Water Conservation Intern

Water Conservation Intern

ERWSD’s Water Conservation department develops and leads environmental stewardship and water conservation initiatives that empower customers to use water more efficiently in the Eagle River Valley. The Water Conservation Intern will spend approximately 60% of their time visiting customers to evaluate residential irrigation systems and provide irrigation and landscaping recommendations as part of our outreach and concierge program. Their remaining time will be spent working on a variety of data-related projects. Depending on the intern’s knowledge and skills, they may work closely with a data mentor or take on more independent projects.   

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is equally passionate about crunching data as they are working in the field and having conversations with our customers about water conservation. The ideal candidate for this role must be committed to environmental stewardship, have excellent communication skills, and have experience or interest in developing their data analysis skills. Being able to think outside the box, manage multiple project requests, and collaborate with a highly productive, fun, and friendly team will provide an amazing and rewarding internship experience. This is an opportunity to use your skills and education to impact water resources AND work in an amazing location, not to mention paid holidays, a housing stipend, and opportunities for training!  

This internship is located in Vail, Colorado for up to six months.  

What You’ll Do:  

• Work with external stakeholders, nonprofits, landscapers, and customers to perform irrigation evaluations and support a partner-run rebate program. Spend several hours over most workdays at site visits to properties.   
• Perform analyses of customer data related to water use trends and account metrics using R, Git, and ArcGIS.  
• Develop and manage interactive dashboards, charts, and reports using PowerBI.  
• Occasionally staff the Vail Farmer’s Market and other community outreach events to talk to customers about water conservation.  
• Visit ERWSD’s facilities and learn about water production, storage, and distribution, and wastewater collections and treatment to understand the importance and operations of a modern water and sanitation utility.  
• Participate in a variety of internal staff trainings, company events, and extra-curricular recreational outings like mountain biking, climbing 14ers, river and highway cleanups, and much more! 

Qualifications

Qualifications & Competencies

General:

• Must be 18 years or older.

Education:

• High School Diploma or GED.
• Six (6) months of related work experience in environmental sciences, natural resources management, science communications, water resources, water treatment, wastewater treatment, watershed science or a related field.
• Bachelor's degree from four-year college or university in related a field, or technical degree from a technical, scientific, or trade institution in a related field is preferred.

Technical:

• Customer Service: Friendly with strong customer service skills and able to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to customers and co-workers.
• Communication: Able to tactfully, directly, and professionally communicate in English, both written and verbal. Able to write reports and communicate research clearly and succinctly.
• Data Analysis: Uses Microsoft Office, SharePoint, R, and PowerBI to assist water conservation staff with organizing and tracking data. Computer proficiency and experience with Excel is required. Experience with data cleaning and visualization in R is preferred. 
• Water Science: Working knowledge and understanding of water conveyance systems, science communication techniques, irrigation system efficiency, and native and adapted landscape design is preferred. 

Pay Range 

The pay range for a Water Conservation Data Analyst Intern is $23.74 - $33.22 per hour. The starting range depends on qualifications but generally falls within the minimum and midpoint of the pay range. 

Benefits 

At ERWSD, we value life-work balance and are leaders in the industry with our holistic benefits package, which includes but is not limited to: 

• $479 monthly employee housing stipend 
• Wellness program 
• 457 retirement savings plans 
• Paid holidays 
• $700 annual recreation benefit 

All District employees must submit to a pre-employment drug screen and extensive background check including an educational verification and reference check. For a full position description including work environment and physical demands, email erwsdjobs@erwsd.org. All applicants must apply online at www.erwsd.org by March 31, 2025. 

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer 

We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, genetic information or any other status protected by law or regulation. It is our intention that all qualified applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions are based on job-related factors. 

Salary : $700