WATER TREATMENT PLANT OPERATOR TRAINEE

Water Treatment Operator Trainee

The City of Lake Worth Beach invites qualified individuals to apply for the position of Water Treatment Operator Trainee. This full-time position is non-exempt with an hourly pay range of $18.41 - $23.38. This position will work at Water Treatment Plant at 301 College Street, Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460. In addition, this position offers:

• Vacation and Sick Leave Accruals
• 13 Paid Holidays
• 3 Floating Holidays
• City of Lake Worth Beach Medical Benefits that include Life Insurance, Dental and Vision coverage
• Retirement Plan

Job Summary:

This is an entry level position in water treatment plant operations. It requires twelve (12) months of training by a certified operator for a trainee to understand the fundamentals of water treatment plant operations.

This is an entry level / Training position in the operation of a water treatment plant on assigned shift. The water plant consists of a 12.9MGD Lime Softening Plant with 12 wells, 4.5 MGD Reverse Osmosis Plant with 3 Floridan well, one 4.05 MGD Deep Injection Well and 2 Booster Pumping Station. This position also provides training in maintenance and repair of treatment process and chemical feed equipment in the water treatment plant, wellfield, booster pumping stations and distribution system. This is moderately heavy labor position consisting of daily plant maintenance and skilled work in the water plant. The employee will assume the responsibility for the safe, efficient, environmentally acceptable operation and maintenance of water plant on an assigned shift.

The operator trainee will be engaged in maintaining electrical, instrumentation equipment, mechanical equipment, buildings and grounds. The operator may participate in more complex maintenance and repair work.

Essential Functions:

Under the overseeing of certified treatment plant operator the trainee will be expected to learn water treatment operations when given oral or written instruction of how to operate a water plant. The trainee will be required to learn all aspects of operation such as, but not limited to, adjusting flows, backwashing filters, adjusting chemicals, performing basic laboratory tests, changing charts, reading electric and water meters in the wellfield, recording pertinent information in the daily log book, and performing housekeeping duties. The trainee will keep the certified operator informed of any mechanical or electrical defects that he may come in contact with. Assists in the collection of water samples, repairs of treatment process equipment and other shift operations. Performs other job duties in order to be familiar with all aspects of water treatment operation. The trainee would be required to work different shifts.

• Performs inspections of all mechanical and feed equipment.
• Maintains all pumps, electric, check valves, air compressors, vacuum pump primer, and related piping.
• Repairs and maintains lime slakers, polymer, chlorinator, ammoniator, acid, caustic and scale inhibitor feed systems
• Maintains clear and accurate records of repairs in maintenance logs and/or daily log sheets in accordance to regulations of Palm Beach County Health Department, and Department of Environmental Protection.
• Maintains inventory of supplies and repair parts and prepares justifications.
• Receives and follows directions given and/or procedures as outlined in Plant policy or other applicable rules, regulations and laws.
• Effectively operates and controls equipment within established procedures under most circumstances; to include emergency conditions.
• Technical and operational understanding of all water plant systems; to include electrical switchgear up to 480 volts.
• Learns to recognize readings which are not in line with equipment specifications and/or operating conditions and reports problems.
• Follows applicable rules, regulations, environmental, safety, City and Plant policies.
• Takes direction in performing the necessary manual operation and adjustments to start, stop and maintain proper startup, shutdown and operation of all water plant equipment.
• Receives deliveries and fills out appropriate reports as necessary.
• Understanding water chemistry and treatment.
• Checks chemical pumps for proper operation and changes chemical containers, when necessary.
• Performs general daily maintenance, cleaning, painting, etc. on water plant equipment; to include structures, offices, control rooms and other areas designated.
• Works with other water plant operators in the maintenance and repair of equipment.

Other Related Duties:

The examples of essential functions as listed in this classification specification are not necessarily descriptive of any one position in the class. The omission of an essential function of work does not preclude management from assigning duties not listed herein if such functions are a logical assignment to the position.

Supervision: None

Minimum Qualifications:

• Graduation from a recognized high school or possession of a recognized equivalent certification. A comparable amount of training and/or experience may be substituted for the minimum qualifications.
• Worked in a water treatment plant with a minimum of one (1) year of experience as either a water, wastewater treatment plant mechanic or operator is preferred.
• Must have passing "C" level State Exam

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations:

• Graduation from a recognized high school or possession of a recognized equivalent certification. Some experience in mechanical, electrical, laboratory work. Math skills preferred
• A valid Florida driver's license.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Basic knowledge of chemistry and mathematics as it relates to water treatment. Ability to learn methods and practices of modern water treatment operations. Ability to learn and understand the functions of basic water hydraulics of different types of pumps used in water treatment. Ability to learn water analysis and interpret their results. Ability to learn how to calculate dosages of chemicals and the metric unit of measurement used in the lab and in the field. Ability to understand and follow oral and written instructions under the direction of a certified operator.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

• Basic knowledge of lime softening equipment, tanks, piping, valves and the chemical properties of quicklime.
• Basic knowledge of Reverse Osmosis equipment, tanks, piping, valves and the chemical properties.
• Ability to safely handle chemical when working on feed equipment. Complete understanding of the dangers of working around chlorine, ammonia, Acid, Caustic and lime slaking equipment.
• Skilled in the use of mechanic's tools and shop equipment in the installation, repair and maintenance of water treatment plant equipment and related piping
• Ability to work from blueprints, pencil drawings, written and oral instructions.
• Demonstrates ability to perform duties and responsibilities.
• Ability to work extended hours when required; to include nights, weekends and holidays.
• Ability to work overtime; to include both scheduled and unscheduled, as needed and to report to work on a short notice in an emergency.
• Ability to perform high school level mathematical calculations.
• Ability to read and understand blueprints, procedures, technical manuals and other job-related information.
• Ability to learn and understand lock out tag system, safety procedures, and environmental regulation.
• Demonstrates verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to communicate verbally and written with all levels of plant personnel.
• Physically able to negotiate inclines and stairs.
• Physically able to operate valves requiring 50 fp torque and lift equipment weighing fifty (50) pounds.
• Maintains safe working shoes, as determined by current policy.
• Ability to effectively and efficiently utilize computers, including basic Microsoft Office programs such as Outlook (e-mail, calendaring), Word and Excel.

All full-time employees are considered critical in response to emergency situations and may be deemed essential as needed depending on the situation.

Employees in this position will be required to complete the FEMA Incident Command System (ICS) Certification Levels 100, 200, 700 and 800 within the first six months of employment. Certain positions may be required to attain additional ICS training as needed.

The job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the City of Lake Worth Beach and the employee and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change.

The City of Lake Worth Beach is an Equal Opportunity