Water and sewerage plant operatives: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time water and sewerage plant operatives in the UK earned a median £39,690 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): £651 above the all-jobs median of £39,039.
What the figures show
That puts it 137th of 382, in the middle third of occupations.
The middle half of full-time jobs paid between £31,577 and £46,183.
Median full-time pay: women £32,812 a year, men £39,882 a year.
Paid hours are long: a full-time median of 40 a week including overtime, against 37.5 across all jobs.
ASHE counts roughly 12,000 employee jobs, 100% full-time.
Since 2021 the median has risen 36.7% (from £29,040), faster than the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 21,000 people in this line of work across the UK.
Pay distribution, 2025 provisional
| Gross pay | Full-time, annual | Full-time, weekly | Full-time, hourly | All, annual | All, weekly | All, hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | – | £515.90 | £12.90 | – | £485.30 | £13.02 |
| 20th percentile | £29,197 | £564.20 | £14.49 | £26,445* | £553.00 | £14.49 |
| 25th percentile | £31,577* | £623.10 | £14.97 | £28,849* | £572.60 | £15.01 |
| 30th percentile | £34,768 | £656.10 | £15.68 | £30,878* | £632.10 | £15.62 |
| 40th percentile | £38,443 | £719.10 | £16.29 | £37,888 | £696.20 | £16.29 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £39,690 | £757.60 | £17.55 | £39,057 | £740.10 | £17.55 |
| 60th percentile | £41,226 | £797.40 | £19.37 | £40,427 | £787.30 | £19.15 |
| 70th percentile | £44,740 | £844.30 | £21.00 | £44,265 | £843.20 | £20.79 |
| 75th percentile | £46,183* | £915.60 | £21.21 | £45,809* | £889.80 | £21.16 |
| 80th percentile | – | – | – | – | – | £22.08 |
| Mean | £40,134 | £786.40 | £18.36 | £38,490 | £761.20 | £18.28 |
Pay since 2021
| ASHE year | Full-time, annual median | Full-time, weekly median | Full-time, hourly median | All, annual median | All, weekly median | Jobs (thousands, indicative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 revised | £29,040 | £556.10 | £13.37 | £29,040 | £547.10 | 7* |
| 2022 revised | £31,505 | £626.90 | £14.65 | £31,482 | £623.00 | 14* |
| 2023 revised | £32,351 | £631.80 | £15.31 | £31,026 | £615.30 | 11* |
| 2024 revised | £38,029 | £716.90 | £17.28 | £37,668 | £706.80 | 10* |
| 2025 provisional | £39,690 | £757.60 | £17.55 | £39,057 | £740.10 | 12* |
Water and sewerage plant operatives by region
UK: 21,000 (± 5,600), April 2025 to March 2026.
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What water and sewerage plant operatives do
Water and sewerage plant operatives operate valves to control water supplies in mains and pipelines, attend screening, filtering, water purifying and sedimentation plant, clear any blockages and patrol and maintain sewerage systems. (ONS SOC 2020, 8134)
Also covers: controller (water treatment), plant operator (sewage works), pump attendant, water treatment engineer, water treatment operator, distribution assistant, distribution operator, distribution superintendent, distribution technician, district inspector, filter attendant, filter man, filtration ganger, leakage inspector, leakage technician, mains assistant, plant operator and process controller (75 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Attends water filtration and purification plant, monitors chemical treatment and regulates treatment of water supply within strict guidelines
- Opens and closes valves to regulate quantity and pressure of water and reports defective valves or abnormal water pressure
- Stops water supply in an emergency and informs consumers likely to be affected
- Regulates flow of raw sewage into screening plant, releases screened sewage and regulates its flow into detritus pits, sedimentation tanks and filtration beds
- Cleans out screen compartments, sedimentation tanks and filtration beds manually or using mechanical scraper
- Patrols sections of sewer, examines for any blockages or gas releases and clears blockages by flushing or by using boring rods
There are no formal academic entry requirements. Training is provided Off and on-the-job. NVQs/ SVQs in Operating Process Plant are available at level 2.
Related
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ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026