How Automation Improves Safety and Compliance for Wastewater Workers

More than 120,000 wastewater workers operate to ensure clean water while managing workplace hazards.

• By Gen Handley
• Feb 10, 2025

p>The average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water every day To give you an idea of how much that is, a four-person hot tub holds between 300 to 400 gallons of water – it’s a lot. And to ensure it is clean when it flows into our homes and businesses, there are more than 120,000 operators, technicians, and engineers hard at work in water and wastewater treatment plants across the US, performing their jobs at all hours and around a range of dangerous occupational hazards.

The hazards and challenges
The range of hazards that water workers potentially face is diverse and complex. They can experience harmful slips and falls, at both high and low levels, as well as drowning. Water workers may have to work in high-risk confined spaces, such as tanks and tunnels, which can be dangerous. Water workers also face invisible occupational hazards including toxic chemicals and gases like hydrogen sulfide as well as increased risk of biological hazards like pathogens and infectious illnesses in the water and air.

Employer responsibilities
Under current occupational safety legislation, the OSHA states employers “have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace.” However, the complexities of a safe workplace are addressed in the many specific safety obligations or key employer responsibilities that employer must practice to achieve safety and compliance.
Some of the specific key responsibilities related to compliance include:

• Provide a workplace free from serious recognized hazards and comply with standards, rules and regulations issued under the OSH Act.
• Examine workplace conditions to make sure they conform to applicable OSHA standards.
• Provide medical examinations and training when required by OSHA standards.

In the US, wastewater workers are under the protection of a number of OSHA regulations that include implementing measures to prevent exposure to identified hazards, including the selection of appropriate PPE such as rubber gloves, aprons, boots, and face masks to prevent contact with wastewater; proper practices and protocols for permit-required confined spaces (29 CFR 1910.146); perform workplace evaluation and implement appropriate safety measures according to the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030); and address the hazards associated with entering and cleaning sewage tanks.

Additionally, employers may be subject to state-specific safety regulations. For example, the Washington State Department of Health has established several specific regulations for wastewater management including Chapter 246-272A WAC which outlines the safety standards for on-site sewage systems and Chapter 246-273 WAC which addresses the proper usage of on-site sewage additives and chemicals.

Challenges of compliance
Monitoring and maintaining these OSHA standards and regulations, as well as industry-specific standards, for workers across multiple departments, can be very challenging. Consequently, this could result in safety practices that are not compliant and updated according to current safety regulations. Other compliance issues can include:

• Effective training of employees on policies and protocols
• Human error and mistakes when practicing safety protocols
• Updating, creating, and managing all the necessary documents
• Proving easy access to the most current safety policies and protocols
• Regular internal communication and education on safety practices within the organization

Automation is an answer
In order to effectively address these compliance issues, employers must first assess their legislative and regulatory requirements and then develop systems to ensure compliance is maintained and practiced by all levels of the company. As previously mentioned, a major issue for maintaining compliance is human error and mistakes. Automated safety technology will help prevent human error and make sure that certain safety steps are performed, according to required protocol. Additionally, automation will benefit water workers’ safety and compliance in areas including:

• It is an effective safety monitoring tool that does not impact their work, reducing the need for manual intervention
• It allows the water workers to focus on the quality of their work and safety
• It standardizes processes, ensuring consistent and accurate operations.
• It improves communication systems, reducing miscommunication amongst team members
• It performs valuable safety protocols like automated check-ins
• It reminds managers and employers to update safety protocols with new local regulations

How technology can benefit compliance
Whichever technology is considered, the power of an automated safety solution in particular, can support compliance by more reliably performing repetitive tasks than a worker who may be prone to error – such as documenting or tracking large amounts of employee data.
This also includes monitoring the well-being of workers during night shifts or those working alone in remote locations, making sure they have the proper tools to request help in an emergency. Additional benefits can also include:

• Enhanced accuracy and consistency: The elimination of human error significantly improves compliance by enhancing the accuracy and consistency of safety-related tasks and data collection.
• Proactive risk management: Safety technologies can proactively identify anomalies or issues in the work environment (such wear and tear in equipment and hazard management), preventing occupational hazards before they harm a worker,
• Improved cost efficiency: Long term, the cost efficiency of using automated technologies for compliance is significant, especially when the potential costs for safety fines are considered. These technologies save valuable time that employees can spend on priority tasks.
• Worker safety and morale: When employees are aware their safety is monitored and dependably automated, they have more peace of mind and better moral when performing their jobs, leading to lower staff turnover

Maintaining compliance down the road
To maintain compliance in the future, automated technologies and devices needs to be part of the safety program’s discussion when it comes to their employees’ safety. Because they are a line of protection, the technologies must be highly personalized to the organization, its unique safety needs and of course its regulatory and industry requirements.

In addition to the challenges and safety hazards it currently faces, another major hurdle could also lie ahead for the industry with the EPA predicting a third of water utility workers will retire in the next decade. Technology and automation can help retain the people and water professionals, making sure they can perform their jobs safely and with peace of mind.

Compliance resources for employers
The OSHA has a number of great resources and information to help employers comply with their local laws and regulations.