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Military veterans are well positioned to take advantage of National University's Bachelor of Public Administration degree with a Waterworks Management focus. Photo: National University waterworks management degree

Waterworks Management Degree Program Supports Career Growth

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Water and wastewater industry employees can advance their professional careers with a specialty degree to help them achieve their goals. The industry offers vast opportunities in engineering, operations, finance, public affairs, human resources, administration and information technology.

The Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA) degree with a concentration in Waterworks Management is offered by National University in partnership with Cuyamaca College. Monir Masoud, Director of Community College Pathways at National University, said scholarship opportunities can help reduce the cost of the degree program by as much as 46%.

Masoud said prospective students with an associate’s degree from any California community college can complete the degree using the one course per month format in 17 months, which is ideal for working professionals following a nontraditional educational path.

“We have a support system that we walk step by step with students,” said Masoud. “Students start with an enrollment advisor, then academic financial aid, and faculty.”

Students can also stretch out the courses with breaks when needed and continue to progress toward their degree at their own pace. Three students have completed the degree’s course requirements to date.

Value as a career advancement tool

Water industry professionals can accelerate their career advancement through higher education. Photo: National University

Water industry professionals can accelerate their career advancement through higher education. Photo: National University

The waterwork management degree, launched 18 months ago, was developed in collaboration with regional employers and driven by growing demands for skilled career professionals in the water and wastewater industry.

Graduates will be able to address the issues and challenges facing water and wastewater agencies at the state, regional, and local levels, including governing requirements and regulatory compliance, while employing water management best practices.

“I would tell my employees go get schooling because they become a change agent, said Masoud.”Most of our organizations, especially in California, are doing a great job upskilling their employees. And we have this tuition reimbursement ready for them. Employers can retain and maintain their workforce in this tough market we are in.”

Demand for skilled water and wastewater professionals

California Dept. of Water Resources staff services manager Norma Alvarado talks with students at a water industry career fair showcasing a broad array of options. Photo: Kelly M. Grow, California Department of Water Resources waterworks management degree

California Dept. of Water Resources staff services manager Norma Alvarado talks with students at a water industry career fair showcasing a broad array of options. Photo: Kelly M. Grow/California Department of Water Resources

The water and wastewater industry’s rapidly growing demand for highly skilled professionals shows no signs of slowing in the coming years. Impending retirements will create a need to fill California’s 12,000 to 20,000 water and wastewater jobs. Many of these positions require a bachelor’s degree, such as the National University BPA degree.

As seasoned leaders retire, water and wastewater agencies struggle to fill job vacancies requiring a focused bachelor’s degree. Students earning the new degree will complete National University’s four-course concentration of upper-division courses studying water and waterworks management and leadership, water law and compliance, and human resources and labor law.

Degree program well suited for military veterans  

National University offers all BPA courses online. Students can begin the BPA program at any time.

The BPA waterworks concentration is particularly well suited for veterans using their GI benefits to further their education. Veterans are eligible to apply their military experience and education toward certifications in the water industry.

Meet the California Farmers Awash in Colorado River Water, Even in a Drought

/in , , /by /NPRby Dan Charles

A few hundred farms in the southern tip of California, along the Mexican border, may hold the key to saving the drought-plagued Colorado River from collapse.

These farmers, in Imperial County, currently draw more water from the Colorado River than all of Arizona and Nevada combined. They inherited the legal right to use that water, but they’re now under pressure to give up some of it.

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More High-Elevation Wildfire is Sapping Western Snowpack, Study Finds

/in , , /by /KUNCby Kaleb Roedel

Researchers from Colorado State University focused on areas they call “late snow zones” – regions in the Western mountains where snow doesn’t typically melt until May or later.

They found that between 1984 and 2020, wildfire activity increased in 70% of these zones throughout the West. The mountain ranges studied included the Sierra Nevada, Cascades, Basin and Range, and Northern and Southern Rockies.

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California Wells Run Dry as Drought Depletes Groundwater

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Terry Chea

As California’s drought deepens, Elaine Moore’s family is running out of an increasingly precious resource: water.

The Central Valley almond growers had two wells go dry this summer. Two of her adult children are now getting water from a new well the family drilled after the old one went dry last year. She’s even supplying water to a neighbor whose well dried up.

“It’s been so dry this last year. We didn’t get much rain. We didn’t get much snowpack,” Moore said, standing next to a dry well on her property in Chowchilla, California. “Everybody’s very careful with what water they’re using. In fact, my granddaughter is emptying the kids’ little pool to flush the toilets.”

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California Officials Warn of More Water Restrictions in 2023 as Fourth Year of Drought Looms

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

California cities and farms should brace for little or no water from the state’s big reservoirs in the coming year, a prospect that signals more water restrictions for households and more fallowed fields in the farm belt.

The warning was delivered Monday by state and federal water officials who said they are preparing for the possibility of a fourth year of drought. Both are considering, at least initially, reduced allocations for the many water agencies that contract for reservoir supplies from California’s sprawling water projects.

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Supreme Court Hears Lively Debate on Protecting Wetlands, Led in Part by Justice Jackson

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby David G. Savage Quoted: https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-10-03/supreme-court-hears-lively-debate-protecting-wetlands

The Supreme Court opened its new term on Monday by hearing a property rights appeal that calls for limiting the government’s power to protect millions of acres of wetlands from development.

At issue is whether the Clean Water Act forbids polluting wetlands and marshes that are near — but not strictly part of — waterways.

San Diegans Could Soon Pay a Lot More for Water as Long-Delayed Rate Analysis Moves Forward

/in , /by /La Jolla Lightby David Garrick

San Diego officials say they will complete a long-delayed comprehensive analysis of city water rates this year that could lead to sharp increases to help pay for major infrastructure projects such as the Pure Water sewage purification system now under construction.

The last time San Diego completed such an analysis in 2015, city officials voted to raise water rates by 40 percent over four years.

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How California’s Salton Sea Went From Vacation Destination to Toxic Nightmare

/in , /by /Gristby Zoya Teirstein

In the spring of 1905, the Colorado River, bursting with seasonal rain, topped an irrigation canal and flooded the site of a dried lake bed in Southern California. The flooding, which continued for two years before engineers sealed up the busted channel, created an unexpected gem in the middle of the arid California landscape: the Salton Sea. In the decades that followed, vacationers, water skiers, and speed boat enthusiasts flocked to the body of water. The Beach Boys and the Marx Brothers docked their boats at the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club, which opened in 1959. At the time, it seemed like the Salton Sea, and the vibrant communities that had sprung up around it, would be there for centuries to come.

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Water Affordability Focus of Water Authority Roundtable

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Water affordability for ratepayers was the topic of discussion during a legislative roundtable Thursday at the San Diego County Water Authority. The Water Authority convened state, regional and local officials in search of winning strategies for enhancing water affordability for ratepayers across the county and the state.

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California Drought Pits Farmers vs. Cities. But Neither is the Biggest Water Victim

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

As California fast approaches what is likely to be a fourth year of punishing drought, residents are being asked to cut their water use to historic lows. But while city dwellers are rising to the occasion — including record reductions in Los Angeles in August — urban consumption still represents only a small fraction of total water use in the state.

Where the rest of it goes depends on whom you ask. The California Department of Water Resources says 50% of the state’s water goes toward environmental purposes, 40% toward agriculture and 10% toward urban areas.

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