Utilities Regulatory Compliance Internship

The City of San Clemente is seeking motivated and detail-oriented individuals to join the Public Works Department, Utilities Division as Utilities Regulatory Compliance Interns.

This internship is a great opportunity for students or early-career professionals interested in environmental science, water quality, public utilities, regulatory compliance, sustainability, public health, or local government. Interns will gain hands-on experience supporting City utility programs related to recycled water, water quality, environmental protection, backflow prevention, cross-connection control, inspections, records management, and regulatory reporting.

Working under the guidance of experienced Utilities staff, interns will assist with a variety of administrative, analytical, and field-support tasks that help the City maintain safe, reliable, and compliant utility operations.

The City’s Regulatory Compliance Analyst supports recycled water, water quality, environmental protection, backflow, cross-connection control, regulatory tracking, inspections, audits, records, reporting, and public/customer communication. This internship would be designed to support those program areas.

• Assist with organizing and maintaining compliance records, inspection files, program documents, and tracking logs
• Support recycled water, backflow prevention, cross-connection control, water quality, and environmental compliance program activities
• Help compile, review, and organize data related to inspections, monitoring, testing, corrective actions, and compliance status
• Assist with preparing reports, spreadsheets, correspondence, maps, presentations, notices, outreach materials, and other written documents
• Participate in field visits, site inspections, recycled water site reviews, and coverage testing activities under staff supervision
• Assist with tracking backflow testing records, customer notifications, program follow-up items, and outstanding compliance documentation
• Conduct basic research on utility, water quality, environmental, recycled water, or regulatory topics
• Help review forms, program materials, procedures, and records for completeness and accuracy
• Support audits, evaluations, and follow-up tracking by organizing documentation and confirming assigned items are complete
• Communicate professionally with City staff, laboratories, outside agencies, utility customers, and members of the public, as appropriate
• Assist with special projects that improve program organization, data tracking, records retention, customer communication, or internal procedures

Interns may help with data collection, research, records, reports, and inspection support, but would not be expected to independently perform complex regulatory analysis, make final compliance determinations, issue citations, or represent the City on regulatory matters without direction.

The ideal candidate is curious, organized, dependable, and interested in learning how environmental compliance and public utility operations work in a municipal setting.

This internship is a strong fit for someone who enjoys a mix of office work, field exposure, data organization, research, and public service. The successful candidate will be comfortable working with detailed records, spreadsheets, technical information, and regulatory materials, while also being willing to learn from staff in the field.

The ideal candidate will also:

• Be interested in environmental science, biology, chemistry, water quality, public utilities, sustainability, public health, engineering, or local…