Plant Operator - Wastewater Utility Plant

City of Richmond•Richmond, VA

15h•Onsite

About The Position

The City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities is seeking qualified candidates to fill a Plant Operator position in the Wastewater Utility Plant. The Plant Operator will perform work of moderate to considerable difficulty in the operating of a wastewater treatment plant in accordance with applicable laws, ordinances, and regulations. The Plant Operator is a career broadband position. Incumbents serve as an Essential employee, which means that the incumbent is required to work when the City is closed due to public emergencies, critical or hazardous conditions, or inclement weather.

Requirements

Knowledge of wastewater treatment processes
Knowledge of safety principles and safety practices
Knowledge of Scada programs used to monitor, control, and document wastewater plant operations and compliance
Strong mathematical background in Algebra and Geometry
Ability to safely use hand tools
Knowledge of wastewater laboratory equipment including spectrophotometers, p.H. probes and meters, dissolved oxygen probes and meters, incubators, ovens, and glassware
Knowledge of computerized maintenance management systems
High School Diploma or GED
Virginia driver’s license
Ability to properly use personal protective equipment
Knowledge of wastewater treatment techniques

Nice To Haves

Minimum of a Class 3 Virginia Wastewater Works Operator License
At least one year of experience in wastewater treatment plant operations
Experience with utility plant maintenance
Valid Virginia driver’s license
Microsoft Office Suite including Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Teams
Completion of Wastewater treatment training courses

Responsibilities

Monitoring, documenting, and optimizing wastewater plant process controls to include adjusting wastewater flow rates, chemical dosage set points, air compressor discharge pressures, and blower output settings
Maintaining compliance with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality VPDES permit and the Environmental Protection Agency’s federal regulations
Recognizing and correcting negative impacts to wastewater quality
Sampling, collecting, documenting chain of custody information, transporting, and performing laboratory testing and analysis on wastewater, sludge, and biosolids samples
Reading and interpreting gauges, meters, wastewater quality analyzers, and control panels to monitor plant equipment and adjust treatment processes to maintain compliance with the wastewater treatment plant permits
Observing and documenting variations in operating conditions and wastewater treatment techniques to determine proper process control adjustments
Recording operational data in wastewater control station log books, digital databases, daily log sheets, and supervisory control and data acquisition systems
Operating valves, gates, pumps, and plant equipment to control and adjust wastewater treatment processes
Adjusting, monitoring, and responding to normal and abnormal operational situations involving the wastewater collection system, combined sewer overflows, retention basin, diversion structure, remote collection stations, and wastewater treatment plant
Completing visual inspections of assigned duty stations and treatment facilities several times each shift
Perform regular preventative maintenance on plant equipment, structures, tanks, and grounds (groundskeeping and housekeeping)
General housekeeping and cleaning in and around wastewater operator control stations
Ability to use and navigate applications and programs on desktop computers, laptop computers, smartphones, tablets, human machine interfaces, programmable logic controllers, and operator interface terminals
Perform complex mathematical calculations to determine areas, volumes, averages, means, geometric means, minimums, maximums, percentages, wastewater flow rates, sludge flow rates, return activated sludge flow rates, waste activated sludge flow rates, filter influent flow rates, pump speeds, blower speeds, chemical demands, chemical dosages, and chemical residuals
Active participation in the stormwater pollution prevention program which includes regular inspections and daily groundskeeping responsibilities
Walking for long periods of times indoors and outdoors, up and down several flights of stairs, during the day or at night, in all types of weather, wearing the appropriate level of personal protective equipment
Active participation in utility wide safety programs
Active participation in employee training programs