Infrastructure

How to become a water and wastewater treatment plant operator

Official title: Water and wastewater treatment plant operator

Also called: Wastewater treatment plant operator, Water treatment plant operator

Water and wastewater treatment plant operators control and maintain the equipment and treatment processes in wastewater and water treatment plants.

Main tasks

Control water and wastewater treatment systems
Operate water treatment equipment and machines
Monitor systems to keep water safe
Collect water samples for testing
Test water for quality and safety
Record water treatment information
Maintain treatment equipment and machinery
Clean equipment and work areas

How to become one

You usually need to do an apprenticeship to become a water and wastewater treatment plant operator. You usually need NCEA Level 2 to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: to do an apprenticeship in water and sanitation engineering; a New Zealand Certificate in Wastewater Treatment (Level 4); a New Zealand Certificate in Drinking-water Treatment (Level 4); a New Zealand Diploma in Drinking-water Treatment (Level 5); a Class 1 or Class 2 driver licence with a special-type vehicle endorsement; experience in similar work.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

Apprenticeship: Apprenticeship in water and sanitation engineering. TEC links this job to study in civil engineering. New Zealand apprenticeship (NZQA level 4). Qualifications: NZ Cert in Drinking-water Treatment, NZ Cert in Wastewater Treatment. Usually 2 years.

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $68,000 to $102,000 a year (median $84,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $54,000 a year · Upper: $125,000 a year
TEC shows pay for this job by the hour: median $40.38 an hour.
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Strong increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 1,400 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Other Stationary Plant Operators, 24% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Other Stationary Plant Operators work (2023 Census): Auckland 24.3%, Waikato 13.8%, and Canterbury 12.6%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a water and wastewater treatment plant operator?

How much does a water and wastewater treatment plant operator earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $84,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $68,000 to $102,000 a year.

Has the number of people working as a water and wastewater treatment plant operator grown in New Zealand?

It has grown strongly: TEC records a strong increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a water and wastewater treatment plant operator?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026