Essential Skills for Modern Wastewater Operators

One of the greatest selling points of a career in wastewater treatment is the lack of requirement for a college degree in order to enter the field. However, that in no way means that working in a wastewater treatment plant is an unskilled occupation. There is a vast array of skills that are needed in the day to day operation of a plant. How many of them any individual operator needs varies on the size and other particularities of the plant and staff, interests of the operator, and desire to progress further up the career ladder.

Here, for the benefit of those trying to determine if wastewater treatment is the field for them, we take a look at the broad categories of skills that operators must have and a couple more that are a great benefit in addition. We will also include example training resources and events for each category of skills that can be found on WaterOperator.org.*

*Sample training events will likely have already occurred, and serve as examples as types of events to look for in the future.

Operation & Maintenance of Machines and Other Equipment

Wastewater treatment plants are composite mechanical networks of pipes, pumps, machines, and other equipment. In order to operate and maintain each essential piece of the network, a plant’s employees need to be able to work with and understand machines, tools, technology, and heavy equipment. While prior experience in this area is not generally required, it can certainly help new operators.

Training resource: “Operator Certification: Mechanical Systems” Webinar from the Environmental Finance Center Network
Training events: “Mechanical Maintenance and the Operator” from Maryland Center for Environmental Training, “Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants” from Pennsylvania Rural Water Association, “Wastewater Pump School” from Smith and Loveless

Math & Science

Math is one of the most important skills in wastewater treatment. Operators use mathematical formulas to determine flow levels, chemical concentration, and other treatment requirements. Understanding the chemistry and biology of the treatment process, and even the physics of water, is also a significant advantage for operators.

Training resources: “Sidney's Big Book of Water and Wastewater Math” from the Indigo Water Group, “Problem Solved: Pump Discharge Rate” — or any other wastewater math video by the American Water College, “Microbiology of Wastewater Treatment” Webinar from the US EPA
Training events: “Wastewater Math” from the Environmental Finance Center Network, “Disinfection in Water and Wastewater” from Enviro-Clear, “Wastewater Microbiology and Microscopy” from the Wisconsin Wastewater Operators Association

Analysis

Another prominent duty in wastewater treatment plants is sampling, testing, inspecting, evaluating, and analyzing water quality, machinery, and overall process control. Some plants may have their own labs for water quality testing, and even a dedicated lab staff, but even if not, the everyday job of an operator requires attention to detail and the ability to carefully analyze the treatment process in a number of different ways.

Training resources: “A Look at the Wastewater Treatment Plant Laboratory” from the Tennessee Department of Utility Districts, “Biosolids and Sludge PFAS Sampling Guidance” from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy
Training events: “Wastewater Lab Series” from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, “Wastewater Sampling and Preservation” from the Great Lakes Community Action Partnership

Safety

Safety is of the utmost importance in a wastewater treatment plant. Staff must know and follow all safety rules and regulations, know how to administer first aid, and be able to handle chlorine and other hazardous substances.

Training resources: See our recent “Learning About Safety in Wastewater Treatment Plants” blog post!
Training events: “Water and Wastewater Workplace Safety” and “Operator Health & Safety Survival Guide” from the Pennsylvania Rural Water Association, “Confined Space Awareness” by Hardin Associates & Consulting, “OSHA Basics and Beyond” from Tighe and Bond

Physical Capacity

This last category is really a set of personal capacities that cannot generally be taught. First and foremost, a wastewater treatment operator must be willing to work with and around human waste — and all of the odors and mess that entails. An operator also needs the ability to work with their hands on physical tasks and to be willing and capable of working in unpleasant weather conditions. If these are unacceptable working conditions for you, wastewater treatment is not likely to be your path!

•••••

Another technical skill that can be hugely beneficial in a treatment plant, but isn’t so much a requirement, is electrical handling. Electricity is an important component of plants, and while not everyone needs to be an electrician, basic knowledge and ability can only help you. Check out resources like “Combined Heat and Power Microturbines” and “Power Resilience Guide for Water and Wastewater Utilities” to get a sense of the importance of electricity in wastewater treatment, or look for events like “Basic Electricity for Water and Wastewater.”

Finally, much like nearly any job, having good people skills (or “soft” skills) can go a long way in this field as well, especially if you’re interested in progressing up into management. Communication, networking, conflict resolution, leadership, problem-solving, time management: All skills to develop that make nearly any job easier to handle!

