Career Descriptions
The Water Security Agency has upcoming opportunities for graduates of diploma programs in Civil Engineering Technologies, Environmental Engineering Technology and similar disciplines.
We also employ university graduates of Engineering and Geosciences programs.
If you have an undergraduate or graduate degree in Environmental Science, you may be interested in our Environmental Science careers.
Environmental Regulatory careers require a degree in Environmental Science, Natural Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) or Engineering.
Technologist Careers
Engineering, Hydrology and Hydrogeology Careers
Environmental Science Careers
Environmental Regulatory Careers
Technologist
If you graduated from Civil Engineering Technologies, Environmental Technology, or a similar discipline, join the Water Security Agency as a technologist:
Regional Services
Technologists in Regional Services provide front-line service to customers that range from farmers and homeowners, to rural municipality administrators and councillors, people who work with other government agencies, watershed associations, irrigation districts, engineering consulting companies and others. You’ll divide your time between the office and the field, handling a broad spectrum of water management activities, including project inspections, water supply issues, dam structure operations, agricultural drainage, flood protection and others. Every day will be different.
Dam Safety and Major Structures
As of Oct. 2015, we own, maintain and operate 49 dams throughout Saskatchewan that supply the majority of the province’s drinking water, help reduce flood damage and supply water for other needs. Technologists working in Dam Safety and Major Structures are stationed at one of our four major dams or work from our Moose Jaw head office, monitoring smaller structures all over the province. You will use sophisticated equipment to precisely monitor the integrity of the dams and keep citizens safe.
Water Rights and Approvals, Licensing and Water Use
A safe and secure water supply is essential to our province’s continued economic development and high standard of living. As a Technologist, Water Rights and Approvals, Licensing and Water Use, you’ll be part of the regulatory programs that ensure sustainable use of our water resources. Customers apply for water allocation for municipal, industrial and agricultural use. You’ll use your strong communication skills to explain the approvals process and its importance. Your knowledge of engineering technology related to hydrology, hydrogeology, geology and physical sciences will be key to analyzing proposals and making decisions.
Hydrogeological
As a technologist in our Groundwater Services team, you’ll advise people about the location of aquifers when drilling wells, help them protect and improve well water quality, and assist them with information about decommissioning wells. You’ll also collect information and maintain our network of 70 monitoring wells that have been reporting on the state of aquifers since the 1960s. Your customers include landowners, communities, well drilling companies, coworkers, and other government agencies and watershed associations.
Hydrometric
Our hydrometric technologists measure and record critical information about lake levels and stream flows from 283 stations throughout Saskatchewan. This information helps the Province forecast and respond to floods and drought, and is used in all scales of infrastructure projects, from deciding the size of culverts required in a road, to major bridge and dam construction. Citizens also use lake level and stream flow information regularly – it’s the most visited section of our website. If you like to work carefully with data, to see Saskatchewan, and to spend time outdoors, this job could be a great fit for you.
Engineering Services
Engineering Services is our hands-on implementation team. As a technologist, you’ll be involved in detailed surveying when we’re constructing anything, from a flood control project, to a canal, or a dam rehabilitation. Your work could include opportunities to administer construction contracts and supervise contractors. You could also be part of inspecting, operating and maintaining the completed project. Your customers are most often coworkers. For example, you might work with others in Engineering as a project moves from the planning phase through design and into construction, or with Regional Services to find a way to route water that will reduce flood damage.
We’re looking for Engineers, Hydrologists and Hydrogeologists:
Project Engineer
As a project engineer you’ll provide professional engineering services and support in the investigation, design, construction and rehabilitation of all types of water management projects. Your clients will be external, like rural municipalities, and internal, working with teams throughout the organization on our own dams and other water management infrastructure. You’ll conduct field inspections, design projects, prepare cost estimates, technical documentation and drawings, meet with regulators, landowners and other stakeholders, administer contracts, provide site supervision and manage the work of engineering consultants.
