Exam Bulletin - Water Resources Technician I

Department of Water Resources

Exam Code: EX-2937

Examination Plans Included:

  • WATER RESOURCES TECHNICIAN I - Open

Final Filing Date: Applications are accepted on a continuous basis.

Classification Details

WATER RESOURCES TECHNICIAN I: $4,425.00 - $5,539.00 per Month

View the WATER RESOURCES TECHNICIAN I classification specification.

Application Instructions

This is not a timed exam. If you request a Reasonable Accommodation your account will be locked and you will not be able to proceed with the exam until the request is processed.

Applications are accepted on a continuous basis.

Who Should Apply:

The information below will help you determine which classification(s) is(are) appropriate for you. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications as stated on this bulletin to compete in this examination.

Open and Open, Non-Promotional Examination(s):

  • WATER RESOURCES TECHNICIAN I - Open

For all Classifications, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 6 months:

Exam Code(s):

    2937

For WATER RESOURCES TECHNICIAN I, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 6 months:

Exam Code(s):

  • EX-02937

How To Apply:

Submit an Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) to apply for this examination.

Electronic applications can be submitted through your account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov.

Special Testing Arrangements:

If you require assistance or alternative testing arrangements due to a disability, indicate on your application that you need reasonable accommodation. You will be contacted by a representative of the testing department to make the necessary arrangements. If you have not been contacted by the time you receive notification of testing, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

If you are unable to submit your application or complete the test due to a disability, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

Minimum Qualifications

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this exam bulletin to be accepted to the examination.

Unless otherwise stated in the Minimum Qualifications, qualifying experience may be combined on a proportionate basis if the requirements stated below include more than one pattern and are distinguished as "Either" 1, "or" 2, "or" 3, etc. For example, applicants possessing qualifying experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 1 and additional experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 2 may be accepted to an examination as meeting 100% of the overall experience requirement.

00103044 - WATER RESOURCES TECHNICIAN I

Either 1

One year of experience in the California state service performing duties comparable to a Junior Engineering Technician, Range B.

Or 2

Three years of nonprofessional civil engineering experience. (Experience in California state service applied toward this pattern must include one year of experience performing appropriate duties comparable in level of responsibility to those of a Junior Engineering Technician, Range B.) (Coursework in an engineering curriculum beyond the twelfth grade may be substituted for the required experience on a year-for-year basis.)

Position Description

00103044 - WATER RESOURCES TECHNICIAN I

This is the entry and first working level for the series. Under supervision, incumbents at this level perform the less complex and difficult nonprofessional engineering work in any phase of the State's water resources program. Typical Water Resources Technician I tasks include making field and laboratory tests on construction materials or water samples; assisting with foundation and hydraulic investigations; making routine engineering calculations; assisting with design work, plans, estimates, reports and specifications; making and revising working plans, drawings, maps, charts, and diagrams; preparing property descriptions; distributing the water of a stream system or ground water basin in accordance with agreements or court orders; installing, calibrating, operating, and maintaining water measuring devices; making current meter measurements, computing stream flow, and rating gauging stations; participating in snow surveys, and in ground water, crop, land use, and irrigated area investigations; preparing reports and memoranda; acting as a member of a survey party under the direction of a licensed surveyor performing field surveying tasks; inspecting the maintenance of levees, channels, floodways, and control structures; may use underwater diving equipment in connection with underwater inspection and repair of structures and facilities of the State Water Project; may operate computers in the course of the work; and performing other related work.

For information regarding position location(s), please refer to the Eligible List Information section.

Examination Information

We recommend using Chrome, Firefox, or Edge for optimal performance when accessing the examination.

This examination consists of the following component(s):

Component OrderComponent TypeComponent DuePercentage of Final Score
1CalHR Online ExamN/A100%

A final score of 70% must be attained to be placed on the eligible list.

In addition to evaluating the applicant's relative knowledge, skill and ability as demonstrated by quality and breadth of education/experience, emphasis in each test component will be on measuring competitively, relative to job demands, each applicant's:

Knowledge of:
  1. Surveying methods 
  2. Methods, material, tools, and equipment used in engineering construction 
  3. Methods of proportioning and handling concrete
  4. Physical characteristics and approved testing methods of measuring water and construction materials 
  5. Methods of measuring water and water measuring devices 
  6. Using packaged computer programs to process information
Ability to:
  1. Read and write English at a level required for successful job performance
  2. Use surveying instruments, and assist in the preparation of designs, plans, estimates, reports, and specifications 
  3. Install and maintain water-stage recorders and other water measuring devices 
  4. Prepare property descriptions
  5. Gather data for and make civil engineering and surveying computations and compilations 
  6. Analyze situations accurately and take effective action 
  7. Prepare reports

Eligible List Information

A Departmental Open eligible list for the WATER RESOURCES TECHNICIAN I Classification will be established for:

  • Department of Water Resources

The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the eligible list(s) in order of final score regardless of test date. Eligibility expires 12 months after it is established. Applicants must then retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

Resulting Eligibility List(s) will be used to fill vacancies throughout the State of California.

