water, groundwater and wastewater systems. This role ensures compliance with environmental regulations (e.g., NPDES, SDWA, regional permits), oversees field sampling and laboratory analysis, interprets analytical data against regulatory standards, and delivers actionable reports and remediation recommendations to operations and stakeholders. The position combines fieldwork, laboratory oversight, data management, stakeholder communication and regulatory liaison to protect public health and aquatic ecosystems.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Environmental Technician or Field Sampling Technician with hands-on sampling and chain-of-custody experience.
Laboratory Technician or Water/Wastewater Laboratory Analyst trained in chemical and microbiological testing.
Water/Wastewater Operator (Grade I–III) moving into monitoring and compliance responsibilities.

Advancement To:

Senior Water Quality Officer / Lead Water Quality Scientist
Water Quality Manager or Water Resources Manager
Environmental Compliance Manager or Regulatory Affairs Lead

Lateral Moves:

Environmental Consultant (water quality specialization)
Laboratory Manager or ISO 17025 Quality Manager
GIS / Hydrology Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design, implement and manage comprehensive water quality monitoring programs for surface water, groundwater, drinking water and wastewater streams, including frequency, sampling locations, analyte lists, and quality assurance plans aligned with regulatory requirements and organizational objectives.
Plan and execute field sampling campaigns using standardized protocols: collect grab and composite samples, maintain sample preservation and chain-of-custody, operate multiparameter sondes and flow meters, and ensure health & safety compliance during field operations.
Conduct routine and specialized laboratory analyses for physical, chemical and microbiological parameters (pH, conductivity, temperature, turbidity, TDS, BOD, COD, nutrients, metals, pathogens), interpret instrument outputs, and verify results against QA/QC criteria.
Develop, review and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) plans, and method validation documents to support accurate, reproducible analytical results and laboratory accreditation (e.g., ISO 17025).
Manage sample logistics and laboratory workflows including sample accessioning, prioritization, instrument scheduling, calibration, routine maintenance and troubleshooting to minimize turnaround times while maintaining data integrity.
Ensure compliance with federal, state and local regulatory frameworks (e.g., Clean Water Act / NPDES, Safe Drinking Water Act, local discharge permits), prepare permit compliance documents, and coordinate permit application and reporting activities.
Generate technically robust data packages and regulatory reports (monthly/quarterly/annual monitoring reports, permit compliance reports, incident response summaries) and present findings to regulators, operations teams and senior management.
Analyze long-term water quality datasets using statistical methods and trend analysis to identify emerging issues, seasonality, baseline shifts and potential sources of contamination; prepare visualizations and executive summaries to support decision-making.
Lead investigations into water quality exceedances and pollution incidents: perform root-cause analysis, coordinate field re-sampling, recommend corrective actions (process adjustments, source control, treatment optimization), and track remediation effectiveness.
Coordinate and liaise with regulatory agencies, local governments, stakeholders, and community groups; respond to external inquiries, public health advisories and media requests related to water quality incidents.
Oversee sanitary surveys, watershed assessments, and source water vulnerability analyses to support risk-based monitoring and source protection strategies.
Supervise, mentor and train field technicians, lab analysts and junior scientists in sampling techniques, laboratory methods, safety procedures, data handling and regulatory compliance practices.
Implement and maintain laboratory information management systems (LIMS), environmental databases, and GIS layers for sampling networks and monitoring results to ensure traceability, accessibility and interoperability of data.
Develop and maintain chain-of-custody, sample custody, and documentation controls to ensure defensible data for enforcement and litigation support where required.
Evaluate, select and procure field and laboratory equipment (multiparameter probes, auto-samplers, spectrophotometers, ICP-MS/ICP-OES instrumentation), negotiate service contracts, and manage vendor relationships to support program needs.
Manage monitoring program budgets, forecast sampling and analysis costs, track expenditures, and support grant applications or capital funding for monitoring and remediation projects.
Maintain occupational health and safety programs for field and laboratory personnel, including risk assessments, PPE provision, confined space entry procedures, and emergency response plans for spills and contamination events.
Collaborate with treatment plant operators and engineers to translate monitoring data into operational adjustments (e.g., coagulant dose, aeration, disinfection strategies) and to verify treatment performance against effluent and distribution targets.
Lead or support pilot studies and applied field research to test new monitoring technologies, passive samplers, sensors and data analytics approaches aimed at improving spatial/temporal resolution and cost-effectiveness.
Prepare and deliver training, workshops and community outreach materials that explain water quality results, regulatory standards and best practices in plain language to non-technical audiences.
Maintain accreditation readiness by coordinating internal audits, corrective actions, proficiency testing and documentation required for laboratory accreditation and permit audits.
Support emergency response and incident management teams during contamination events, algal blooms, or infrastructure failures — provide technical guidance, sampling plans, and rapid data interpretation to inform public notices and containment strategies.
Continuously improve monitoring programs by implementing data quality objectives (DQOs), performance metrics, and process improvements informed by industry best practices and evolving regulatory expectations.