Dam Safety and Major Structures Engineer
We own and operate 49 dams in the province, ranging from large, like Gardiner Dam that forms Lake Diefenbaker, to small earth dams. These dams provide water supplies and recreation. Large dams also mitigate the effects of flooding. You’ll specialize in the field of dam safety, dam operations and maintenance, or geotechnical engineering, and be part of the team that ensures all of our dams are operated and maintained in accordance with our Dam Safety Management Policy. In this way, we know that our dams are safe and we can maximize their benefits for the citizens of Saskatchewan. The job involves working closely with colleagues, managing the work of engineering consultants, providing oversight of all aspects of dam safety management, conducting dam safety inspections, studies and analyses, and developing emergency action plans, and operation, maintenance and surveillance manuals. You’ll also have the responsibility of guiding the work of technologists and tradespeople, and providing geotechnical design and construction services.
Structural Design Engineer
As a structural design engineer you’ll provide professional engineering services for the planning, coordination, design and construction of hydraulic structures owned and operated by the Water Security Agency. You’ll evaluate the safe load carrying capacity of spillway bridges, perform inspections and design structural rehabilitation on a variety of hydraulic structures, including riparian facilities, outlet capacity upgrades, hydraulic gates, bulkheads, stoplogs, storage facilities, pumping stations, water control structures and other structural components. During the design and rehabilitation of structures, you’ll review documents and drawings prepared by engineering consultants, write and manage contracts, write specifications for procurement, and manage tendering. Providing technical guidance to colleagues on the structural aspects of their work will be another facet of your job.
Approvals Engineer
You’ll be part of the team that ensures drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in Saskatchewan is built according to regulations. You’ll review project designs, issue permits for construction, inspect water and sewage infrastructure, and work with communities and consultants to find solutions to infrastructure issues. You’ll handle applications from all over the province, becoming familiar with a great variety of projects and technologies, from time tested standards, to new and emerging designs. Approvals Engineers are part of our large team that protects public health and our environment.
Hydrologist
Our hydrology team does real time forecasting and long term planning for Saskatchewan’s water resources. As part of that team, you’ll provide advice and technical support to a broad base of clients that includes SaskPower, rural municipalities, the Ministries of Highways and Infrastructure and Government Relations, engineering consultants, colleagues in our regional and engineering offices, and individual landowners. The forecasting team monitors weather conditions, stream flows and lake levels, using information collected from 283 hydrometric stations around the province. This information helps us forecast and respond to floods, plan for droughts and direct the operations of our structures. Our hydrology studies are used in all scales of infrastructure projects, from deciding the size of culverts required in a road, to major bridge and dam construction or rehabilitation.
Hydrologists also prepare reservoir operating plans to meet the desired mix of water supply, recreation, power protection and flood protection benefits. Regulators of development will rely on you for flood risk assessments. You’ll interpret hydraulic models as part of drainage and infrastructure projects and complete water supply studies to understand overall availability of water for industrial, municipal and agricultural projects.
Hydrogeologist
As a hydrogeologist, you’ll provide technical support to your colleagues in our organization and government ministries including the Ministries of Environment, Agriculture and Government Relations. You’ll identify and complete hydrogeological studies and provide support to environmental assessments by evaluating the impact of proposed development on groundwater quality and quantity.
As part of our groundwater licensing process, you’ll assess hydrogeological studies prepared by consultants. The hydrogeological team maintains and reports on Saskatchewan’s Groundwater Level Observation Well Network. This series of 70 wells throughout the southern half of the province has been reporting on groundwater levels and quality of water since the 1960s.
Our interprovincial and intergovernmental agreements involve the hydrogeology team to insure good governance and sustainable use of shared groundwater resources. A large part of the job involves careful analysis, turning hydrogeological information and data into meaningful cause and effect relationships. Groundwater resource assessments ensure we have the ‘big picture’ oversight of the quality and quantity of groundwater resources in Saskatchewan.
In Environmental Science, we have future opportunities for ecologists and agrologists.
Aquatic Habitat Protection Ecologist (bachelor’s degree)
You’ll be part of our regulatory group that protects aquatic habitat from the impact of development in, or near, water in Saskatchewan. Provincial legislation requires individuals and corporations to obtain an aquatic habitat protection permit before conducting work in, or near, water. You’ll review these applications for permits. Reviews may require site inspections. You’ll guide contractors, consultants and developers, the public, and conservation officers to help them minimize or eliminate impacts of human activities on aquatic habitat.
