Water Quality Operator I

$46,689 - $72,368/Yr

Mount Pleasant Waterworks - Mount Pleasant, SC

Full-time

Mount Pleasant, SC

Utilities

About the position

The Water Quality Operator I is responsible for maintaining water quality standards throughout the distribution system. This role involves routine testing, maintenance, and repair of water distribution equipment, as well as ensuring compliance with water quality regulations and customer service standards.

Responsibilities

• Maintains water quality standards throughout the Distribution System.
• Performs routine testing of turbidity and chlorine residuals; identifies areas needing corrective action; monitors and documents flushing, blow-off and cleaning throughout the system and receives and generates graphs.
• Performs perpetual maintenance of valves and hydrants; performs the preventive maintenance and repair of all hydrants and valves in the system; ensures valves are accessible and in proper working order; and records information on valves and hydrants to include GPS locations.
• Performs repairs and scheduled maintenance on equipment: valve machine, demolition saw, trash pump, etc.
• Provides support for Water Distribution, engineers, and contractors, including system repairs, isolation, line extensions, flushing, customer notification, fire flows, plan review, and update GIS, locates, and GPS components.
• Performs routine maintenance on CL-17 chlorine analyzers to include solution exchange, hose and wire replacement, cleaning, calibration, and adjustment of key components for operation.
• Adjusts and records data from blow-offs, performs maintenance of blow-offs, and records data for charting/graphing trends in the system.
• Plans and performs fire flow tests/water main isolations for Engineering and maps, plans, and implements unidirectional flushing of the water system.
• Implements line cleaning techniques to include pigging methods.
• Analyzes system problems derived from flow tests, customer complaints and produces appropriate solutions.
• Handles taste, odor, and colored water complaints and assists lab personnel with water quality complaints.
• Locates valves, mains, services, and leaks in the field using electronic and mechanical detection equipment.
• Obtains water samples as needed for lab purposes and inspects and tests backflow devices for new services.
• Ensures customer compliance with the organization's backflow prevention requirements; maintains backflow device data; records and updates related information; prepares related correspondence and forwards to customers for notification and compliance; conducts customer inspections; reviews questionnaires and construction plans; makes on-site inspections of new and existing establishments to determine if backflow installations, testing or repairs are needed.
• Receives, prepares or completes various forms, reports, and correspondence, i.e., water quality reports, complaints/response forms, work orders, hydrant flow reports, water turbidity and chlorine residual testing reports, construction plans, backflow testing agreements or other documentation; reviews, completes, processes, forwards or retains as appropriate.
• Communicates with supervisor, employees, other departments, customers, engineers, inspectors, contractors, and other individuals as needed to coordinate work activities, review the status of work, exchange information, and resolve problems.
• Provides the foreman with daily written reports of completed work, including time, location, personnel, and accomplished activities.
• Serves 'on call' for emergency response (as needed) and performs related duties as required.

Requirements

• High school diploma or GED along with vocational/technical training involving water systems, with any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience that provides the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities for this job.
• Must possess certification as a Backflow Tester by SC DHEC within one year and must pass the 'C' level Water Distribution exam within one year of hire date.
• Must possess and maintain a valid SC Driver's License.

Nice-to-haves

• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees, supervisors and customers.

Benefits

• Salary range: $46,689 - $72,368