Job prospects Water Treatment Operator in British Columbia

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "water treatment operator" in British Columbia or across Canada.

Job opportunities in British Columbia

The recent trends from the past 3 years were updated on July 25, 2025. The job outlooks over the next 3 years were updated on December 10, 2025.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be Limited for water and waste treatment plant operators (NOC 92101) in British Columbia for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

Utilities in British Columbiaare adopting automation and digital technologies to streamline operations which may lead to reductions in some roles. 

The new North Shore Wastewater Plant has required significant municipal spending increases in Metro Vancouver, the North Shore, and the Fraser Sewerage Area. 

Employment will see the most gains in regions with high population growth, such as parts of the Lower Mainland and the Okanagan.

Here are some key facts about water and waste treatment plant operators in British Columbia:

• Approximately 1,600 people work in this occupation.
• Water and waste treatment plant operators mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Utilities (NAICS 22): 57%
  • Local, municipal, regional, aboriginal and other public administration (NAICS 913-919): 11%
  • Management and administrative services (NAICS 55, 56): 6%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 94% compared to 78% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 6% compared to 22% for all occupations
• 82% of water and waste treatment plant operators work all year, while 18% work only part of the year, compared to 61% and 39% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 47 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 88% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 12% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 6% compared to 8% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 25% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 25% compared to 13% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 27% compared to 17% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 11% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 6% compared to 12% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in British Columbia by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

Learn more