Veterans' Preference will be granted for this examination. Veterans' Preference is an assistance program for veterans, veteran widows and widowers, and spouses of 100% disabled veterans who seek employment with the state. Veterans' Preference is also extended to currently serving military members nearing their retirement or separation date.

You are not eligible for Veteran's Preference if you are:

  • A veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released.
  • A veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran who currently has permanent civil service status. (Permanent civil service status is the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in his/her position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This does not include limited term).

Veterans' Preference is codified in Government Code Sections 18973 – 18979.

Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans' Preference are on the Veterans' Preference Application (Std. Form 1093), which is available at www.CalCareers.ca.gov, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Career Credits are not granted for examination(s) administered on an Open basis or a Promotional basis.

Water Resources Technician I Training and Experience Exam Preview

Section 1: Tasks

Instructions:
Rate your experience performing specific job-related tasks.

Respond to each of the following statements by indicating how the statement applies to you. You are required to respond to every question and provide relevant examples. Also, indicate the references who can verify the information provided.

In responding to each statement, you may refer to your WORK EXPERIENCE, whether paid or volunteer, you have completed.

PLEASE NOTE: This examination is designed to gain an overall assessment of your experience as it directly relates to the duties and the knowledge, skills and abilities required for this position. All components of this examination have been carefully validated by tying them directly to job requirements and documenting their relevance to the position.

  1. Performing routine calculations to assist with the preparation of formal test reports.
  2. Assisting in checking equipment (e.g., surveying/surveillance instruments, material testing, flow measurement devices, hydrographic data collection) to ensure proper operation.
  3. Assisting with the installation, calibration, and/or repair of water measurement equipment to ensure proper functionality.
  4. Operating water measurement devices to keep instrumentation in optimal working condition.
  5. Performing maintenance on flow meters (e.g., routine flushing, calibration, technical testing) to ensure proper functionality.
  6. Performing flow measurements and flow meter calibrations at turn-ins/turnouts, open channel and/or closed pipe systems to ensure accurate measurement of water.
  7. Performing preventative maintenance (e.g., checking oil, checking fluid levels, test operation of generators) to ensure proper operation of equipment.
  8. Assisting in collecting basic data by checking water supply and diversions.
  9. Collecting water samples to test and analyze water quality.
  10. Maintaining water quality test equipment to ensure compliance.
  11. Chemically treating water to improve water quality conditions.
  12. Utilizing computer programs to perform data entry and prepare documents and correspondence.

Testing Departments

  • Department of Water Resources

Contact Information

Technical questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

California Department of Human Resources
CalCareer Service Center
1810 16th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
Phone: (866) 844-8671
CalCareer@CalHR.CA.GOV

Administrative questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

Department of Water Resources
Department of Water Resources
P. O. Box 1079
Sacramento, CA 95812
Phone: (916) 653-4838

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice). TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The State of California is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

Drug Free Statement

It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free State work place. Any applicant for State employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective, because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing civil service, and the special trust placed in public servants.

General Information

Examination and/or Employment Application (STD 678) forms are available at the California Department of Human Resources, local offices of the Employment Development Department, and through your CalCareer Account (www.CalCareers.ca.gov).

If you meet the requirements stated on this examination bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination described in this bulletin will be rated against a predetermined job-related rating, and all applicants who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

Department of Water Resources reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all applicants will be notified.

General Qualifications: Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, the ability to work cooperatively with others, and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) sub-divisional promotional, 2) departmental promotional, 3) multi-departmental promotional, 4) service-wide promotional, 5) departmental open, 6) open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older must be used first. Eligible lists will expire in one to four years unless otherwise stated on the bulletin.

High School Equivalence: Equivalence to completion of the 12th grade may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways: 1) passing the General Education Development (GED) Test; 2) completion of 12 semester units of college-level work; 3) certification from the State Department of Education, a local school board, or high school authorities that the competitor is considered to have education equivalent to graduation from high school; or 4) for clerical and accounting classes, substitution of business college work in place of high school on a year-for-year basis.

Accepted applicants must provide proof of identification at each in-person test session. Acceptable identification consists of a photo identification card or two forms of signed identification.
Application Methods:
Electronic (Your CalCareer Account)