Wastewater Operator job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

8

O*NET task statements

O*NET occupation

Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators

O*NET-SOC 51-8031.00

Preparation

Job Zone 1-2 of 5

very little to some preparation

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$60,020

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators (O*NET-SOC 51-8031.00). O*NET 31.0 lists “Wastewater Operator” as a job title for this occupation only (evidence: O*NET's Sample of Reported Titles (titles job holders report), O*NET job-incumbent data, the SOC Index and employer job postings). Figures on this page are for that occupation. TryHired has no separate career page for this title yet.

1. Collect and test water and sewage samples, using test equipment and color analysis standards. importance 4.9 of 5
2. Operate and adjust controls on equipment to purify and clarify water, process or dispose of sewage, and generate power. importance 4.8 of 5
3. Record operational data, personnel attendance, or meter and gauge readings on specified forms. importance 4.8 of 5
4. Add chemicals, such as ammonia, chlorine, or lime, to disinfect and deodorize water and other liquids. importance 4.7 of 5
5. Inspect equipment or monitor operating conditions, meters, and gauges to determine load requirements and detect malfunctions. importance 4.3 of 5
6. Direct and coordinate plant workers engaged in routine operations and maintenance activities. importance 4.1 of 5
7. Clean and maintain tanks, filter beds, and other work areas, using hand tools and power tools. importance 4.0 of 5
8. Maintain, repair, and lubricate equipment, using hand tools and power tools. importance 3.8 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Documenting/Recording Information, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials and Processing Information.

Knowledge areas: Public Safety and Security, Mechanical, English Language, Chemistry and Administration and Management.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Geographic information system GIS systems. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists long-term on-the-job training as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 1-2 of 5 (very little to some preparation). Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board.

The most common answer among O*NET's occupation experts for this occupation is a high school diploma or equivalent (50%).

Job title: Wastewater Operator
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Wastewater Operator to operate or control an entire process or system of machines, often through the use of control boards, to transfer or treat water or wastewater.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Collect and test water and sewage samples, using test equipment and color analysis standards.
- Operate and adjust controls on equipment to purify and clarify water, process or dispose of sewage, and generate power.
- Record operational data, personnel attendance, or meter and gauge readings on specified forms.
- Add chemicals, such as ammonia, chlorine, or lime, to disinfect and deodorize water and other liquids.
- Inspect equipment or monitor operating conditions, meters, and gauges to determine load requirements and detect malfunctions.
- Direct and coordinate plant workers engaged in routine operations and maintenance activities.
- Clean and maintain tanks, filter beds, and other work areas, using hand tools and power tools.
- Maintain, repair, and lubricate equipment, using hand tools and power tools.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in operation and control, operations monitoring and monitoring
- Working knowledge of Public Safety and Security and Mechanical
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

For Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators, the median annual wage was $60,020 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $28.86. BLS estimates about 128,490 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators to decline 5.7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,000 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

• Read a real wastewater operator posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Collect and test water and sewage samples, using test equipment and…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only wastewater operator work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (operation and control and operations monitoring): a real situation, what you did and what changed.