Seventeen Clean Water Certificates Earned as Pasadena Trains Its Own Stormwater Workforce

Seventeen Clean Water Certificates were earned after a five-day training program hosted by the Pasadena Department of Public Works, Public Works Director Greg de Vinck announced.

The program is the first step in the City’s Green Infrastructure Workforce Initiative, intended to provide training and education for existing city staff so they can operate and maintain Pasadena’s growing portfolio of stormwater capture projects as those projects move through design, into construction and into long-term operation.

Public Works ran the course July 20–24 with the Center for Watershed Protection, a national nonprofit founded in 1992 and focused on protecting and restoring watersheds through research, education and technical assistance. Classroom, hands-on and field-based instruction covered green infrastructure components, stormwater management principles, maintenance and inspection techniques, and operational principles.

Participants learned about watersheds, stormwater pollution, green infrastructure systems, materials and components, construction practices and maintenance. Daily quizzes and field visits to existing stormwater facilities at the Norton Simon Museum, the Rose Bowl and the Berkshire Creek Area Improvement Project preceded a final examination on July 24.

MASH supervisors and trainees, Parks, Recreation and Community Services and Public Works staff, Amigos de Los Rios, city consultants and project partners took part. At the Norton Simon Museum, parks staff and MASH workers set up survey equipment. The initiative gives MASH an opportunity to expand its existing training program to incorporate a Clean Water curriculum for ongoing education and career development in Pasadena and the region, the city said.

The certificate demonstrates proficiency in foundational skills and knowledge for entry-level work in the stormwater management industry. Completing the program also lets participants pursue a future instructor training course and work toward becoming Clean Water Certificate instructors, building the city’s workforce capacity in green stormwater infrastructure.

Additional information on training will be posted as it develops at cityofpasadena.net/public-works/stormwater.

For more, contat the city’s Stormwater Program Administrator at SWAdministrator@cityofpasadena.net or to the City Service Center at (626) 744-7311.