Watershed Protection Technical Support Services

The City of Palo Alto Watershed Protection Program (Program) provides wastewater and stormwater pollution prevention programs to prevent pollution from entering creeks and San Francisco Bay. The Watershed Protection team also supports the Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) which is owned and operated by the City of Palo Alto (CITY) to provide wastewater treatment for East Palo Alto Sanitary District, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Stanford to comply with National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit requirements. The CONSULTANT for this contract would provide technical support to Program staff for wastewater pollution prevention.

The CITY has a long history of innovative commercial and industrial pollution prevention programs. It has also established integrated pest management (IPM) practices throughout CITY operations and has recently established a comprehensive school education program for K-8 students. These services require technical expertise to refine or develop new programs, documentation, trainings, and educational materials to ensure technical accuracy. This contract will build on prior work and will:

• Expand partnerships with vets and shelters to reduce the use of flea and tick pesticides to improve influent and effluent water quality
• Provide technical support as needed to the Watershed Protection Regulatory Team, “Fats, Oil and Grease (FOG) Inspection Program,” and Policy and Public Education Team
• Provide Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program support
• Expand awareness of wastewater careers in community colleges, high schools, and with other job-seekers to complement its current innovative K-8 education programs. This is in response to increasing community requests for public sector STEM career outreach services, and to address a current need in the water pollution prevention field to nurture a pipeline of future wastewater professional candidates.