I have never worked in a wastewater treatment plant, but I have worked in and around the wastewater industry for a fair number of years, as a community relations consultant, as a marketing adviser to equipment manufacturers, and as a magazine editor.
Back in the early 1980s, I spent one full year leading a metropolitan clean-water agency’s effort to win public acceptance for a biosolids land application program. During that year I found that my line of work did not make for good cocktail party conversation.
In fact, I ended up thanking the stars that I had met and married my wife before I took on that project. I imagined what it would have been like if an appealing woman asked me what I did for a living, and I would have to answer, “I handle community relations for land application of sewage sludge” (which is what we called it back then).
Personal reactions
This is a roundabout way of raising a delicate subject: Just how do people react — I mean initial, immediate reaction — when a person in the profession reveals his or her line of work?
This issue doesn’t apply only to wastewater treatment professionals. It applies as well to garbage collectors, septic system pumpers, septic system installers, sewer and pipe cleaners — anyone in an occupation that deals with waste in one form or another.
We approach this in part by finding different, more positive, and in most cases more appropriate labels. For example, what used to be the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies is now the National Association of Clean Water Agencies. Many treatment plants call themselves water pollution control or water reclamation facilities. In both cases, the terminology better describes the work being done.
In a similar vein, people who install septic systems belong to an organization called the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association.
But what about those initial, personal interactions? Does working in a waste treatment or waste management profession still carry a hint of negative perception?
What you really do
I know wastewater operators and treatment plant managers are, as a class, extremely proud of what they do. Rightly so. But then there are those introductions to someone new. No such concern faces someone who says: I’m a doctor. Or teacher. Or city clerk. Or computer programmer. Or police officer. Now, what about you?
When asked what you do, have you ever felt tempted, even now and then, to dodge the subject a little? I confess that while working on that land application project, there were times I simply said I worked in “community relations,” and saved the details for later, when there was a chance to describe in detail what I did and what it meant.
The project was plenty interesting, I enjoyed the work, and I was proud of what we were accomplishing. But I was inclined to talk about it mostly in settings where I got to say more than a sentence about it.
Maybe that was wrong. Maybe in the end it’s all about how you really feel about your profession — how much pride you take in it, and how deeply you believe in it. Perhaps when asked what you do for a living, you simply say, “I’m a wastewater treatment operator for XYZ City.”
The pride just bursts through, and any negativity is defeated, then and there. Or if not — if the other person has an unfavorable reaction — that’s his or her problem. Or do you instead say, “I’m in the clean water business”? And then go into the details?
Your experience?
As I said, this is a delicate subject. If you are a manager or superintendent, is this ever an issue for you? Is it a concern for people on your team, especially newer people? If so, how do you deal with it?
I would be interested in hearing about experiences, perceptions, reactions and remedies related to this issue. If there is sufficient response, we’ll devote an article to the topic in a future issue of TPO. Send me a note at editor@tpomag.com.
