Jobs / Management and business operations / 11-9121.02
Water Resource Specialists
Design or implement programs and strategies related to water resource issues such as supply, quality, and regulatory compliance issues.
- US jobs
- 108,690 (SOC 11-9121 group, "Natural Sciences Managers")
- Median wage
- $167,220 a year
- Job family
- Management and business operations
Can agents do the work of water resource specialists?
We read the evidence for the whole job family, Management and business operations: Some tasks (first measured in the last 12 months)
Agents complete 20% or more of the tasks (or projects) on a direct benchmark.
Evidence: SOP-Bench, 72.4% of tasks completed.
6% of this occupation's work, by O*NET work activities, is measured by a direct benchmark (figures for the SOC 11-9121 group).
- 7%Coordinate activities with clients, agencies, or organizationsNot measured
- 6%Develop organizational policies, systems, or processesNot measured
- 5%Prepare proposals or grant applicationsNot measured
- 5%Evaluate green technologies or processesNot measured
- 4%Direct organizational operations, activities, or proceduresNot measured
- 4%Develop plans for managing or preserving natural resourcesNot measured
- 3%Analyze data to improve operationsNot measured
- 3%Interview people to obtain informationNot measured
Benchmarks for the job family
These cover work in management and business operations, not always this occupation's tasks.
Direct evidence
Work benchmarks mapped primary to this family. They set the step when they report how many tasks agents complete.
Also relevant
These benchmarks cover part of this family's work, or have no result yet. They do not set its step.
- 45.9%Claude Opus 4.6 · 16 Mar 2026Emerging
- 58.2%Codex + GPT-6 Astra (max) · 3 Sep 2026Emerging
Context only
These benchmarks span many occupations, or they test how agents behave. They give context but do not set the step.
- 1846 EloClaude Opus 5.5 (Adaptive Reasoning, Max Effort, Default Fallback) · 23 Sep 2026Unrated
- 42.9%TTE-MatrixAgent + DeepSeek-V3.2 · 10 Nov 2025Emerging
Typical tasks
From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.
- Perform hydrologic, hydraulic, or water quality modeling.
- Analyze storm water systems to identify opportunities for water resource improvements.
- Conduct, or oversee the conduct of, investigations on matters such as water storage, wastewater discharge, pollutants, permits, or other compliance and regulatory issues.
- Develop strategies for watershed operations to meet water supply and conservation goals or to ensure regulatory compliance with clean water laws or regulations.
- Conduct technical studies for water resources on topics such as pollutants and water treatment options.
- Review or evaluate designs for water detention facilities, storm drains, flood control facilities, or other hydraulic structures.
- Present water resource proposals to government, public interest groups, or community groups.
- Develop plans to protect watershed health or rehabilitate watersheds.
- Write proposals, project reports, informational brochures, or other documents on wastewater purification, water supply and demand, or other water resource subjects.
- Conduct cost-benefit studies for watershed improvement projects or water management alternatives.
- Provide technical expertise to assist communities in the development or implementation of storm water monitoring or other water programs.
- Compile and maintain documentation on the health of a body of water.
Other job titles for this occupation (14)
Water Resources Planner · Community Resource Consultant · Environmental Resource Specialist · Hydrotechnical Specialist · Hydrotechnician · Power Supply Engineer · Resource Specialist · Water Quality Specialist · Water Resource Agent · Water Resource Consultant · Water Resource Engineering Specialist · Water Resource Specialist · Water Restoration Technician · Water Rights Specialist