A best-in-class city that attracts best-in-class talent, Philadelphia is an incredible place to build a career. From our thriving arts scene and rich history to our culture of passion and grit, there are countless reasons to love living and working here. With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia offers boundless opportunities to make an impact.

As an employer, the City of Philadelphia values inclusion, integrity, innovation, empowerment, and hard work above all else. We offer a vibrant work environment and the experience you need to grow and excel. If you’re interested in working with a passionate team of people who care about the future of Philadelphia, start here.

What we offer

• Impact - The work you do here matters to millions. 
• Growth - Philadelphia is growing, why not grow with it? 
• Diversity & Inclusion - Find a career in a place where everyone belongs.
• Benefits - We care about your well-being.

Agency Description

The Philadelphia Water Department is a municipal department of approximately 2500 employees working in all facets to provide water/wastewater treatment services to the City of Philadelphia and the surrounding counties.

The Scientific and Regulatory Affairs (SRA) unit within PWD's Bureau of Laboratory Services (BLS) is responsible for managing the drinking water quality throughout PWD's drinking water distribution system (DWDS). SRA oversees and performs all PWD's regulatory monitoring programs for the DWDS, including developing and reviewing sampling plans, performing sampling, and reporting results. SRA collaborates with treatment, water conveyance, planning and research, and internal and external laboratories to ensure that PWD's drinking water is exceeding all state and federal regulatory requirements.

This full-time internship/co-op position will begin in April 2023 and end in September 2023. Schedules will be determined during the interview. The position will require candidates to work hybrid schedules, which means in-person and remote workdays.

Essential Functions

Students will be working with the Philadelphia Water Department's Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Unit (SRA) at the Bureau of Laboratory Services. Students will work under the direction of supervising civil and chemical engineers who are responsible for monitoring, investigating, and assisting in the operational decisions of the City's drinking water distribution system. The distribution system consists of a large network of mains, storage tanks, reservoirs, and pumping stations, and delivers 275 million gallons of water to 1.6 million people every day. SRA monitors the distribution system by analyzing both daily grab samples and real-time online water quality data transmitted from water quality sensors installed throughout the city. The Co-op student responsibilities include Managing, analyzing, and summarizing grab sample and online water quality instrument data for a variety of purposes, monitoring and classifying the outputs of event detection systems as part of the Contamination Warning System, carrying out research projects on various topics as needed (e.g., assessing field equipment alternatives), and assisting engineers during fieldwork. Fieldwork consists of visiting and investigating customer complaints, grab and online sampling locations, and other projects as needed. This position offers a healthy balance of field and lab work and will expose the student to the numerous requirements that must be met to ensure that PWD is providing safe drinking water to the city of Philadelphia.

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Knowledge of (or the desire to learn) advanced Excel skills is useful in this position because it often requires processing and display a large amount of data from several different sources. This position also requires the ability to learn and master several types of computer software programs, such as time series data management systems and geographic information systems (GIS), which may be used extensively depending on current projects.

Preferred Majors:

Chemical Engineering

Civil Engineering

Environmental Engineering

Environmental Sciences

Biological Sciences

TO APPLY: Interested candidates must submit a resume.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to [email protected].

For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx