Stories
Click on these stories to learn more about the common themes throughout the interviews.
Community outreach and involvement
Water operators interface with the communities they serve, whether it's collecting bill payments, issuing reports on water quality, giving plant tours or answering questions. These stories reflect the public role of operators and the ways they help people understand where their water comes from.
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Operator training and education
To become a water operator, one doesn't need a college degree but must be trained and certified. This collection of stories reflect the field's many opportunities for upward mobility, job stability and lifelong learning.
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Management
Oftentimes water operators assume management positions in which they oversee others in the running of their plant. This aspect of the job involves creating operating systems, organizing staffing needs, maintaining employee morale, reporting to higher-ups, and managing budgets — all while keeping water flowing.
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Natural challenges or limitations
From drought to population growth to extreme weather, water operators everywhere are affected by their larger contexts. These stories reflect how water operators navigate everything from sudden storms and long-term climate shifts, ensuring a balance between water sources and water consumption, use, waste, and conservation.
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Daily Maintenance
Water systems everywhere are prone to entropy. Pipes break, pumps shut down, filters need replacing. This collection of stories convey some of the mundane but necessary tasks involved with keeping a water system functioning.
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