The Coming Wave of Water Operator Retirements

Consider a fictional operator named Rosa Delgado at the Kingsford water plant. She arrives before sunrise to check the level in the storage tank and to test the water for cloudiness and for the right amount of disinfectant. If a pump fails, she fixes it or calls for help. By the time the town wakes up, the water is already clean and safe. Rosa has done this work for 28 years, and she plans to retire soon.

Rosa is not alone in nearing the end of her career. In 2025, about 131,000 people worked as water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in the United States. That number sounds large, but the field faces a quiet problem. Many operators are close to retirement. The EPA estimates that within the next 10 years, roughly one-third of the water sector workforce will be eligible to retire. When these workers leave, they take years of experience with them. Young workers are also scarce. A research group called the Brookings Institution found that in 2016, only about 10 percent of water workers were 24 or younger, compared with 12.5 percent of all U.S. workers.

Because so many operators are retiring, the field needs a steady stream of new workers. Federal labor experts project about 10,000 openings for water and wastewater operators each year, on average, from 2025 to 2035, even though the total number of operator jobs is projected to shrink by about 6 percent. All of these openings come from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations, not from new plants being built. This figure describes operators specifically, not every job in the water sector.

The pay is steady. In May 2025, the median wage for these operators was $60,020 a year. The lowest-paid tenth earned less than $39,110, while the highest-paid tenth earned more than $91,060. Wages tend to rise as an operator earns higher license classes and runs larger plants.

One reason the job appeals to many people is the path into it. Becoming an operator usually starts with a high school diploma and on-the-job training. New workers learn from experienced operators while they study for a state license. That license is earned by passing an exam, and it comes in classes, often numbered one through four. Higher classes require more experience and let an operator run larger systems. A person can begin working and earning while they move up.

This is not the only path in the water sector, and no single path is the right one for everyone. Some workers earn a certificate from a community college first. Others study civil or environmental engineering at a four-year college and design the plants that operators run. A few go on to graduate study in fields like hydrology or public health. Engineers, scientists, and operators all keep water safe, and each path is a real career.

Utilities know the retirement wave is coming, so many are working to attract the next generation. Some partner with high schools and community colleges. Others build apprenticeship programs that pay students while they train. A few open their plants for tours so young people can see the work up close. The aim is straightforward: a utility wants someone ready to take over when today's operators retire.

The stakes are high because the work cannot stop. A city cannot pause its water for a year while it looks for staff. Every day, someone must run the plant, read the gauges, and keep the water clean. As the current workforce ages, new operators are plainly needed, and the open question is whether enough people will choose the field in time.

1. In 2025, about how many people worked as water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in the United States?
2. What does the passage say the median yearly wage for these operators was in May 2025?
3. According to the passage, what share of water workers were 24 or younger in 2016, and how does that compare with all U.S. workers?
4. The passage says all of the roughly 10,000 yearly openings come from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations rather than from new plants, even though the total number of operator jobs is projected to shrink. What does that tell you about why the field needs new workers?
5. Why might a student who does not want a four-year degree still find a clear path into this field? Use details from the passage.
6. The passage says no single path into the sector is the right one for everyone. Explain what that means, using two examples of paths from the text.
7. The passage ends by asking whether enough people will choose the field in time. Based on the passage, why does timing matter so much here?