Best degree programs for Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators, ranked by enrollment
1 college programs and 56 schools train Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $60,020 median wage, 128,490 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
1 college programs at 56 schools train water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators, graduating 860 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Water Quality and Wastewater Treatment Management and Recycling Technology/Technician. The job pays a median of $60,020 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators
Operate or control an entire process or system of machines, often through the use of control boards, to transfer or treat water or wastewater.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
1 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 15.0506 | 860 | 100.0% | 56 | $36,407 | $10,250 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $81,770 | 11,630 | 0.77× | 19 | 414 |
| Floridalimited | $59,030 | 7,440 | 0.91× | 1 | 75 |
| Iowalimited | $60,990 | 2,370 | 1.84× | 2 | 68 |
| Oregonlimited | $69,720 | 1,240 | 0.77× | 2 | 46 |
| Ohiolimited | $59,170 | 5,870 | 1.28× | 2 | 45 |
| New Jerseylimited | $78,760 | 2,500 | 0.71× | 1 | 34 |
| Coloradomoderate | $74,200 | 2,620 | 1.10× | 3 | 26 |
| Arizonalimited | $61,340 | 3,950 | 1.48× | 1 | 24 |
| Wisconsinlimited | $63,550 | 2,230 | 0.92× | 2 | 20 |
| Connecticutlimited | $78,820 | 980 | 0.70× | 1 | 16 |
| South Carolinalimited | $52,090 | 2,650 | 1.39× | 1 | 15 |
| Kansaslimited | $46,780 | 1,560 | 1.31× | 2 | 12 |
| Pennsylvanialimited | $63,310 | 4,660 | 0.93× | 1 | 10 |
| Minnesotalimited | $74,670 | 2,290 | 0.94× | 2 | 8 |
| New Mexicolimited | $48,190 | 2,110 | 2.93× | 2 | 8 |
| Michiganmoderate | $59,270 | 3,400 | 0.93× | 3 | 7 |
| Utahlimited | $61,290 | 1,900 | 1.33× | 1 | 7 |
| Delawarelimited | $64,940 | 340 | 0.85× | 1 | 5 |
| Idaholimited | $52,210 | 1,480 | 2.08× | 1 | 4 |
| Mainelimited | $61,870 | 710 | 1.34× | 1 | 3 |
| North Dakotalimited | $60,470 | 550 | 1.56× | 1 | 3 |
| Tennesseelimited | $50,670 | 3,140 | 1.16× | 1 | 3 |
| Massachusettslimited | $68,550 | 2,510 | 0.84× | 1 | 2 |
| Texaslimited | $49,460 | 10,520 | 0.91× | 1 | 2 |
| Alabamalimited | $51,870 | 2,770 | 1.59× | 1 | 1 |
| Georgialimited | $48,930 | 3,310 | 0.82× | 1 | 1 |
| Washingtonlimited | $80,800 | 2,030 | 0.69× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Collect and test water and sewage samples, using test equipment and color analysis standards.
- Operate and adjust controls on equipment to purify and clarify water, process or dispose of sewage, and generate power.
- Record operational data, personnel attendance, or meter and gauge readings on specified forms.
- Add chemicals, such as ammonia, chlorine, or lime, to disinfect and deodorize water and other liquids.
- Inspect equipment or monitor operating conditions, meters, and gauges to determine load requirements and detect malfunctions.
- Direct and coordinate plant workers engaged in routine operations and maintenance activities.
- Clean and maintain tanks, filter beds, and other work areas, using hand tools and power tools.
- Maintain, repair, and lubricate equipment, using hand tools and power tools.
Skills
- Monitoring3.6
- Speaking3.1
- Active Listening3.1
- Reading Comprehension3.0
- Critical Thinking3.0
- Mathematics2.9
- Writing2.8
- Learning Strategies2.8
Knowledge areas
- Public Safety and Security4.2
- Mechanical3.6
- English Language3.5
- Chemistry3.4
- Education and Training3.4
- Administration and Management3.4
Abilities
- Oral Comprehension3.8
- Oral Expression3.8
- Near Vision3.6
- Written Comprehension3.5
- Deductive Reasoning3.5
- Information Ordering3.1
Core activities
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.5
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings4.4
- Documenting/Recording Information4.3
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.2
- Processing Information4.2
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.1
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Water
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.0506Water Quality and Wastewater Treatment Management and Recycling Technology/Technician
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Water?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Water Quality and Wastewater Treatment Management and Recycling Technology/Technician, which awarded 860 degrees in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Water?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 860 people a year.
How much do water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators earn?+
The median is $60,020 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $39,110 at the 10th percentile to $91,060 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators growing?+
BLS projects a -6.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 10,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
56 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Water Plant Operator, Water Treatment Operator, Water Treatment Plant Operator, Wastewater Operator (WW Operator) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 51-8031.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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