Sources:

• “How to Become a Water or Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator” from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Water Resource Recovery (Wastewater Treatment) Operator from Work for Water
• Wastewater Operator Resume Skills and Keywords from ZipRecruiter

Learning About Safety in Wastewater Treatment Plants

Establishing, following, and training for rigorous safety protocols is critical to the successful operation of a wastewater treatment plant. Not every safety incident is as severe as the 2006 Bethune Point Wastewater Plant Explosion that’s detailed in the video above, but that incident is an effective example of how horribly wrong things can go when safety protocols are lax and safety training for operators is minimal.

If you are seeking to learn more about safety in the wastewater treatment industry, a good first stop would be the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (better known as OSHA), a division of the US Department of Labor. It was created by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which also laid out a set of federal standards for workplace safety.

However, the act also allows individual states to submit and operate their own safety plans and requirements (which are generally fairly close to the federal plan anyway). State plans may cover all workers in a state, or may only cover state and local government workers only.

Here’s the breakdown of each state’s OSHA classification:

No state plan, follows federal OSHA plans:  
Alabama, American Samoa, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Washington D.C., West Virginia, Wisconsin

OSHA state plans covering only state/local government workplaces:
Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virgin Islands

OSHA state plans covering private and state/local government workplaces:
Alaska, Arizona, California*, Hawai’i, Kentucky, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan*, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon*, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming

*California, Michigan, and Oregon are the three states in which the state OSHA plans contain substantial differences from the federal OSHA plan.

Find more information about your state’s OSHA plan here >>
Find your state OSHA office here >>

If you are in need of assistance in identifying and/or fixing workplace safety issues, most states do have consultation services available for free as part of the On-Site Consultation Program. Other OSHA programs workplaces can participate in include the Alliance Program, the OSHA Strategic Partnership Program, the Voluntary Protection Programs, and the OSHA Challenge Program.

Read more about the OSHA cooperative programs here >>

A great introduction to OSHA and other safety regulations through the lens of wastewater treatment is this recorded webinar in the Environmental Finance Center Network’s wastewater operator certification series.

The main topics covered in the webinar include common hazards in wastewater treatment plants, personal protective equipment (PPE), confined space entry, equipment lockout/tagout procedures, hazardous chemical communication and safety data, excavation safety, and blood-borne pathogen standards.

Other common safety challenges to be cognizant of in wastewater treatment plants include slips and falls (due to the abundance of water in a facility), caught or crush hazards from moving machinery, and general good hygiene standards.

Finally, below is a sample of resources from our WaterOperator.org Resource Library covering safety in wastewater treatment. Search for others using our category and keyword filters!

• Safety Manual: Wastewater Treatment Plant Operation and Sewage Collection Systems
  • This 20-page manual from the Kentucky Public Service Commission covers safety practices for wastewater systems.
• Safety Issues in the Treatment Plant
  • This presentation from the 2017 National Association of Wastewater Technicians Conference goes through safety threats in wastewater treatment plants like chemical, atmospheric, & biological hazards; confined space; flammability; machine guarding; fall hazards; vehicle dangers; and PPE.  
• Wastewater Treatment Plant Safety & Health
  • This presentation given to the Wisconsin Chapter of the Central States Water Environment Association relates OSHA rules and standards to treatment plant operation and maintenance, and provides additional resources.
• Wastewater Safety
  • This presentation from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reviews general hazards, discusses safety practices, and focuses most tightly on confined spaces, trenches, and PPE.
• Personal Protective Equipment: Respiratory Protection
  • This presentation from the Operator Training Committee of Ohio focuses on OSHA requirements for respiratory protection. Given in 2020, the presentation contains detailed guidance on types of masks and how to care for them.
• Electrical Safety & Arc Flash Awareness
  • This presentation from the Wisconsin Wastewater Operators Association details in great depth the few simple guidelines that are essential to maintaining personal safety when working with electrical hazards. Different types of hazards such as arc flashes and arc blasts are explained.
• General Safety in Lagoon Environments
  • This presentation given to the Michigan Water Environment Association explores the safety hazards of wastewater lagoons. These include confined spaces, oxygen deficiency/gases/vapors, pathogens, slips/falls/drowning, and even zika virus.

