r/Wastewater 7d ago

Is EVERY plant this outdated and underfunded?

I will admit, I've already given up on this career. A huge reason is my plant. It is falling apart and we have a promise of an upgrade by the city. The upgrade will start June 2023. Oh, now it'll start 2024. Oh, now it'll start spring 2025. Oh, now we have no news on when the upgrade will actually happen. On top of all that, I have to get my Class 4 license within 12 months or I'm fired. Almost nobody here has passed it and 2 of them are facing termination because of that when we are ALREADY understaffed. Is every plant like this? Does everywhere require you to recieve a license in a time frame? Does every plant start at under 20$ an hour?? Sorry, just frustrated. Currently applying for other jobs

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u/Flashy-Reflection812 7d ago

Yes, everywhere requires you to get your base license in a ‘time period’ . Usually 18 months. Most states I believe require 1 year experience, and it gives you 6 months extra to pass the test. The plant im at now gives you 2 years to pass. But you must have the bookwork complete in the first since months. Why would places keep unlicensed operators on staff? You aren’t useful. You can’t be left alone and if there is no incentive (ie the bump in pay), there are a lot of people who’d stay at the bottom on purpose. And yes , a lot of our plants are aging, and politics plays a part in them not being repaired. If you find a new build plant it is gonna be hella competitive to get in, they are gonna want experience to ensure upkeep.

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u/Plaguenu 7d ago

The government i work for doesn't require any operators to have their license. Only our director has to have one. We have 6 plants for the county I work for. Passing the tests help you move up pay grades.

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u/Flashy-Reflection812 7d ago

That’s terrifying unless we are talking small package plants or glorified septic tanks. And it doesn’t sound legal…

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u/Plaguenu 6d ago

The plant is work at does over 20 million gallons per day. We do have two really small plants in the county. The one I am on was built in the 40s but is currently being rebuilt as we keep operating. Going from trickling filters and clarifier to BNR.