A professional who controls treatment plant machines and equipment to purify and clarify water for human consumption and for industrial use. Responsibilities include:

• Operates and controls electric motors, pumps, and valves to regulate flow of raw water into treating plant.
• Dumps specified amounts of chemicals, such as chlorine, ammonia, and lime into water or adjusts automatic devices that admit specified amounts of chemicals into tanks to disinfect, deodorize, and clarify water.
• Starts agitators to mix chemicals and allows impurities to settle to bottom of tank.
• Turns valves to regulate water through filter beds to remove impurities.
• Pumps purified water into water mains.
• Monitors panelboard and adjusts controls to regulate flow rates, loss of head pressure and water elevation, and distribution of water.
• Cleans tanks and filter beds, using backwashing (reverse flow of water).
• Repairs and lubricates machines and equipment, using handtools and power tools.
• Tests water samples to determine acidity, color, and impurities, using colorimeter, turbidimeter, and conductivity meter.
• Adds chemicals such, as alum into tanks to coagulate impurities and to reduce acidity.
• Records data, such as residual content of chemicals, water turbidity, and water pressure.
• May operate portable water-purification plant to supply drinking water.