The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) enriches the environment and protects public health for all New Yorkers by providing 1.1 billion gallons of high quality drinking water, managing wastewater and stormwater, and reducing air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution. DEP is the largest combined municipal water and wastewater utility in the country, with nearly 6,000 employees. DEP's water supply system is comprised of 19 reservoirs and 3 controlled lakes throughout the system’s 2,000 square mile watershed that extends 125 miles north and west of the City.
New York City has approximately 140,000 catch basins, 114,000 hydrants, 90,000 valves, 14 gatehouses, 3 reservoirs, 68 groundwater wells, a 100 million gallon underground storage tank and 7,000 miles each of both sanitary sewers and water mains. The responsibility of maintaining these vast networks falls under the Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Water and Sewer Operations (BWSO).
The primary responsibilities of the Bureau of Water and Sewer Operations are: the operation, maintenance and protection of the City’s drinking water and wastewater collection (sewer) systems; the protection of adjacent waterways; and the development and protection of the Department’s Capital Water and Sewer Design Program. The Bureau also approves and inspects water and sewer connections performed by licensed plumbers and/or authorized contractors. In addition, the Bureau has overall responsibility for the approval and inspection of all public and private construction projects which could impact on the City’s water or sewer systems.
The Bureau is also responsible for the operation of the Staten Island Bluebelt. This is an ecologically sound, cost effective natural alternative to storm sewers, which occupies approximately 15 square miles of land in the South Richmond area of Staten Island. This project preserves streams, ponds and other wetland ("bluebelt") areas, allowing them to perform their natural function of conveying, storing and filtering storm water. These areas also provide important community open spaces and a diverse wildlife habitat.
BWSO seeks to hire Environmental Engineering Interns for the Engineering Division in the following sections:
1. Plan Review (4 positions)
2. Modeling (2 positions)
3. Capital Drainage (2 positions)
4. Drainage Review (1 positions)
5. Bluebelt (1 positions)
6. Resiliency Planning (1 positions)
While all of the units work together on different overlapping tasks and responsibilities, the following is a breakdown of the typical tasks and responsibilities of the specific units
1. Drilling and Excavations:
- Perform triage of various projects and information to verify compliance with the proposed rule.
- Review structural impacts on the existing critical infrastructure
- Perform field inspections, monitor and evaluate various vibration and crack monitoring data with respect to critical infrastructure
- coordinate and communicate with inspectors, contractors, operations divisions regarding applications
2. Plan Review
- Perform research, investigations, and collection of engineering documents.
- The selected candidate will be responsible for reviewing, analyzing, and approving the designs to ensure compliance with DEP standards and engineering practices. The Plan Review group ensures that a network of city infrastructure vital to the continued operation is protected and that service interruption is minimized.
- Independently utilizes engineering, construction, DEP, and other standards and practices related to hydrology, hydraulics, structural engineering, and geotechnical engineering to analyze plans submitted to the Plan Review unit. This analysis concerns the impact on the NYC sewer and water supply systems, and the proposed drainage and water supply facilities will be built and/or maintained in conformance with the latest DEP Standards and requirements. For example, we have reviewed the impact of critical NYC projects.
- Assist the Engineer-in-Charge in meetings with the representatives from other City and State agencies and private filing professionals to explain Plan Review requirements.
3. Modeling
- Review of drainage proposal applications for private developments submitted by Consulting Engineers.
- Perform hydraulic calculations for development of drainage plans under the supervision of a professional engineer.
- Build-out and participate in analysis of hydraulic models pertaining to collection systems, surface water, under supervision of a professional engineer.
4. Capital Drainage
- The group is primarily responsible for the development and amendment of the City’s drainage plans, which undergo revision in response to zoning changes, new construction, sewer backups and street flooding complaints and adding new infrastructure.
- The interns will be under the direct supervision of a professional engineer and provides a complete insight into the NYC sewer and water infrastructure.
- The group is also responsible for building and maintenance of citywide collection system and distribution models. The group also develops and runs models for collection systems as well as for open channel systems in conjunction with the Blue Belt Unit.
5. Drainage Review
- Performing and reviewing hydraulic analysis of new developments to determine capacity of existing sewers system and whether sewers need to be replaced.
- Meet with potential developers and city agencies to discuss impacts associated with rezonings, street mapping/demapping, etc.
6. Bluebelt
- perform Bluebelt feasibility studies for the creation of new storm water management projects.
- Conduct quantitative research demonstrating the benefits of the Bluebelt program citywide.
- Review design submittals of Bluebelt BMPs from consultants, DEP staff and other governmental agencies.
- Prepare and submit various permit applications to the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and other regulatory agencies.
- Manage the geospatial database of Bluebelt lands and associated assets.
- Prepare maps utilizing GIS software and cost estimates to support acquisitions based on research findings.
- Update the capital plan with revised cost estimates and available funding
7. Resiliency
- Track the status of resilience projects throughout New York City by receiving correspondence including, but not limited to, drawings, planning documents, comment memos and presentation slides and updating tracking documents in network folders and in the Geographic Information System database.
- Maintaining the currency and organization of all information related to resilience projects in electronic folders and in the Geographic Information System.
- Tracking the status of reviews of resilience projects including coordinating comments and tracking resolutions.
- Support requests for increases in Bureau expense budgets by developing detailed O&M estimates of resilience projects including task, appropriate civil service titles and person-hours.
- Perform cost-benefit analyses of selected projects.
Common Job Functions for all units include:
- Summarize the findings by preparing presentations, technical reports and provide recommendations based on the results.
- Participates in Engineering discussions and presentations on topics including climate change, resiliency, sea level rise, and modernizing engineering practices.
- Opportunities for field visits and/or site inspections.
- Attends meetings with other Agencies or Bureaus as needed to coordinate on large-scale projects and facilitate solutions that meet the needs of all Agencies and Bureaus.
- These position offers the opportunity to serve the public and there is potential for career growth.
- Prepares written project reports and response letters.
- Engages in research of existing water and sewer records, investigation, or studies to determine the extent of sewer infrastructure within the review area.
- Responding quickly and accurately to requests for information from within and from outside the Bureau and DEP.
- Create and maintain program performance metrics.
The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.