RCAP's Drop of Knowledge: Article Roundup #7

Drop of Knowledge is a monthly digital article from Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP.) The articles focus on topics like wastewater, drinking water, policy, and infrastructure in rural America. It contains how-to’s, tips, and guidance from more than 300 technical assistance providers (TAPs) across the country. Some featured articles are linked below:

• A Primer on Wastewater Utility Rate Review and Increases
• Fluoridation: Essential Part of Water Treatment or Unwarranted Addition?
• When the Going Gets Rural: Five Challenges TAPs Can’t Escape
• Communities Unlimited Assists with Failing Septic System
• Savannah Army Depot: A new RCAP Challenge
• Challenges of a Tribal City: Eagle Butte, SD

Looking for something else? Find more articles and subscribe to A Drop of Knowledge.

Pathways for Career Development in Wastewater Treatment

Everyone in and around the water sector knows that there is a staffing and workforce shortage in treatment plants around the country, both in drinking water and wastewater. Much of the issue is due to the significant number of operators that have retired or are approaching retirement age, while replacement workers beginning careers are not entering the sector at a high enough rate.

As such, the question of how to recruit more younger workers has been a major focus of the water sector in recent years. Many of the recruitment issues are similar on the water and wastewater sides (less interest in trades and manual labor, lack of awareness that the jobs exist, competition from other industries), but wastewater has the added challenge of convincing young people to work with human waste.

However, when considering joining the wastewater treatment field or trying to recruit others, something important to look at are the opportunities for advancement and professional growth — in other words, the options for career development. Because the details and daily tasks of a wastewater operator’s job aren’t necessarily widely known, someone may incorrectly think that the opportunities for professional growth are limited.

In fact, that is not the case. Here, we take a look at some of the best ways to advance as a wastewater operator.

Advanced Certification and Licensing

Every state requires prospective wastewater treatment operators to obtain a license in order to perform the job. While the exact requirements for licensing are different across the states, typically they require the passing of a certification exam and completing continuing education courses to renew licenses at set intervals.

But in most states, there are higher levels of certification available beyond the basic license needed to become an entry-level operator. These advanced licenses are often labeled as Class II, Class III, Class IV, or perhaps even higher. To obtain a higher level license, a certain number of years of experience, continuing education credits, and passing more exams are typically required. Having high level licenses will help to open up more advanced positions and a higher pay grade.

Specialization

Another path to more responsibilities and higher wages is specializing in particular components of the wastewater treatment process. Possible specializations include industrial wastewater, laboratory analysis, environmental compliance, process control, maintenance, and biosolids management. Certifications for these specializations are often available. Getting an official specialization certification may not always be required, but is usually very helpful.

Supervisory and Management Positions

As with most jobs, there are supervisory and management roles at wastewater utilities that can be achieved with experience and competence. Progress high enough up the management ladder, and you can oversee plant operations and staff, enforce regulatory compliance, make financial decisions, build your plant’s workforce, and more.

Pursuing Higher Education

One of the reasons that water and wastewater treatment are excellent career choices is that becoming an operator does not require a college degree. But it’s also true that having degrees can open more doors for advancement in these fields. Associate’s degrees, bachelor’s degrees, or even higher level degrees in fields like environmental science, engineering, biology, chemistry, information technology, business administration, and beyond can enhance an operator’s skill sets and provide significant benefits to their utility.

Joining Professional Organizations

Being a part of professional organizations in any field is a great way to further professional development. These organizations provide consistent opportunities to network, attend conferences, access cutting edge training, join leadership and advisory committees, and possibly achieve industry recognition.

Here are some of the top national professional organizations to check in the wastewater industry:

• Water Environment Federation (WEF)
• National Rural Water Association (NRWA)
• American Water Works Association (AWWA)

You could also check out the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA) and the National Association of Wastewater Technicians (NAWT), which are focused on onsite and decentralized wastewater (septic) systems, if you live in an area where such systems are incorporated into utilities.

Many states also have state level affiliates of WEF, NRWA, AWWA, and NOWRA. If possible, being a part of both your state organizations and national organizations will maximize development opportunities. Your state may also have an organization that is independent of any of these bodies, like the Wisconsin Wastewater Operators Association.

Are we missing any organizations for wastewater operators? Or any other avenues to professional development in the wastewater industry? Send us an email at info@wateroperator.org and tell us about it!

How to Overcome the "Yuck" Factor of Recycled Wastewater

For those of us who live in places where there is never any doubt about the ability to turn a tap and have clean water come out, it can be hard to reconcile the reality that the world is at great risk of a water supply crisis. In 2023, the UN estimated that not only do two billion people not have safe drinking water, but that two to three billion people are already experiencing water shortages for at least one month a year. The report also projects that the population facing urban water scarcity will double by 2050, due to the increasing frequency of extreme drought.

