Job Details

Senior Water Treatment Plant Operator

This recruitment is being conducted to fill five full-time vacancies. The list established by this recruitment may be used to fill future full-time, part-time, limited term, and temporary vacancies for up to one year.

The City of Vallejo Water Department is staffed by dedicated professionals with deep technical expertise and a strong commitment to public service. Our team values integrity, accountability, and collaboration.

The ideal candidate for the position of Senior Water Treatment Plant Operator will have sufficient working knowledge and progressively responsible experience working in a T3 system (or higher) drinking water treatment facility, comparable to Vallejo's surface-water treatment processes.

The Vallejo Water Department is a dynamic organization engaged in growth and positive change for the benefit of our customers and community. The Department provides potable water to 121,000 customers through a highly complex system including multiple raw water sources, three treatment plants, a Sludge Dewatering Facility, 600 miles of distribution pipes, 8 pressure zones, 27 pump stations, and 37,000 service connections.

The City of Vallejo is located in Solano County and has a population of approximately 121,000 residents. Vallejo is a rapidly changing, highly diverse community located midway between the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento.

This is the advanced journey level classification in the Water Treatment Plant Operator series. Employees in this classification have successfully obtained their Grade T4 and demonstrated their ability to perform and lead others in the full range of responsibilities involved in the operation and maintenance of a serviceable water supply through the City's transmission, distribution facilities, water treatment plants and sludge de-watering facility, without direction.

In addition to duties listed in the Water Treatment Plant Operator classification, incumbents may not perform all of the listed duties and/or may be required to perform additional or different duties from those set forth below to address business needs and changing business practices.

• Perform complex or unusual operations that assume a high level of skill and proficiency including the scheduling and performance of start-ups and shutdowns, startup testing of new installations, plant configuration changes, troubleshooting problems, minor equipment maintenance and calibration, collaborate with other staff on process or water quality challenges, treatment equipment testing and filter media surveillance.
• Prepare aliquots, solutions for use in bench-scale process testing, to verify or adjust correct chemical application and achieve optimal processes.
• Check regulatory compliance through thorough observations, assessments and accurate recordings of analytical results.
• Assemble documentation; provide updates and maintain information in plant operating logs and reports; perform and record mathematical calculations related to plant performance and operational control activities.
• Examine and interpret plant operating logs, test results, maintenance work performed, unusual operating conditions and report recommendations to supervisor.
• Dispatch call-out personnel as required for emergency situations at all hours; may act in a central communications functional role as follows; receiving, relaying and providing information to and from City personnel or other responder services as required.
• Perform lead operator responsibilities on shifts or as assigned.
• Instruct and monitor work of Operator Trainees and Staff Operators in all facets of plant operations and required maintenance.
• Assist Plant Supervisor with special projects.
• Participate in organizational meetings, operator training programs, emergency preparedness training and exercises.
• Assist supervisors in assessing readiness and team performance.
• Provide for safe plant conditions and working environment at all times exercising a routine of attentiveness and proactive responses to plant safety and security matters.
• Observe and participate in shift change turn-overs and ensure information exchanged is accurate and complete.
• Perform related duties and responsibilities as required.

Knowledge of advanced principles of mathematics, biology, chemistry, and hydraulics as applied in the operation of a drinking water treatment facility. Advanced principles and practices of drinking water treatment plant operations, laboratory analysis techniques and current drinking water standards and regulations. Advanced operating principles of plant equipment such as valves, pumps, motors, controls, instrumentation and telemetry. Basic computer (PC) skills in Microsoft Office Suite software. Current safety regulations pertaining to industrial work practices and use of related equipment. Performance and water quality regulations pertaining to water treatment plant operations. Regulations, techniques and equipment used in managing, mitigating, recovery and reporting of hazardous materials incidents. Practical knowledge of United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and California State Water Resource Board (CA SWRB) drinking water regulations that apply to the treatment techniques, operational control and performance of conventional surface water treatment plants. Practical understanding of roles and responsibilities as defined in California Office of Emergency Services Standardized Emergency Management System (S.E.M.S.), Incident Command System (ICS) and in the City's Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP).

Ability to understand and carry out written and oral instructions. Read and interpret gauges and other recording devices plant piping and distribution diagrams and other technical documents. Logically solve problems and identify hazardous work conditions. Apply the practices, procedures, techniques, and treatment rules pertaining to the operation of water treatment plants and distribution system into daily practice. Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work. Work any shift, rotations, weekends, and holidays, at any Water Department facility. Water Treatment Plant Operators may be assigned and required to report directly to any City treatment facility location, and to travel to alternate duty/work locations and offsite meetings. Lift 55 pounds and move heavy chemical containers. Operate and maintain water treatment plant equipment. Perform simple to complex tasks while wearing Level A personal protective equipment. Wear respiratory protection equipment as required; perform required duties while wearing a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA). Maintain the ability to perform required duties while wearing a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), and to maintain facial hair at all times as required to not interfere with wearing respiratory protective equipment. Diagnose operating problems and take effective courses of action. Make independent technical decisions to maintain proper treatment process and techniques. Perform repair maintenance to plant equipment such as pumps, valves, and electronic monitoring devices. Independently operate all of the Water Department's facilities in unusual conditions. Exercise highly skilled operations in all phases of plant operations: start-up, shutdown, reduction or bypass of unit processes, adverse of emergency conditions. Accurately observe and record operating conditions and provide verbal or written reports. Travel to alternate duty/work locations and offsite meetings. Work independently without supervision. Assist and mentor operators in technically challenging aspects of plant operations and treatment processes. Perform duties and responsible tasks of a plant shift operator. Operate a personal computer and common applications such as emails, word processing, spreadsheet and database programs.

Any combination of experience and training that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge, skills, and abilities would be: Experience: A minimum of four (4) years of experience working in water treatment operations, with at least two (2) of those years working at a journey-level with a Grade T3 certification, equivalent to the Water Treatment Plant Operator with the City of Vallejo. Education: Equivalent to completion of the twelfth (12th) grade. Successful completion of relevant courses required in order to obtain and maintain Grade T4 certification from the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). License or Certificate: Possession of, and ability to maintain, a valid driver's license. Possession of, and ability to maintain, a Water Treatment Plant Operator Grade T4 Certification issued by the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). Failure to maintain appropriate certification throughout employment for this classification will result in termination of employment. Possession of current and valid certifications for Hazardous Materials Technician, Confined Space Entry, CPR/First Aid, and Fork Lift Safety at the time of appointment is desirable, but must be obtained within the first 12 months of employment and maintained thereafter.

All public employees have been declared to be disaster service workers subject to such disaster service activities as may be assigned to them by their superiors or by law. Must be medically approved for wearing a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), and remain shaven of facial hair at all times as required to wear respiratory protection equipment. Must maintain the ability to perform required duties while wearing SCBA. Must be able to work safety while wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Work on an unscheduled basis for emergency situations; must be willing to work any day and any shift within a 24-hour period as assigned, including rotations, holidays, weekends and overtime as needed. Must be able to pass a stringent background check to enter the Travis Air Force Base Water facility.

Incumbents must be able to perform physical tasks which may include prolonged sitting, standing walking, reaching, twisting, turning, pushing, pulling, kneeling, bending, squatting and stooping in the performance of daily activities. The position also requires grasping, repetitive hand movement and fine motor coordination when using a computer keyboard or mobile data terminal. Near vision is required when writing reports and other documents, and far vision is required when in the field. Acute hearing is required when providing phone and personal service. The need to lift, carry and push tools and supplies weighing up to 55 pounds is also required.