Water Plant Operator

Compensation Range

$21.94 - $28.11

Please note: This job opening may close earlier than the stated date, due to high candidate volume. If interested, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. 

Who We Are:

At the City of High Point, we celebrate the creator in everyone. Building on our rich cultural history steeped in industrialism and innovation, our employees seek not only to transform themselves, but the world around us. We are collaborators, we are makers, we are visionaries. 
  
We invite you to explore the many opportunities to serve our community, by sharing your talents, skills, and expertise. You'll join a diverse team of over 1300 individuals dedicated not just to making a career, but a difference; because what we create in High Point, changes the world! 

Our Core Values:

• Integrity: Saying what we mean and consistently doing what we say with no desire other than the good of the citizens we serve. It means standing up for beliefs.

• Responsibility: A continual process that emphasizes a high level of personal accountability by each member of the organization.

• Partnership: Adding competitive value and quality to the services provided to our residents, businesses, and visitors through responsible fiscal stewardship, increased innovation, greater use of technology, and expanded civic, neighborhood and regional partnerships.

What We Offer:
The City of High Point offers a competitive salary commensurate with education and experience. We also offer generous benefit package for full-time employees which include but are not limited to:

• A guaranteed life-long monthly pension, once vested after 5 years of service

• 401K and 457B Retirement Plans

• PTO earned within first year

• 12 Paid Holidays per year

• Tuition Reimbursement Plan

• Competitive medical, dental, and vision plans effective day one

What You'll Do:

Performs routine skilled and technical work in the operation of water pumping and purification equipment to provide potable water to meet demands of residential and industrial customers and maintain appropriate reserves to meet grade A-1 fire protection criteria; does related worked as required.

Essential Tasks & Responsibilities:

• Monitors gauges and indicators for proper water flows and plant operations, record results and calibrate meters as required.
• Periodically monitors and checks motors, pumps, filters, and chemical feeders, adjust as needed and report malfunction to supervisor.
• Conducts routine physical and chemical tests, records result or sends samples to lab for more complete tests and results.
• Checks and replenishes treatment equipment with chemicals and changes charts on recording meters and gauges as needed.
• Opens and closes valves which requires entering confined spaces and going down into manholes.
• Collects water samples at designated points.
• Performs routine plant maintenance as needed.
• Keeps basins, lagoons, and filters free of foreign matter.
• Sample duties include reading gauges and manually adjusting valves.
• Ensures that all work is performed in accordance with OSHA and City Safety Standards and Policies.
• Performs routine plant custodial functions as requested.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications:

• High School Diploma or GED required
• At least 18 years of age
• Possess a valid North Carolina Driver’s License
• Availability to work nights and weekends as scheduled or as needed to meet operational demands.
• State Grade C Water Operator Certificate must be obtained within eighteen (18) months of employment to maintain the position.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Associate’s degree
• Formal education in Algebra and/or Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)
• Some knowledge and experience in mechanics is preferred to support technical tasks.

Physical Requirements

Hearing/Speaking:

• Ability to express and receive information clearly through spoken word when interacting with co-workers, citizens, supervisors, contractors, visitors, and vendors.
• Operator frequently uses the plant phone system, cell phones, PA systems, and two-way radios.

Visual Abilities:

• Acuity (Far): Clear vision at 20 feet or more. Ability to observe panel lights and monitor activity for proper operation. Must be able to operate a motor vehicle. Vision must be 20/25 in both eyes, with 20/30 in the right and left eye, corrected.
• Acuity (Near): Clear vision at 20 inches or less to read instruments, hand tools, and documents. Vision must be 20/22 corrected in both eyes.
• Depth Perception: Ability to judge distances and spatial relationships for multitasking and ensuring safety across the work area.
• Field of Vision: Must be able to see a wide span of the area to ensure safety while focusing on a specific object or instrument.
• Accommodation: Ability to adjust the lens to bring objects into sharp focus, especially when alternating between near-point tasks and monitoring a broader area.
• Color Vision: Ability to distinguish colors to monitor SCADA system readings and ensure proper functioning.

Physical Strength:

• Medium Work:
  • Exert up to 50 pounds of force occasionally.
  • Exert up to 20 pounds of force frequently.
  • Exert up to 10 pounds constantly to move objects.

Physical Demands:

• Reaching: Extending arms or hands in any direction.
• Handling: Seizing, holding, grasping, turning, or working with hands.
• Manual Dexterity: Ability to work with fingers, such as picking or pinching, rather than using the entire hand or arm.
• Requires frequent walking, standing, bending, stooping, lifting, climbing, and stretching. The worker will occasionally sit but will use arms, hands, legs, and feet extensively.

Mental Activity/Requirements:

Reasoning:

• Ability to apply logical thinking and good judgment to work tasks, respond to supervisor requests, and interpret lab data. Must be able to identify and address abnormal plant operations efficiently.

Mathematics Ability:

• Essential for performing laboratory analyses, understanding plant functions, and interpreting data.

Language Ability:

• Ability to speak, read, and write in English.
• Ability to read safety materials, instructions, equipment readings, and job-related documents.
• Ability to write reports and communicate clearly in person, over the PA system, by phone, and via two-way radio.

Training Required:

• On-the-job training typically takes around 6 months for this position.

Environmental Conditions:

Physical Surroundings:

• Exposure to both inside and outside environmental conditions, including temperature changes.

Hazards:

• Exposure to chemicals used in water treatment and waterborne diseases, including nitric acid, acetone, sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite, and more.
• Risk of electrocution, falling, hazardous gas exposure, and dangerous equipment.
• Work complies with OSHA standards for bloodborne pathogens.

Machinery/Tools/Work Aids/Other Equipment:

• Must be able to wear a respirator when required.
• Tools used include laboratory equipment, dissolved oxygen meters, pH meters, scales, microscopes, hand tools, two-way radios, flashlights, air packs, motorized equipment (including city vehicles), and various operating forms and logs.

The work location of this job will be 121 N Pendleton St High Point, North Carolina.

Our Commitments
The City of High Point is dedicated to fostering a work environment that values individuals from all backgrounds and seeks to attract and retain the most qualified partners in service to the citizens of High Point. As an at-will employer, the City allows employees to terminate their employment, or be terminated at any time, with or without cause, as long as it is not prohibited by law.