Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Water Resource Coordinator

🎯 Role Definition

The Water Resource Coordinator is a mid-level environmental professional responsible for planning, coordinating, and implementing water resource, watershed, and stormwater programs that protect water quality, manage flood risk, and ensure regulatory compliance. This role combines technical fieldwork (water quality and hydrologic monitoring), applied analysis (GIS and hydrologic modeling), regulatory navigation (NPDES, Clean Water Act, state permits), stakeholder engagement (municipal partners, NGOs, landowners), and project management (budgets, grants, contracts). The ideal candidate balances strong technical skills (GIS, sampling, modeling) with clear communication, policy interpretation, and proven experience delivering cross-sector water resource initiatives.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Environmental Technician or Field Technician (water/watershed)
Watershed Specialist / Conservation Technician
Junior Civil or Environmental Engineer (entry-level)

Advancement To:

Senior Water Resource Coordinator / Watershed Manager
Stormwater Program Manager or Permit Coordinator
Water Resources Program Director or Regional Water Resources Manager

Lateral Moves:

Environmental Planner
Watershed Restoration Project Manager
Natural Resources or Conservation Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the design, implementation and oversight of watershed management programs, including prioritization of restoration projects, BMP selection, and long-term maintenance strategies to improve water quality and ecological function.
Develop, coordinate and manage water quality and quantity monitoring programs (surface water and groundwater), including sampling plans, QA/QC procedures, chain-of-custody, and interpretation of analytical results for metals, nutrients, bacteria, and flow data.
Prepare permit applications, compliance documentation and technical reports for federal and state regulatory programs (NPDES, Clean Water Act Section 404/401, state stormwater permits), and act as the departmental liaison with regulatory agencies.
Conduct hydrologic and hydraulic analyses (e.g., HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, SWMM) and GIS-based watershed modeling to assess flood risk, runoff volumes, green infrastructure performance and climate resilience scenarios.
Write and manage grant proposals and funding applications (federal, state, foundation) to secure project capital; develop grant budgets, monitor deliverables, and ensure compliance with funding requirements and reporting deadlines.
Oversee contract management for consultants, contractors and service providers: develop scopes of work, manage procurement, evaluate deliverables, approve invoices and ensure contractual compliance with project milestones and technical standards.
Coordinate multi-stakeholder outreach, public meetings and educational programs with municipalities, community groups, utilities, landowners and NGOs to build consensus on watershed projects and to increase community engagement and adoption of BMPs.
Prepare detailed technical memoranda, environmental assessments and final reports that synthesize monitoring data, modeling outputs, regulatory requirements and actionable recommendations for municipal clients and boards.
Manage project schedules, budgets and resource allocation for multiple simultaneous projects; prepare status updates, progress reports and escalate issues to senior management as needed.
Lead permitting and plan review for stormwater infrastructure projects, green infrastructure installations and land development proposals to ensure alignment with local ordinances and state/federal water quality standards.
Implement and manage stormwater inspection and maintenance programs for municipal assets, ensuring documentation, follow-up actions, and compliance with municipal stormwater management plans (MS4 programs).
Design and implement stream restoration, riparian buffer planting, and erosion control measures; prepare construction-ready plans and supervise field implementation to meet ecological and regulatory goals.
Maintain and enhance GIS datasets for watersheds, streams, stormwater infrastructure, land use and impervious cover; produce maps, spatial analyses and geodatabase products to inform planning and reporting.
Supervise and train field staff, seasonal technicians and volunteers in sampling protocols, health and safety procedures, and data collection best practices to ensure consistent, defensible datasets.
Coordinate emergency response and incident actions for water quality events (spills, bypasses, flooding), serve as a technical advisor during emergencies and document response actions for regulators and stakeholders.
Evaluate and recommend best management practices (BMPs) and stormwater retrofits for cost-effectiveness and performance, including LID, permeable pavements, bioswales and detention/retention designs.
Conduct quality assurance reviews of contractor deliverables, technical reports and lab results; ensure scientific rigor, reproducibility and traceability of data and decisions.
Create and maintain monitoring databases, prepare data visualizations, dashboards and summary metrics (e.g., pollutant loads, percent reduction, trend analyses) to support adaptive management and client decision-making.
Lead policy and ordinance review efforts to update municipal stormwater codes, floodplain regulations and watershed protection standards based on technical findings and best practices.
Facilitate interagency coordination on cross-boundary water resource issues, including regional floodplain management, shared monitoring programs and coordinated grant applications.
Prepare and deliver technical presentations for elected bodies, technical advisory committees and public audiences; translate complex technical results into clear, actionable messages for non-technical stakeholders.
Monitor emerging science, technologies and regulatory changes (climate adaptation, source water protection, PFAS monitoring) and recommend updates to organizational practices and plans.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc technical and data requests from internal teams and partner agencies, including tailored GIS extracts and time-series water quality summaries.
Maintain equipment inventories, calibration logs and field consumables; coordinate equipment procurement and repair services.
Assist with community volunteer coordination and citizen science sampling programs to expand monitoring capacity and public engagement.
Contribute to organizational planning and strategic initiatives related to water resources, resilience and sustainability.
Participate in grant reporting and audit responses; compile supporting documentation and ensure timely submission of deliverables.
Support development of training materials, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and safety plans for field operations.
Track and report performance metrics for funding agencies and municipal clients; implement corrective actions when targets are not met.
Maintain relationships with regional laboratories; coordinate sample shipping, turnaround time expectations and data delivery to internal databases.
Assist procurement and contracting staff with RFP technical scopes, evaluation criteria and selection interviews for water resources consultants.
Support pilot project evaluations, post-construction monitoring and adaptive management recommendations based on monitoring outcomes.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proficient in ArcGIS / ArcGIS Pro for spatial analysis, mapping, geodatabase management and watershed delineation.
Experience with hydrologic and hydraulic modeling tools (HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, SWMM, WMS) and translating model results into engineering recommendations.
Strong field sampling skills: surface water and groundwater sampling techniques, instream flow measurements, automated sampler programming and chain-of-custody procedures.
Familiarity with water quality parameters and laboratory methods (nutrients, bacteria, DO, TSS) and QA/QC practices.
Knowledge of federal and state regulatory frameworks: Clean Water Act, NPDES/MS4 permits, Section 404/401, state stormwater regulations and local ordinances.
Grant writing and grants management experience, including budget development, scope definition and compliance reporting.
Competence with data analysis and visualization tools (Excel advanced functions, R, Python, Tableau, Power BI) for trend analysis and reporting.
Experience preparing technical reports, permit applications, environmental assessments and construction specifications.
Understanding of stormwater best management practices (LID, green infrastructure) and design principles for retrofit projects.
Project management skills: scheduling, budget tracking, scope control, and contract administration.
Familiarity with groundwater monitoring, well purging and installation oversight, and basic hydrogeology concepts.
Experience with AutoCAD, Civil 3D or similar plan production software for producing construction drawings is a plus.
Knowledge of sediment transport, erosion control practices and streambank stabilization techniques.

