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Water/Wastewater Engineers

  • Bright Outlook
  • Rapid Growth

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.

What you’d do

  • 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.
  • Design pumping systems, pumping stations, pipelines, force mains, or sewers for the collection of wastewater.
  • Design water distribution systems for potable or non-potable water.
  • Conduct water quality studies to identify and characterize water pollutant sources.

Skills that matter

  • Critical Thinking
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Writing
  • Active Listening
  • Complex Problem Solving

How to get there

Considerable preparation: most need a four-year bachelor's degree

Also called

  • Consulting Engineer
  • County Engineer
  • Engineer
  • Project Development Engineer

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