Daniel Spivak
Water Resources Planner / Project Manager
San Francisco
Summary
Daniel Spivak is a water resources planner and project manager specializing in renewable energy development, with over seven years of experience delivering technically rigorous water supply, hydrology, and environmental analyses. His work sits at the intersection of water resources planning and applied hydrology, with a focus on water supply assessments, groundwater basin analysis, and regulatory compliance. He has led and contributed to complex environmental review documents (CEQA/NEPA), integrating hydrologic studies, water supply assessments, and geotechnical data to support defensible impact assessments. His project experience spans solar, wind, oil and gas, and mining sectors across California and the southwestern United States.
[DS1]Roadhouse cec app –hydro and minerals ; and geothermal projects
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Water Resources Planner/Project Manager - Renewables
Tetra Tech
10.2024 - Current
- Technical lead and subject matter expert: develop Water Supply Assessments (WSAs) for large-scale renewable energy projects.
- Technical lead and subject matter expert: develop water supply investigation reports for proposed renewable energy projects.
- Subject matter expert: conduct hydrologic, soils, minerals, and geologic analysis for Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs).
- Subject matter expert for Clean Water Act (CWA) permitting and aquatic resources desktop assessments for environmental reporting, including Critical Issues Analyses and Biological Resource Assessments.
Project Environmental Planner
SWCA Environmental Consultants
01.2022 - 04.2024
- Project Manager and lead author of NEPA Environmental Assessments (including robust air, water quantity, and greenhouse gas emissions analysis) for oil/gas clients in San Juan Basin, NM.
- Lead Author and field crew participant for 10+ CWA aquatic resources investigation reports and wetland delineations.
- Project Coordinator/Lead Report Author/and Water Resources Lead: responsible for coordinating Middle Rio Grande River wetland/habitat restoration, and water quality project; developed aquatic resources investigation and pre-construction notification reports for CWA permitting.
- Lead author on 6 WSAs for solar development projects in California and Colorado. Include comparison of supply and demand under different climatic scenarios.
- Technical lead: responsible for all technical aspects of large-scale groundwater well and water rights audit. Included lead report authorship, design of field data collection/interview forms, field crew coordination, dataset curation and analysis, and senior management interviews used to develop recommendations for company-wide improved water management. Entailed close coordination with client's legal counsel.
- Field Crew Chief: supervised field crew team during point-of-diversion and meter data collection for 116+ groundwater wells and totalizing flow meters in southeastern New Mexico.
Associate Planner
Dynamic Planning + Science
03.2020 - 12.2021
- CO state bill monitoring for water quality/quantity bills; drafted memos for elected officials.
- Conducted extensive research focused on key variables for successful water supply projects in Colorado.
- Developed natural hazard profiles for drought, climate change, flooding, sea level rise, and wildfire.
- Stakeholder facilitation and outreach to 8 water districts and agencies in Kern County, CA.
Research Intern
Stockholm Environment Institute
07.2017 - 10.2017
- Researched the role of inequitable labor scenarios in California in posing challenges to successful Groundwater Sustainability Plan implementation (publication below).
- Researched groundwater monitoring well design and operational requirements, including well log design, and policy implications of comprehensive monitoring investments; designed associated informational.
Research Intern
Community Water Center
05.2017 - 10.2017
- Created ArcGIS map layers indicating Disadvantaged Community Places and their jurisdictional relation to Groundwater Sustainability Agencies in the Tulare Lake Basin, California.
- Analyzed 12 funding area Disadvantaged Community Involvement Proposals for the effectiveness of proposed usage of funds, with emphasis on IWRM efforts.
Scientific Aid
Environmental Protection Agency (State Water Resources Control Board)
03.2016 - 08.2016
- Researched and analyzed California’s 9 Water Quality Control Plans for conditional prohibitions related to a proposed NPS policy amendment.
- Supportive research for proposed CA Wetland Amendments for two Water Quality Control Plans.
Education
Master of Public Policy (MPP) - Water Resources Policy & Management, Environmental Governance, Sustainable Development
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA01-2018
B.A, Anthropology - Social/Science & Technology, Interdisciplinary Studies
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA01-2014
Skills
- ArcGIS proficiency with regression analysis
- Stakeholder Analysis/Client Relations
- Policy Analysis
- Microsoft Suite/Access Database
- Water Supply Assessment/Planning
- Database Management
- Water Mgmt & Land Use Integration
- NEPA/CEQA/CWA
- Technical/Analytical Writing
- IWRM/WASH
- Project Management/Budget Development
- Ethnography/Natural Resources Fieldwork
- Adaptive/Demand Side Mgmt
- Cost Benefit Analysis/Water Pricing/Tariff Design
Timeline
Water Resources Planner/Project Manager - Renewables
Tetra Tech
10.2024 - Current
Project Environmental Planner
SWCA Environmental Consultants
01.2022 - 04.2024
Associate Planner
Dynamic Planning + Science
03.2020 - 12.2021
Research Intern
Stockholm Environment Institute
07.2017 - 10.2017
Research Intern
Community Water Center
05.2017 - 10.2017
Scientific Aid
Environmental Protection Agency (State Water Resources Control Board)
03.2016 - 08.2016
B.A, Anthropology - Social/Science & Technology, Interdisciplinary Studies
University of California, Berkeley
Master of Public Policy (MPP) - Water Resources Policy & Management, Environmental Governance, Sustainable Development
University of California, Irvine
PUBLICATIONS
- Mehta, V., Young, C., Bresney, S., Spivak, D., & Winter, J., (2018). How Can We Support the Development of Robust Groundwater Sustainability Plans? California Agriculture, 72(1), 54-64.
- Spivak, D. (2021). The Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan: An Opportunity for Exploring Demand Management Through Integrated and Collaborative Water Planning. Natural Resources Journal, 61(2), 173.
- Vishal K. Mehta, Daniel Simcha Spivak, Vivek V., M. Sekhar, Deepak Malghan (2017). Urban Groundwater in India: The Role of Information in Effective Governance. Stockholm Environment Institute, Davis, California.