Tackling the Water Workforce Challenge
By Hope Thomson, Senior Project Director, SOG Environmental Finance Center
The pipes, pumps, and plants that produce safe and reliable water and wastewater services are usually an afterthought for most customers. Unfortunately, so are the people that are crucial to delivering these services successfully and consistently. Maintaining a sufficient workforce to support a utility’s function is increasingly a problem for water and wastewater providers of all sizes, especially as the United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that ~33% of the water workforce will retire in the next 10 years. In the EFC’s most recent Utility Management Survey, over 65% of NC utilities expressed concern about the future of their utility’s workforce.
Specific challenges to the water workforce include, but are not limited to:
Upskilling existing workers
The skills required to be part of the water workforce can be extensive. A collaborative group of water experts, including the American Water Works Association, developed in 2009 and updated in 2025 a water workforce competency model that describes the skills necessary for water and wastewater workers. The competencies are organized into five specific tiers, and range from academic skills such as writing and analytical thinking, to workplace skills such as teamwork, customer service, and planning, to technical skills such as quality control and understanding environmental regulations. Finding candidates that excel in all of these areas may be challenging, especially in rural areas with smaller workforce pools overall.
Adding to the challenge, the list of necessary skills is growing. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates that the number of water workforce jobs will decrease by 6% by 2033, and attributes that decline to technological advancement in the sector. However, workers will need to improve their technological skills and access additional training to be able to work on these more advanced systems. This could lead to changes in the profile of eligible applicants or push existing workers out of the talent pool.
The need for collaborative utility teams
Utility operations of course depend on the skills and knowledge of certified operators and technical experts to keep water and wastewater systems running smoothly and safely. However, improved performance also requires support from positions that focus on the management and financial elements of the utility. Ignoring the portion of the water workforce that manages the business elements of a public enterprise – such as billing and collections, financial planning, human resources, and more – may jeopardize the resources and support given to more technical workers, and therefore the service provision by the utility. For example, a vacancy with a small town’s front office staff may not have an immediate effect on operations at the water treatment plant, as the duties of a clerk versus a certified operator are relatively separate. However, the lack of overall staff capacity may deter the unit from pursuing favorable funding opportunities to make improvements at the plant, improvements that would ease the operator’s daily duties and improve service provision. Though the clerk and the operator may not work together daily, each provides a unique perspective and function to the utility staff.
Wage competition within the sector
Water sector jobs can offer not just meaningful employment, but attractive pay and benefits to workers. A 2018 report by the Brookings Policy Program reported that, at the time, the majority of water jobs outpaced the national average in terms of both average wages and lower percentile wages – that is, the lower end of earnings in water jobs were still higher than the lower end of earnings in all types of jobs by approximately $5/hour. Even with these incentives in place, there are vacancies present throughout the sector, and qualified candidates may be difficult to retain as they are offered competitive pay packages at nearby utilities or private firms. Additionally, if employees upskill enough and in the right areas, such as further training in certain technologies, they may be attracted to higher-paying industries altogether.
Tackling the Challenge
How can we move towards problem-solving these workforce challenges? In August of 2024, a federal interagency report described an effective water workforce as consisting of three pillars – recruitment, training, and retention of workers – with an underlying foundation of partnerships between utilities, training organizations, and other entities. The report highlighted case studies of successful interventions and methods of federal support for the water workforce; however, factors affecting the water workforce can be unique at the state — certainly at the local — level.
Guided by these insights , the SOG EFC and Lead for North Carolina will convene with parties interested in workforce issues, including local governments, state government agencies, non-profits, and other supportive organizations, to foster connection, capture state-specific knowledge, and identify both gaps and opportunities on Monday, October 6th. Please register for the event if you would like to participate and reach out to efc@sog.unc.edu with questions.
