Darcy McCargar

Darcy is an accomplished environmental scientist with 17 years of specialized experience in water quality monitoring, microbial source tracking, and watershed management across public and private sectors. Now at LWA, she brings extensive technical expertise in advanced stormwater monitoring methodologies, including pioneering short-duration flow-weighted composite sampling techniques, and proven success in establishing commercial-grade molecular laboratories for microbial source tracking (MST) analysis. Her experience includes serving as contract manager for high-profile regulatory investigations, such as the San Diego River Investigative Order that utilized cutting-edge HF183 human fecal marker quantification to inform federal and state bacterial pollution policies. Previously, as Assistant Director of Watershed Science at RICK Engineering, she co-founded and expanded scientific capabilities, capturing over $400K in new revenue streams while developing innovative technical solutions for complex environmental challenges. Her proven track record includes managing $1.5M+ in annual environmental projects, leading multidisciplinary teams, and developing quality assurance protocols that have shaped industry standards, including contributions to the foundational California Microbial Source Identification Manual through collaborative research with 27 international laboratories.