Environmental Engineering Intern

About the role

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.

Collection Systems Investigation's role in the Bureau is to manage investigation projects for the inspection, design, and expansion of the City's sewer system. The Environmental Engineering Intern will conduct investigations to determine the scope of a required sewer cleaning and television inspection. Supervises contractor's work during sewer cleaning or television inspection to ensure compliance with regulations and Contract requirements. Management of projects' data: complaints, surveys, break sheets, dye tests, video records, reports, etc.

Job Description included

• Prepare and issue written updates, maps, etc. for supervisors, and address issues as they arise in a timely manner and consistent with Agency policy.
• Perform simple engineering calculations for sewer investigations, actual sewer flow and design capacity, and quantity takeoffs.
• Track and update schedule for ordered work based on field conditions.
• Communicate effectively with superiors and report on status of work, unanticipated conditions and possible problems.
• Responds expeditiously to inquiries from supervisors and management personnel.
• Write comprehensive reports pertaining to the work or contract and other events such as: bid item analysis, job meeting minutes, delays in construction, accidents, complaints, etc.
• Maintain awareness of status of assigned projects.
• Establish and maintain lines of communication with relevant persons, agencies and contractors.
• Conducts and tracks in-office and field investigations to determine the causes of sewer failures and malfunctions.
• Receive, review, create uploads and submit records generated from investigation and reconstruction work to assure that they accurately represent and document contract activities.

Qualifications & Requirements

• A baccalaureate degree in environmental, fire protection, chemical, mechanical, petroleum, aeronautical, or materials engineering from an accredited college; or
• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college in environmental, fire protection, chemical, mechanical, petroleum, aeronautical, or materials engineering technology and two years of full-time satisfactory experience in environmental engineering work.