And drought isn’t the only supply issue — many groundwater aquifers have been overpumped for decades. The Ogallala Aquifer, the largest in North America, supplies 30% of the irrigation water in the United States, is the only reliable source of water in some parts of the American heartland, and will run out of water in a generation in the most vulnerable communities.

So what are we to do about our water supply problems? Yes, we could and should certainly try to use less water, look for other surface water sources, or even pump water back into depleted aquifers.

We could also recycle our wastewater. But, well. That seems “yucky” to a lot of people.  

In Tampa, former Florida state representative and state senator Janet Cruz lost an election in 2023 to the Tampa City Council, largely attributed to her support of laws allowing treated wastewater into drinking water systems while she was a state legislator. In a survey conducted for research published in the Science of The Total Environment journal last year, it was found that just 43% of respondents in the Southeast US supported water reuse generally — and only 8% would be willing to drink recycled water.

But the fact of the matter is that the rest of our water sources cannot be relied upon as we continue to use them in unsustainable ways, and the total volume of our wastewater represents an invaluable opportunity to reshape our water future, if we can just get beyond that “yuck factor.”

To that end, the State Water Resources Control Board of California voted in December 2023 to adopt regulations to implement direct potable reuse (DPR) in the state — in other words, that means treating wastewater to the point that it can be added directly into drinking water systems, with no environmental buffer. The vote was years in the making and the development of the regulations mandated by state law.

California, with its population of 40 million and extremely high demand for agricultural irrigation water, faces the stresses of water supply perhaps more than any other state. The move to implement DPR follows decades of indirect potable and non-potable reuse in the state (and many others in the country, like Florida). Treated wastewater is already being used for industrial machines, irrigation, and aquifer replenishment.

At the time the legislation went through, the Metropolitan Water District alone (the water agency of Southern California) was projected to provide 115 million gallons of recycled water a day by 2032, which could supply 385,000 homes. Gov. Gavin Newsom projected that recycled water could account for 9% of state water use by 2030 and then double by 2040.

The statewide regulations officially allowing for DPR in California went into effect in October of last year. By then, cities like Santa Monica were hoping to implement DPR as early as 2027. Plans for a full DPR treatment facility in the San Fernando Valley to be completed by the same time point are underway. These rules also allow water agencies flexibility in their supply management between wet and dry years, meaning that the objective is that drinking recycled water will help the agencies save water from the Colorado River and Sierra Nevada snowpack for drier years.

But for all the high hopes in California, the state won’t be the first in the nation to treat its wastewater to drinking water quality. The city of Big Spring, Texas, was the first place in the country to use DPR to supply its water system, which it began in 2013 after its namesake spring ran out of water. The standard bearer of water recycling, though, is Singapore, which through its Changi Water Reclamation Plant cleans 237 million gallons of wastewater a day and brands the treated water as “NEWater.”

And California won’t likely be alone as the sole mass consumer of wastewater-turned-drinking-water in the US either. The city of El Paso is expected to have a DPR plant online by 2027, as Texas allows such plants on a case-by-case basis. Colorado actually beat California to adopting DPR regulations in February of 2023, which were the first in the nation. And despite Cruz’s loss in the Tampa City Council election, the practice is still moving forward in Florida, where a pilot program in a central Florida county began turning wastewater to drinking water in late 2023.

Finally, Arizona also began building a framework for DPR late 2023, where the need is increasingly being seen as inevitable. The state’s proposed rules are nearing approval.

Of course, building the needed facilities and the extensive water treatment process won’t come cheaply, especially for municipalities that aren’t quite the size of the whole state of California or even just El Paso. The DPR facility constructed by the Colorado River Municipal Water District for Big Spring, which has a population of around 25,000, cost $14 million to build and took 11 years to plan and construct. Getting other smaller communities on board before it’s absolutely necessary will likely not be easy.

But getting the infrastructure for DPR and other expanded water recycling systems in place now will be cheaper than in the future, when other water sources are even more stressed. And as with all things, as the wastewater recycling economy scales up, costs should come down. It’s already cheaper than desalination of saltwater — an International Finance Corporation estimate has found that the cost of producing potable water can be as low as $0.45 per cubic meter, while desalination typically exceeds $0.50 per cubic meter. A Framework for Direct Potable Reuse put together by water stakeholders including the WateReuse Association and the American Water Works Association also found the total estimated costs of DPR to compare favorably with the costs of other possible new sources of water.

