# Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators

> Operate or control an entire process or system of machines, often through the use of control boards, to transfer or treat water or wastewater.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/water-and-wastewater-treatment-plant-and-system-operators
- SOC code: 51-8031.00
- Career family: Production
- Median annual pay: $60,020 (10th percentile $39,110, 90th percentile $91,060)
- Projected growth: Decline, -5.7%
- Openings a year: 10,000
- Typical entry education: High school diploma
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code RCI)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 96 |
| Investigative (I) | 26 |
| Artistic (A) | 0 |
| Social (S) | 10 |
| Enterprising (E) | 10 |
| Conventional (C) | 60 |

## What you'd do

- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards (importance 87/100)
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings (importance 85/100)
- Documenting/Recording Information (importance 83/100)
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials (importance 80/100)
- Processing Information (importance 79/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 78/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 78/100)
- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment (importance 77/100)
- Analyzing Data or Information (importance 77/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 75/100)

## Skills

Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, Active Listening, Equipment Maintenance, Quality Control Analysis, Repairing, Speaking, Troubleshooting, Complex Problem Solving

## Knowledge

Public Safety and Security, Mechanical, English Language, Chemistry, Administration and Management, Education and Training, Mathematics, Customer and Personal Service, Computers and Electronics, Law and Government

## Also called

Basin Tender, Biosolids Management Technician (Biosolids Management Tech), Clarifying Plant Operator, Disposal Operator, Disposal Plant Operator, Drinking Water Technician (Drinking Water Tech), Filter Tender, Filterer, Filtration Operator, Filtration Plant Operator

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1505) (CIP 1505, 283 colleges)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [The University of Findlay](https://www.collegesref.com/college/the-university-of-findlay-2754) | Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians | not reported | $94,131 | not reported |
| [Rochester Institute of Technology](https://www.collegesref.com/college/rochester-institute-of-technology-2250) | Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians | not reported | $84,755 | $22,250 |
| [Appalachian State University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/appalachian-state-university-93) | Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians | $47,866 | $69,956 | $22,500 |
| [North Carolina State University at Raleigh](https://www.collegesref.com/college/north-carolina-state-university-at-raleigh-1884) | Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians | $60,183 | $66,491 | not reported |

## Related careers

- [Chemical Plant and System Operators](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/chemical-plant-and-system-operators): $78,120 median pay
- [Biomass Plant Technicians](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/biomass-plant-technicians): $102,040 median pay
- [Power Plant Operators](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/power-plant-operators): $102,040 median pay
- [Hydroelectric Plant Technicians](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/hydroelectric-plant-technicians): $102,040 median pay
- [Gas Plant Operators](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/gas-plant-operators): $87,820 median pay
- [Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/separating-filtering-clarifying-precipitating-and-still-machine-setters-operators-and): $51,610 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.