A Drop of Knowledge

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2022, for every 100 employees in the water, sewage, and other systems-related industries, 5.4 employees sustained injuries. Of those injured, 2.8 out of every 100 employees were injured severely enough to result in missed work, job transfers, or restricted duties (http://bls.gov/web/osh/table-1-industry-rates-national.html). These statistics highlight a clear need for employees to know the potential hazards they may be exposed to and how to protect themselves. 

Water and wastewater treatment employees face various risks and hazards daily, and addressing these risks is vital to ensure the well-being of both employees and citizens of the communities they serve. Safety training is the attempt to inform employees of how to prevent and respond to work-related illness and injury. Safety training can be provided in different formats, such as on-the-job safety equipment training, classroom seminars, online training, and/or videos. Good safety training will inform employees of potential danger on the job and will teach and encourage safe work habits.  

Safety training should be designed to fit the needs of the target audience. Rather than having a standard form of safety training, start with a few fundamentals, and then deal with specific risks to the particular employee. With this in mind, training can include some of the following: 

Proper use of equipment: Train employees on the correct use of any equipment they will be using. Follow that up with a quick observation of the employees using the equipment themselves to ensure comprehension.  

Appropriate storage and equipment and materials: The third leading cause of injury is bodily reactions such as slipping and tripping. A large percentage of these accidents can be avoided by simply keeping walkways clear and work areas clean.  

Handling of hazardous material: Employees should be trained in how to be confident and careful with such materials.  

Reporting procedures: When employees notice an unsafe area or situation on the job, it is important that they know how to report it and have it corrected.  

Responding to injuries on the job: It is inevitable that some injuries will happen on the job. How should employees respond when they or someone else is injured on the job? To whom should they report the injury? If employees need basic first aid skills, include a first aid class as part of the training.  

Working alone: It may not always be possible to send people out in pairs, depending on staffing numbers and the needs of various jobs. This is where Lone Worker Safety Programs provide individuals with the support needed to complete jobs safely. It can be as simple as implementing a check-in schedule to encourage communication between employees and/or supervisors.  

There is no end to the possible topics of safety training. One common practice is to record injuries that have occurred at your workplace in the past year or two and tailor safety training to address those specific issues.   

Not only do you need to record injuries, but you also need to record all training that has been conducted during the year. Review your safety training program annually to gauge your current safety practices, to assess their effectiveness and to identify any other risks that they have yet to address. 

Safety is a number one priority, and maintaining a zero -accident record should be everyone’s goal. 

This article was funded under RCAP’s USDA Technitrain 23 – 25 grant.  

Water and wastewater systems are marvels of engineering that require highly skilled operators, but they are also business-like entities that require another set of workers to succeed, typically toiling quietly in the background—administrative professionals.

Administrative professionals provide a bevy of vital services to water and wastewater utilities, including:

Managing finances,
Managing water and wastewater service functions,
Complying with regulatory agencies,
Supporting and educating their governing body members,
Communicating with community stakeholders, and
Facilitating capital improvement projects.

Their day-to-day responsibilities include a diverse set of tasks such as developing budgets, tracking finances, generating utility bills, managing payroll, maintaining records, paying bills, developing policies and procedures, managing human resources, administering customer service, purchasing needed supplies, overseeing project schedules, submitting required reports, responding to non-compliance notices, supporting governing body meetings, performing customer outreach, and staying up-to-date on funding opportunities. The good work of utilities would grind to a halt without these dedicated employees.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, RCAP surveyed small communities across the country and found that 43% of respondents had only one full-time operator on staff, only a part-time operator on staff, or relied on contractors solely for operations. Recently, RCAP surveyed over 500 communities across the country and found that many also rely on a single person to perform all the utility’s administrative functions. This is especially true for the smallest communities.

There can be high turnover in administrative positions. RCAP’s survey revealed that more than a quarter of utility administrative professionals had been on the job less than two years.

The work of these administrative professionals directly impacts the utility’s ability to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and to ensure the financial sustainability of the system. But administrative professionals are often overlooked, overworked, underpaid, and under-trained, especially in small communities.

RCAP believes that one of the most effective ways to enhance utility capacity development is to invest in leadership and management training for water and wastewater administrative professionals who currently have few professional development opportunities tailored specifically for their needs and no opportunity to earn a credential such as a certificate specific to the water sector.

RCAP’s long-term goal is to address these two shortcomings by creating and offering the country’s first certificate program in management and leadership for water and wastewater administrative professionals. With generous funding from EPA’s new Innovative Water Infrastructure Workforce Development Program and in partnership with its regional partners, the International Association of Administrative Professionals, and Water Finance Assistance, RCAP began that process this year by creating a “job-task analysis,” which identifies and documents the specific tasks, knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform a particular job or occupation effectively. This job-task analysis will serve as the basis for the next two steps in the program creation—developing a training curriculum for water and wastewater administrative professionals and creating the certificate exam itself. Administrative professionals would attend the training course and then sit for the certificate exam at its conclusion.

There are far more administrative professionals in small communities across the country doing whatever they can to keep their utilities and their communities functioning than we likely realize. RCAP’s field staff work with these dedicated employees every day. The goal of RCAP’s new program is to create more administrative professional leaders who can help their water and wastewater utilities thrive.