So what does this all tell us about how we get people past that “yuck” factor? We might infer that when faced with nearly no other options, that factor simply goes away. But we don’t have to view recycling wastewater into drinking water as a last resort, either. While the intensive cleaning process isn’t cheap, it results in energy savings, environmental benefits, and water that is purer than many current drinking water sources, as noted by the California State Water Board chair. And who could reasonably argue that those are bad things?

In the end, shifting attitudes beyond the yuck factor may simply require some creativity and a massive PR campaign. Epic Cleantec, a water recycling company in San Francisco, developed a beer from recycled greywater from a city apartment building. Admittedly, greywater — the wastewater from sinks, showers, and laundry — is quite a different thing than the sewage that comes from toilets. But it’s wastewater all the same, and the company has found that people will usually try it. And it’s not the only wastewater beer that’s available, either.

But there’s far more opportunity for wastewater than just beer or even regular drinking water. In their reporting on the subject, Wired magazine posited that “the city of tomorrow will run on your toilet water” — because of the additional possibilities to extract compost and energy. Industries in the EU are already taking steps to get power, heat, and reusable chemical materials out of wastewater.

So as Wired put it, “It’s not gross. It’s science.”

FOR MORE:

• WateReuse Association
  • Recycled Water Users Network
  • National Advocacy Resources
• Framework for Direct Potable Reuse
  • Produced by the WateReuse Association, American Water Works Association, Water Environment Federation, and National Water Research Institute
• As water reuse expands, proponents battle the 'yuck' factor | KFF Health News
• California prepares to transform sewage into pure drinking water under new rules | Los Angeles Times
• Beyond the yuck factor: cities turn to ‘extreme’ water recycling | Yale Environment 360
• The city of tomorrow will run on your toilet water | WIRED
• Recycling sewage is a sensible way to improve water security – but would you swallow it? | The Conversation
• Facility Converting Wastewater into Drinking Water is Coming to the San Fernando Valley | San Fernando Sun
   
• WaterOperator.org Documents Library >> Select ‘CATEGORY’ in the dropdown, and then choose ‘Water Reuse’ to see the resources we have collected on Water Reuse.

WaterOperator.org 2024 Webinar Roundup

This webinar series from WaterOperator.org covers topics relevant to wastewater operators, including funding, asset management, compliance, and water quality. In these webinar recordings, viewers will learn how to use our search tools at WaterOperator.org to find resources and training events. Each webinar features some of the most helpful resources on the title topic that can be found in our documents database. Certificates of attendance are not available for watching these recordings. 

Cybersecurity for Wastewater Operators | February 2024

Source Water Protection for Communities with Decentralized Wastewater | May 2024

Funding Wastewater Infrastructure Projects | July 2024

Wastewater System Condition Assessment and Rehabilitation Resources | August 2024

Wastewater System Sustainability Practices | November 2024

Although we can't offer attendance certificates for watching these recordings, we do offer certificates of attendance to live attendees upon request! Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on future live webinars from WaterOperator.org.

Wastewater Continues to Provide an Effective Means to Track COVID-19 and Other Diseases

Tracking viral activity in wastewater emerged as a valuable way to map and monitor the spread of COVID-19 early on in the coronavirus pandemic. Many viruses can be tracked through wastewater data, as virus fragments can be excreted into wastewater even when individuals do not have symptoms of the virus. Wastewater operators send samples of untreated wastewater to laboratories, where technicians test the water to find out what viruses are currently circulating in a community. This can help public health officials guide their communities through infection prevention, testing, and vaccination, as necessary.

Poliovirus was the first virus widely tracked through wastewater surveillance, beginning in the 1990s as part of efforts to finally fully eradicate polio. But public awareness of this concept became more widely known with COVID-19. The height of  the pandemic has passed, but many tracking efforts continue in order to keep tabs on the disease’s current threat level and to advance continued research into it.

Newsweek continues to publish an updated COVID map each week showing the results of the past week’s viral monitoring across the United States. See the December 18 update here. It reveals the highest viral activity for SARS-CoV-2 virus (which causes COVID-19) in Arizona, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, and South Dakota.

The data for these updates comes directly from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which also has multiple publicly accessible dashboards showing data for COVID-19 and other diseases tracked by the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS).

Find the dashboards for the viruses tracked by the NWSS here:

• COVID-19
• Influenza A
• RSV
• Mpox

Many states also run their own dashboards of surveillance data for COVID-19 and other viruses, including:

• California
• Colorado
• New York
• North Carolina
• Wisconsin

Notably, California has also recently found H5N1 bird flu virus in the wastewater from cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, reflecting the rise of avian influenza. The CDC has an avian influenza tracker as a subset of the Influenza A dashboard. As of December 14, the vast majority of H5N1 found in wastewater has been in California, with the most recent additional detections so far found in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Texas. It has also been detected in Hawai’i.

