Position Description
Tacoma Water is recruiting to establish an eligible list for the Water Treatment Plant Operator classification, which will be used to fill vacancies as they occur for one year unless the eligible list is extended or abolished. Operators are responsible for monitoring and controlling treatment processes, maintaining regulatory compliance, responding to changing source water conditions, and ensuring the continuous delivery of safe, reliable drinking water.
Our Water Treatment Plant Operators work both independently and as part of a team and exercise independent judgment in making operational decisions that directly affect water quality, treatment performance, and system reliability. In addition to day-to-day plant operations, operators actively participate in process optimization, operational improvements, and development of standard operating procedures. This position provides the opportunity to work with ozone treatment, conventional and direct filtration, chemical feed systems, laboratory analysis, SCADA, and large-scale transmission facilities.
Tacoma Water provides direct service to more than 300,000 people in the City of Tacoma, Pierce and King counties, and several other municipal water suppliers. We operate a 150 MGD conventional/direct filtration plant commissioned in 2015. Positions are located at the Green River Filtration Facility near Ravensdale, WA.
Hourly wage depends on Water Treatment Plant Operator certification level:
- Level 3 certification: $59.38 hourly
- Level 4 certification: $62.35 hourly
Primary Responsibilities
- Coordinate, monitor and control water quality, and system integrity to assure public health protection and regulatory compliance.
- Start up, shut down, make periodic checks of plant equipment and make required adjustments.
- Collect water samples and perform water quality tests for regulatory compliance and system operation.
- Inspect various water facilities, stations, and systems to monitor status and assure proper operation.
- Follow safety rules for plant operations; log and monitor confined space entries, lockout / tag-out and unsafe site conditions.
- Follow established guidelines and regulatory requirements to perform independent system changes to assure proper water treatment, quality and supply.
- Maintain plant records, logs, diaries and inventories for regulatory compliance and operational needs.
- Prepare and maintain required reports and records in a clear, concise, complete, and accurate manner.
- Monitor and control access to water division facilities and watershed.
- Operate a wide variety of powered and non-powered equipment.
- Perform routine and corrective maintenance on plant equipment, grounds and buildings.
- Communicate and work cooperatively and effectively with others to ensure safe and uninterrupted treatment plant operation.
- Safely load and unload potentially hazardous chemicals by hand or using chemical–handling equipment.
- Perform other related incidental work.
- Monitor and operate water SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system.
Qualifications
Three years of experience working in the field of water treatment or water quality with a private or public water utility.
Licenses, Certificates And Other Requirements
- Possession of a valid Water Treatment Plant Operator Level III certificate (or higher) with the Washington State Department of Health or other state agencies granted reciprocity by WADOH. (The Green River Water Treatment Facility has a Level IV rating established by the Washington State Department of Health.)
- Possession of a valid Washington State driver's license with maintenance thereafter.
- Valid First Aid Certificate and CPR card prior to the completion of the probationary period with maintenance thereafter.
- Completion of Tacoma Water's Hazardous Chemical Training Class within six months of appointment.
Selection Process & Supplemental Information
City of Tacoma Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
At the City of Tacoma, we're on a mission to make our workforce as diverse and inclusive as the community we serve. We're committed to eliminating racial and other disparities, and we actively seek out candidates from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. Join our team at the City of Tacoma and help us build a more vibrant, inclusive, and equitable community for all.
The City of Tacoma believes that diversity of thought, background, and experience contributes to our success and innovation. If you’re passionate about this role and our mission, we encourage you to apply. If you have a less traditional background, we want to hear about your transferrable skills and experience. We value a variety of perspectives and are excited to see what you bring to the table.
Apply
Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications will have their responses to the supplemental questions scored. Applicants will be scored based on the information provided in their responses only. It is the responsibility of the applicant to list all pertinent experience and training in their response to each supplemental question.
Applicants must pass the evaluation of supplemental questions to be placed on the eligible list for interview and hiring consideration. Appointment is subject to passing a background check and a pre-employment medical exam. This position is covered by a Labor Agreement between the City of Tacoma and IBEW Local 483. New employees must successfully complete a nine-month probationary period prior to obtaining permanent status in this classification.
Get Assistance
For assistance with the application process or questions regarding this job announcement please contact the Human Resources office at (253) 591-5400 by 4:00 p.m. of the closing date of the job announcement.
For technical difficulties using the NEOGOV system, call the applicant support line at 1-855-524-5627 between 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. This will allow us to assist you before the job announcement closes.
Communication with the City of Tacoma
We primarily communicate via email during the application process. Emails from Tacoma.gov and/or governmentjobs.com should be placed on your safe domain list to ensure that you receive notifications in a timely manner. As a precaution, you may also want to check your junk email folders.