Aquatic Habitat and Population Ecologist (master’s degree)
Our organization manages water levels and flows in Saskatchewan’s lakes and rivers. The Aquatic Habitat and Population Ecologist insures that our activities do not have a negative effect on aquatic species or their habitat. In this position, you’ll also advise our engineering and hydrology teams about environmental issues and provide direction on demonstrating due diligence, measures for mitigation, and requirements for permits to comply with provincial and federal regulations. You’ll also lead field research to understand and address environmental concerns related to water management.
Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Ecologist (master’s degree)
Aquatic macroinvertebrates act as indicators of water quality – different types of macroinvertebrates tolerate different water conditions and levels of pollution. You will collaborate with our policy, engineering and planning teams to lead projects to study surface water protection alongside human activity. You’ll identify environmental problems, design studies to address these issues, find external funding, collect data, and provide recommendations about how to proceed with development while conserving aquatic habitat.
Avian Ecologist (master’s degree)
You’ll support our environmental responsibilities through ecological research and applied management. Your research and development of species specific management plans will reduce risks associated with human activities. You’ll work on projects that range from Species at Risk, to waterfowl and wetlands. In this position you’ll be able to apply your technical skills, participate in field programs, collect and analyze data, and prepare reports. Your customers are colleagues, other agencies and ministries, and special interest groups.
In-Stream Flow Assessment Ecologist (master’s degree)
You’ll examine the interface between water management and sensitive species, or Species at Risk. This work involves securing research funding from external partners and maintaining positive relationships with those partners. The four month summer field season will be busy with hiring and mentoring temporary employees and collecting data. Then you’ll compile the data, analyze it, and prepare reports for funders.
Water Quality Ecologist or Scientist (Scientist requires a master’s degree.)
As a Water Resource Ecologist or Scientist, you’ll plan and conduct water sampling and manage and interpret the data collected. You’ll be a source of technical expertise and information to colleagues and watershed stewardship groups, with your time divided between the office and the field. This position presents the opportunity to be involved in interesting data analyses and the important work of protecting water quality.
Water Resource Science Ecologist (master’s degree)
As a Water Resource Science Ecologist, you’ll provide science and engineering expertise to inform water management decisions. The Ministry of Environment will refer to your expert reviews of environmental assessment proposals when issuing approvals for large scale resource development and industrial activities in Saskatchewan. The key objective of your work will be to minimize negative impacts of resource development and industrial activities on aquatic ecosystems.
Agrologist (BSc in Agriculture or Agribusiness)
Our agrologists work with agricultural producers, rural municipalities, watershed groups and First Nations on water management issues related to water quality, flooding and wildlife habitat. You’ll provide technical advice, deliver incentive programs, and educate stakeholders on issues. Your work could include projects with landowners to restore wetlands, meeting with rural municipalities and regulators to help reduce the impact of agricultural drainage, advising landowners on seeding forage and reducing erosion, speaking at educational events for landowners, and conducting field work to study the impact of development on wetlands.
Environmental Regulatory Careers
Approvals Engineer
Environmental Project Officer
This regulatory role focuses on municipal and privately-owned waterworks and sewage works. You’ll permit, regulate and inspect these systems to ensure public health and safety and help protect the environment. You’ll work closely with communities, and operators of the works, providing technical assistance and ensuring their facilities achieve the best possible quality of drinking water and wastewater effluent. You’ll also work with other ministries and engineering consultants, providing advice on system expansions, upgrades and other projects.
Environmental Business Analyst (requires a degree in Data Management)
Our Environmental Business Systems team compiles, analyzes, interprets and shares the large amount of data we collect regarding water: drinking water, wastewater, surface water and groundwater. As an analyst, your customer base will include our environmental project officers throughout the province, our engineering and approvals group, our regional teams and external clients. You’ll also work closely with the Ministry of Environment to protect water from contamination by landfills, industrial works, spills, hazardous substances, waste and dangerous goods.