Soft Skills

Excellent written and verbal communication skills — able to translate complex technical findings into clear guidance for non-technical stakeholders and elected officials.
Strong stakeholder engagement and facilitation skills — able to build consensus across municipalities, regulators, landowners and community groups.
Problem-solving mindset with practical, outcome-oriented decision making and the ability to prioritize competing tasks.
Attention to detail and commitment to data integrity, QA/QC and documentation standards.
Project leadership and team collaboration — able to supervise field crews, coordinate consultants and work across departments.
Time management and organizational skills to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
Adaptability and resilience in dynamic regulatory and field conditions.
Public speaking and presentation capabilities for community meetings, technical committees and conferences.
Negotiation and conflict resolution skills for managing contractors, partners and stakeholder concerns.
Commitment to health and safety practices in field operations.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Civil or Environmental Engineering, Hydrology, Water Resources, Geology, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Water Resources, Hydrology, Environmental Engineering, or Natural Resources Management preferred for senior or specialized roles.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Environmental Science
Civil / Environmental Engineering
Hydrology / Hydrogeology
Water Resources Management
Natural Resource Management
Geography / GIS

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

3–7 years of relevant professional experience in water resources, watershed management, stormwater, or environmental compliance.

Preferred:

5+ years with demonstrated experience in monitoring program administration, hydrologic/hydraulic modeling, permit negotiation, grant management, and public outreach. Prior municipal or regional agency experience is highly desirable.

If you’d like, I can tailor this document to a specific region (e.g., Northeast U.S., California, Midwest) or adjust the salary band and experience expectations for entry-level, mid-level, or senior postings.