The City of Tacoma provides excellent medical, dental and vision plans for the whole family; paid holidays and paid leave; participation in the Tacoma Employees' Retirement System (alternate plan for Police/Fire); continuing education and advancement opportunities and a growing variety of City-sponsored health and wellness opportunities and incentives.
Medical Coverage: For eligible employees and their families, including domestic partners and dependent children age 26 or younger.
Dental Coverage: For eligible employees and their families, including domestic partners and dependent children age 26 or younger.
Vision Coverage: For eligible employees and their eligible dependents.
Paid Leave: City employees are entitled to received paid holidays, sick/vacation leave or personal time off (PTO), depending upon union affiliation and appointment type.
Insurance Plans: Employees are covered by a long-term disability plan. Short-term and expanded long-term disability insurance plans are also available to employees. The State Industrial Insurance Act also covers employees.
Deferred Compensation: Income can be set aside on a pretax basis and invested for supplementation of normal retirement income.
Retirement: All employees of the City, except members of the Police and Fire services, Tacoma Rail and certain project employees, are included in the Tacoma Employees' Retirement System. Information on the Tacoma Employees' Retirement System can be found at www.cityoftacoma.org or by calling (253) 502-8200.
Other Employment Information
Direct Deposit: Employees are paid on a bi-weekly schedule by direct deposit.
Salary Increases: Based on satisfactory job performance, the City provides for a regular progression of salary increases for most classifications according to the salary schedule.
Union Affiliation: Many job classifications are covered by union security provisions which require union membership, dues, or payment of equivalent service fees.
Note: The provisions of this job announcement do not constitute an expressed or implied contract. Any provision contained herein may be modified and/or revoked without notice.
01
Responses to supplemental questions must be original content created by the applicant using their own words. The use of online tools or resources to create responses, such as Artificial Intelligence (ChatGPT, etc.), Google, Bing, etc., or plagiarism in any form, is considered cheating and falsification of the application. I understand that any form of cheating or falsification will disqualify my application for further consideration.
02
Do you have three years' experience working in the field of water treatment or water quality with a private or public water utility?
03
Please indicate your valid Water Treatment Plant Operator certificate level.
04
If you are an out of state applicant, have you verified your eligibility for reciprocity with the Washington State Department of Health?
05
How many years of experience do you have working in the field of water treatment or water quality with a public or private utility?
- 0-2 years
- 3-5 years
- 5-10 years
- 10+ years
06
Instructions For The Experience And Training Test
Questions #7-15 are the experience and training test that will be used to establish the eligibility list. These questions will be scored by subject matter experts who will not have access to any of your application materials, and will provide scores based solely upon your answers to the questions. Your answers must stand on their own merit. DO NOT RESPOND WITH "SEE RESUME" in lieu of answering this question, as raters will not have access to your resume or application and this will result in a score of 0 points and you will fail the test. Your score on the experience and training test will ONLY reflect your response to the questions asked.
Please indicate "Yes" that you have read and understand the instructions for questions #7-15.
07
Why is turbidity a critical parameter for Water Treatment Plant Operator to monitor, and what could high turbidity indicate in terms of water quality?
08
While the Department of Health (DOH) does not regulate particle counts, why is it important to track rising counts, and what potential issues could they signal?
09
Identify three key criteria that would prompt you to initiate a backwash for a filter.
10
How do you define "terminal headloss" in a filter? Explain how you have applied this knowledge in your current or past roles. Additionally, if headloss indication is lost on a filter, how would you detect it?
11
When conducting a routine inspection of a chlorine residual analyzer, what specific elements or readings do you check to ensure proper function?
12
What are three factors that can influence the pH of water in a treatment system? How does each factor affect pH levels?
13
When a chemical delivery driver arrives on site, what is the most important safety check before allowing them to connect to a tank? Name at least two additional checks you would perform before authorizing offloading.
14
Describe the treatment process at your current or most recent Water Treatment Plant. What are the key steps involved in the treatment process? How does each step contribute to ensuring safe and clean water?
15
What does filter plant optimization mean to you as an operator, and how do you contribute to achieving it in daily operations?
16
One of the City's Principles that guides us is Equity. Describe what equity means to you and describe any experience you have working with diverse groups of people.
17
Please tell us how you learned about this job opening.
- Job Interest Card notification
- Professional organization
- Military organization
- City of Tacoma employee
- Online job board posting
- Word of mouth
- LinkedIn
- Tacoma Training & Education Program (TTEP)
- Indeed
- Facebook
- Instagram
- Careers in Government
- Government Jobs
- Outreach Event
- National Diversity Network
- African American Job Network
- Disability Job Network
- Asian Job Network
- Latino Job Network
- Retirement Job Network
- LGBT Job Network
- Veteran Job Network
- Other
18
Please provide specific information regarding how you learned about this job opening. Thank you, your feedback will be used to evaluate our success reaching the public and refine our methods for future job postings.
