Jeff Kalmes, superintendent of the Billerica Water Resource Recovery Facility in Billerica, Massachusetts, enthusiastically encourages viewers to consider a career in water resource recovery – also known as the wastewater industry – in this new video.
The video aims to shine a light on this often out-of-sight, out-of-mind industry that is facing a crucial staffing shortage. The EPA Office of Water highlights the issue in its document, “America’s Water Sector Workforce Initiative: A Call to Action,” stating: “In the next five to 10 years, water sector workers will be eligible to retire at levels that will stress our ability to operate this critical infrastructure. The clean and safe water and the way of life we have come to enjoy in this country cannot be sustained without our water protection specialists.”
Kalmes’ experience supports this reality of the impending worker shortage. “The number of people aging out and leaving the industry is huge,” he said, “and there’s really nobody coming in behind us to fill us in, so the openings are there.”
One major benefit of a career in water resource recovery, Kalmes explains, is that it is recession-proof. “It’s a necessity that everybody needs; whether it’s drinking water or wastewater, it’s a job that’s going to be here for life.”
Beyond reliable job opportunities, the industry provides essential environmentally-friendly services: treating wastewater to release clean water back to the communities. “You’re helping the environment every single day,” Kalmes said. “There’s a lot to be proud of at the end of the day, and not every industry has that.”
NEIWPCC provides a regional wastewater training program at locations throughout New England and New York State. The courses cover all aspects of water and wastewater treatment operations, maintenance, and management to ensure that environmental professionals are equipped with the latest knowledge and skills. Each summer, NEIWPCC also runs the six-week EPA-sponsored Youth and the Environment Program designed to introduce inner-city youth to the wastewater field.
For more on the topic, Patricia L. Chesebrough, program manager in NEIWPCC’s Wastewater and Onsite Systems Division, recently outlined opportunities to combat the aging wastewater workforce in NEIWPCC’s “Interstate Waters” magazine.