Water/Wastewater Engineers

Overview

Water/Wastewater Engineers has a national median salary of $100,840 per year, with +6.4% projected job growth from 2025–2035. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor's degree as the typical education needed to enter this occupation.

Description

Design or oversee projects involving provision of potable water, disposal of wastewater and sewage, or prevention of flood-related damage. Prepare environmental documentation for water resources, regulatory program compliance, data management and analysis, and field work. Perform hydraulic modeling and pipeline design.

Work Values

• Achievement
• Working Conditions
• Independence

Work Styles

Responsibilities

Tasks

• Provide technical direction or supervision to junior engineers, engineering or computer-aided design (CAD) technicians, or other technical personnel.
• Review and critique proposals, plans, or designs related to water or wastewater treatment systems.
• Design domestic or industrial water or wastewater treatment plants, including advanced facilities with sequencing batch reactors (SBR), membranes, lift stations, headworks, surge overflow basins, ultraviolet disinfection systems, aerobic digesters, sludge lagoons, or control buildings.
• Evaluate the operation and maintenance of water or wastewater systems to identify ways to improve their efficiency.
• Design or select equipment for use in wastewater processing to ensure compliance with government standards.

Work Activities

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Getting Information
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Working with Computers
• Analyzing Data or Information
• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
• Communicating with People Outside the Organization
• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
• Processing Information

Detailed Work Activities

• Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
• Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
• Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
• Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
• Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

T-A-S-K

Technology, Abilities, Skills & Knowledge

Education

Education Levels of Current Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor's degree as the typical education needed to enter this occupation. The chart below shows the highest level of education held by people already working in this field, ages 25 and older. It includes workers who earned more education than the job requires and workers who entered the field under earlier requirements, so the largest bar is not the entry requirement. For example, if someone finished a master's degree and then started working in this field, they are counted under “Master's degree” here, but the job itself typically asks for a bachelor's degree.

Certificates

Certifications applicable to Water/Wastewater Engineers:

Video Resources