Water & Sewer Utility Worker III

Salary: $39,187.20 - $62,691.20 Annually
Location : Water and Sewer Pipe Maintenance, 1103 S. Mebane St., Burlington, NC 27215, NC
Job Type: Full-time
Job Number: 2026-00111
Department: Water Resources
Division: Water Sewer Pipe Maintenance
Opening Date: 06/04/2026
Closing Date: 6/13/2026 11:59 PM Eastern


Job Description
This position is open to current City of Burlington Employees only!

About us:
The City of Burlington Water Resources Department exists to provide Burlington residents with services pertaining to water treatment and distribution and wastewater collection and treatment.


What you will do:
Responsible for maintaining city facilities, structures, and grounds through manual labor and skilled maintenance tasks. Duties include water and sewer system upkeep, pipe repairs and replacements, sewer line cleaning, landscaping, equipment maintenance, and roadway patching. Operates city vehicles, loads and unloads supplies, directs traffic, and ensures safe and clean water services. Requires independent judgment while traveling between worksites and completing assignments.

Examples of Duties

• Valve Vigilance: Manually tests and operates water and wastewater valves, reporting any needed replacements.
• Grounds & Pavement Specialist: Digs, patches, and backfills roads and grounds using shovels, dump trucks, and jackhammers.
• Concrete & Drainage Expert: Repairs paved surfaces, installs storm drains, and maintains manholes as needed.
• Water & Sewer Warrior: Assists in main break repairs by excavating, cutting, clamping, and backfilling pipes.
• Heavy Equipment Handler: Operates backhoes and hauls materials to and from worksites.
• Leak Detective: Uses jackhammers and hand tools to expose, repair, and replace broken water and sewer mains.
• Winter Responder: Clears sidewalks of snow and spreads salt to ensure public safety.
• Plant Maintenance Pro: Cleans screens, scum boxes, filters, and underground pumps at water and wastewater plants.
• Tool & Equipment Caretaker: Uses, cleans, and maintains various power tools, equipment, and vehicles.
• All-Hands Helper: Performs additional duties as needed to keep the city running smoothly.

Qualifications

Knowledge, Skills, and Ability:

• Municipal Maintenance Mastery: Deep understanding of the essential upkeep required to keep a city running smoothly.
• Construction & Repair Guru: Well-versed in materials, methods, and terminology used in general construction and maintenance.
• Equipment Operator Extraordinaire: Skilled in handling mowers, tractors, dump trucks, leaf blowers, weed eaters, chainsaws, forklifts, tamps, jackhammers, and more.
• Landscaping & Groundskeeping Pro: Experienced in seeding, strawing, fertilizing, mowing, shoveling, and raking for top-tier turf and grounds maintenance.
• Safety & Visibility Advocate: Ensures proper signage and safety measures are in place to keep crews and the public safe during operations.

Minimum Qualifications:

• High School Diploma or GED equivalency and considerable work experience in the maintenance of buildings, grounds, and/or water and wastewater plants, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Valid Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
• Certified Forklift Operator

Supplemental Information

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:

• Work in this class is described as medium and frequently requires physical exertion to complete tasks and move objects.
• Work typically involves the ability to physically perform the basic life operational functions of climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, reaching, walking, pushing, pulling, lifting, fingering, grasping, hearing and repetitive motions.
• The employee is required to have the visual acuity to be the operator of trucks, forklifts, cranes, and other equipment, and determine the accuracy, neatness and thoroughness of the work assigned.
• Employee is subject to hazards including physical conditions with proximity to moving mechanical parts, electrical current, exposure to chemicals, vibration, noise, and atmospheric conditions.
• Working conditions include both inside and outside environmental conditions.

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
Inclement Weather Classification: Essential
Benefits for full-time employees of the City of Burlington (with the exception of full-time sworn police officers) are as follows:

• Paid vacation and sick leave
• Ability to transfer North Carolina local government earned sick leave.
• Paid holidays for New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Good Friday, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas
• Enrollment in the Local Government branch of the North Carolina State Retirement System
• Enrollment in Empower 401k
• Health and dental insurance coverage for employee and children; spouses may be added to the policy if they are not offered coverage at their own place of employment
• Voluntary enrollment in a Flexible Spending Plan
• Life insurance
• Long-term care insurance
• Other voluntary insurances and deferred compensation plans