Not every wastewater treatment plant in a given state participates in tracking, so it should be kept in mind that the available data is a snapshot of only a portion of the state’s population. Tracking programs can incur significant expenses for wastewater utilities that can be out of reach especially for smaller operations. But there are often opportunities to engage in partnerships with other entities to reduce or erase these costs, such as what the Abilene Taylor County Public Health Department recently began with Baylor University in Texas.

Additional Reading

• Tracking COVID-19 with wastewater, Nature

• Tracking COVID-19 Through Wastewater, National Institutes of Health

• Tracking COVID-19 in 2024: Wastewater data provides key early warning sign for surges, University of California-Davis Health

• Post Pandemic: Wastewater-based Surveillance of Diseases Comes of Age, Health Policy Watch

RCAP's Drop of Knowledge: Article Roundup #6

Drop of Knowledge is a monthly digital article from Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP.) The articles focus on topics like wastewater, drinking water, policy, and infrastructure in rural America. It contains how-to’s, tips, and guidance from more than 300 technical assistance providers (TAPs) across the country. Some featured articles are linked below:

• An Elementary Look at Water Pollution
• Colonias in Texas: Improving the Quality of Life One Flush At a Time
• Investigating Inflow & Infiltration
• Water and Wastewater Utility Asset Management: Vehicles
• Wastewater Maintenance: Drawdown Pump Test
• When the Going Gets Rural: Five Challenges Technical Assistance Providers Can’t Escape

Looking for something else? Find more articles and subscribe to A Drop of Knowledge.

The Potential of Artificial Intelligence in Wastewater Treatment

The need to conserve water and manage it more efficiently is perhaps now more dire than it ever has been. Among other water consumption issues: We have a record, still-growing population on the planet; accelerating levels of drought worldwide; and the artificial intelligence (AI) boom is guzzling water at a dazzling rate in order to keep data servers running.

Ironically, though, AI might just also be essential to redefining and maximizing the efficiency of our water use, along with similar emerging digital technologies like machine learning (ML), automation, and digital twins. These technologies can create “smart water” systems for industry — A concept that’s been primarily associated with drinking water, but is also starting to blossom in the wastewater sector as well.

Around two trillion gallons of treated wastewater are lost in the United States each year, which is a massive blow to US business and the environment. AI, ML, digital twins, and automation have the potential to mitigate the infrastructural inefficiencies that cause this water loss by optimizing water use, reducing the loss, and helping to build circular water management systems/economies that will emphasize reuse and minimization of use/waste across all sectors of industry.

In wastewater treatment plants specifically, these technologies can assist in understanding a system’s rate of flow, optimizing and saving energy, and providing data that is a useful tool in the decision-making process. These benefits would add up to significant cost savings in both expenditures and labor, and more importantly contribute to lessening our environmental burdens and increasing sustainability.

Wastewater Digest, which is following the expansion of AI and its sister technologies in the wastewater sector closely, says industry should implement these actions in order to reduce and optimize industrial water use:

• Assess and monitor water use with smart technology
• Invest in digital technologies like AI, ML, and digital twins
• Automate water management operations to maintain optimal performance
• Foster cultural sustainability so that everyone contributes to saving water
• Collaborate across industry to amplify results

Primary Sources and Additional Information

• Turning the tide: How automation is reshaping water use in industry
• AI is transforming the future of wastewater system management and treatment
• Wastewater, AI and aeration blower performance
• Can you trust predictive wastewater analytics?
• Exploring the intersection of data, communications & power infrastructure
• Optimizing wastewater treatment through artificial intelligence: recent advances and future prospects
• Artificial Intelligence and IoT in Wastewater Treatment
• How AI is being used in wastewater treatment plants?

Wastewater System Sustainability Practices | Recorded on November 12, 2024

In this recording of our recent live webinar "Wastewater System Sustainability Practices" viewers will discover some of the most helpful resources for wastewater system sustainability practices and learn how to use our search tools at WaterOperator.org to find additional resources and training events.

This webinar series from WaterOperator.org covers topics relevant to wastewater operators, including funding, asset management, compliance, and water quality. Certificates of attendance will be delivered upon request to live attendees but are not available for watching this replay.