Water Resources Data Management AmeriCorps Member – Ohio River Basin

The Water Resources Data Management AmeriCorps Member will be responsible for managing various projects in support of stream impact investigations and associated collection/management of a range of data relevant to water resources management (e.g. water quality/chemistry, hydrologic, fish/salamanders/macroinvertebrates, geomorphic and geospatial). This member will be responsible for keeping-up with equipment maintenance, data collection, and data management on a consistent basis to ensure minimal data loss. Persistent coordination with landowners and partner organizations will be critical for advancing project objectives. The Water Resources Data Management AmeriCorps Member will spearhead efforts such as: 1) planning, deploying, and managing a network of hydrologic monitoring equipment as an effort to assess the role of “underlying sanitary infrastructure” in unnatural stream drying, 2) working with regional volunteer stream monitoring groups to get their data upload into a common open-access database to facilitate accessing, mapping and analyzing the data on a common platform (this is a pilot project for a state-wide initiative) and 3) mapping sources of impacts to instream biology. This member, under the advisement on our Stream Specialist, will be given the opportunity to take ownership of such projects and work independently on methods development and project implementation. Detailed documentation of work completed and well-organized data management are critical expectations associated with all aspects of this position.

Responsibilities:

• Identifying potential stream monitoring sites and coordinating with landowners to gain site access and associated permissions
• Procuring, deploying, and maintaining hydrologic monitoring devices within many headwater streams throughout the County. This will include some physically challenging work to be conduced independently (e.g. pounding rebar into cobble/fractured bedrock streambeds)
• Conducting stream assessments (e.g. geomorphic, physical habitat, biological)
• Conducting field assessments of road crossings as potential fish migration barriers
• Conducting mapping and geospatial analyses, using ArcGIS products, in support of field work, hydrologic modeling, watershed management planning/prioritization, and creation of public facing mapping, dashboards, and/or analytical tools
• Practicing consistent and thoughtful data management to protect, and maximize the utility of, the fruits of your labor
• Providing leadership and work collaboratively with partner organizations solve data management problems associated with various types of data on stream condition to facilitate uploading of data to open-access databases (e.g. EPA’s Water Quality Exchange or WQX)
• Additional activities that fall within the goals of the program may be assigned with approval of the member, site supervisor and ORBCorps staff.

Qualifications:

• Must possess a high school diploma or GED
• Ability to efficiently manipulate and format data, and conduct basic calculations, in Microsoft Excel (this is a must)
• Past experience with ArcGIS
• Ability to independently learn new tasks/workflows in Excel/ArcGIS as needed
• Ability to independently conduct field work including carrying equipment (up to 50-pounds) over uneven (and periodically steep/slippery) terrain; and pounding rebar into cobble/fractured bedrock streambeds.
• Must successfully pass a comprehensive background and criminal investigation check.
• A valid driver’s license, insurance and a good driving record is required.

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