Finding New Operators
To the editor:
It is well known that there will be a lack of trained and qualified people to move up in the wastewater field to replace those of us who will be retiring in the next five to 10 years. Most of us experienced managers entered the field in the 1970s when the federal government first started funding wastewater treatment infrastructure.
Since then, in my opinion, there has been a very poor effort to train and recruit good people to fill the lower-level jobs in the field. I generally get someone, regardless of age, who is green, and I have to train and school them and then hope they stick around.
Sure, there are environmental science and engineering courses of study at every major university, but the graduates of those programs are not going to be the young men and women who will turn the valves at your treatment plant and learn the business from the ground up as they do.
I had a college degree when I started, but I was willing to take an entry-level position and actually got my training on the job. In my experience, that has not been the norm. The folks who do the day-to-day work usually come from elsewhere, often someone who is a relative of an employee or is politically connected. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t.
My suggestion is to teach environmental-related skills at the high school and vocational school levels just like auto mechanics and construction. There are other fields besides wastewater that could be rolled into the program as well, such as the water side of the business, site remediation, and basic laboratory technician skills.
This would be the get-your-hands-dirty type of job training that would prepare the next generation to fill those entry-level jobs and be in a position to move up the ladder. Our authority has had a program of reaching out to middle school students in our service area with poster and essay contests on the topic of clean water. We have had a very good response, and my hope is that those kids and their parents will begin to ask about a program of study when they get to high school.
Yes, there is stability in the profession, as it is not directly tied into the economy, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that good pay and benefits will always be the norm. The costs of energy, employee benefits and other items go up whether in the public or private sector, but if you are good at what you do, chances are you will always have a job.
Dane J. Martindell
Plant Superintendent
Western Monmouth Utilities Authority
Manalapan, N.J.
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Enjoying the Magazine
To the editor:
I just wanted to let you know how much my staff and I appreciate Treatment Plant Operator. It’s one of the few magazines that gets passed around and read by the plant operators.
Steven E. Douglas General Manager
City of York (Pa.) Wastewater Treatment Plant
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More on Reclamation?
To the editor:
I enjoy reading a magazine strictly dedicated to wastewater operators. Keep up the good work. So many times, people don’t realize the lonely operator who makes it work at these plants. Now with the greater demands on water conservation and reuse, I would like to see more in the magazine on reclamation facilities. We have just started it here at our plant. Like all good operators, we’re always looking for ideas to improve our operation.
Keith M. Bootz
Second Shift Plant Operator
Water Reclamation Facility North
Sanford, Fla.