Secondary Functions

Maintain and optimize environmental databases and LIMS integrations; support data extraction, ETL workflows, and automated reporting for stakeholders and regulatory submissions.
Assist in grant writing, funding proposals and technical sections for monitoring program expansion, restoration projects or community resilience initiatives.
Contribute to internal policy and procedure development for environmental management systems (EMS) and support ISO and other certification initiatives.
Provide technical support to cross-functional project teams (engineering, operations, permitting) for environmental impact assessments and construction-phase monitoring plans.
Participate in procurement and evaluation of third-party laboratories and contract monitoring services; perform QA reviews of external data and reconcile discrepancies.
Support development of dashboards and data visualizations (Power BI, Tableau, R Shiny) to make water quality trends actionable for operations and leadership.
Maintain inventory of sampling and laboratory consumables; coordinate calibration schedules and equipment certifications.
Participate in professional networks, technical working groups and conferences to stay current with monitoring technologies, regulatory changes and scientific advances.
Perform ad-hoc analyses and special studies (e.g., microplastics, emerging contaminants, PFAS screening) to inform strategic monitoring priorities.
Provide backup support for related environmental compliance functions such as air quality monitoring, hazardous materials reporting, or stormwater permit implementation when needed.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proven experience designing and executing water quality monitoring programs across surface water, groundwater, drinking water and wastewater matrices.
Proficiency with field sampling techniques (grab/composite sampling), operation of multiparameter sondes, flow measurements, auto-samplers and proper sample preservation/chain-of-custody.
Laboratory analytical skills including methods for nutrients, BOD/COD, metals, major ions, dissolved oxygen, microbiological assays (coliforms/E. coli), and familiarity with instrumentation (ICP-MS, GC-MS, TOC analyzers, spectrophotometers).
Solid understanding of regulatory frameworks and standards (NPDES, SDWA, local discharge permits, EPA methods, state environmental codes) and experience preparing regulatory reports and permit submissions.
Strong QA/QC knowledge: method validation, calibration, blanks, spikes, duplicates, control charts, limits of detection/quantitation and corrective action procedures.
Data analysis and statistics for environmental datasets: trend analysis, time-series analysis, summary statistics, hypothesis testing and multivariate methods; proficiency in R, Python (pandas, scipy), or statistical software.
Experience with LIMS, environmental data management, SQL databases and integrations; ability to extract, transform and load monitoring data for reporting and visualization.
GIS competence for mapping sampling locations, catchment analysis and spatial data interpretation (ArcGIS, QGIS).
Competence with data visualization and reporting tools (Power BI, Tableau, R Markdown, Excel pivot tables) to communicate results clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
Familiarity with field safety protocols and regulatory compliance for hazardous materials, confined space entry, and occupational health in laboratory and field settings.
Knowledge of ISO 17025 accreditation requirements, proficiency testing programs and audit readiness practices.
Experience managing vendors, contracting third-party labs, and performing data validation on external datasets.

Soft Skills

Excellent written and verbal communication skills for report writing, regulatory correspondence, and stakeholder engagement.
Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities with attention to detail and data integrity.
Project management skills: planning, scheduling, budgeting, resource allocation, and cross-functional coordination.
Ability to translate complex technical data into concise, actionable recommendations for operations and leadership.
Leadership and mentorship capabilities to supervise field and lab staff, provide training and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
Adaptability and resilience for handling emergency sampling, rapid turnarounds and high-stress incident responses.
Collaborative mindset and ability to build productive relationships with regulators, community groups, contractors and internal teams.
Ethical judgment and professionalism in handling sensitive data, enforcement issues and public communication.
Time management and prioritization skills to balance routine monitoring, ad-hoc investigations and regulatory deadlines.
Attention to health & safety culture and modeling safe behaviors in field and laboratory environments.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, Hydrology, Microbiology or a closely related discipline.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Environmental Science, Water Resources Management, Environmental Engineering, or Public Health with specialization in water quality or aquatic chemistry.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Environmental Science / Environmental Engineering
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Microbiology / Public Health
Hydrology / Water Resources
Geology or Earth Sciences

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2–5 years of practical experience in water quality monitoring, laboratory analysis, or environmental compliance.

Preferred:

5+ years of progressive experience including supervisory responsibilities, regulatory reporting (NPDES/SDWA), program design, and demonstrated experience with QA/QC and LIMS; experience with ISO 17025-accredited labs or equivalent is highly desirable.