According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Communicate with supervisors and other workers, using equipment such as wireless phones, pagers, or radio telephones. | 80% |
| Drive trucks to transport crews, materials, and equipment. | 80% |
| Inspect manholes to locate sewer line stoppages. | 79% |
| Operate sewer cleaning equipment, including power rodders, high-velocity water jets, sewer flushers, bucket machines, wayne balls, and vac-alls. | 78% |
| Prepare and keep records of actions taken, including maintenance and repair work. | 78% |
| Clean and repair septic tanks, sewer lines, or related structures such as manholes, culverts, and catch basins. | 77% |
| Measure excavation sites, using plumbers' snakes, tapelines, or lengths of cutting heads within sewers, and mark areas for digging. | 77% |
| Service, adjust, and make minor repairs to equipment, machines, and attachments. | 74% |
| Clean and disinfect domestic basements and other areas flooded by sewer stoppages. | 74% |
| Locate problems, using specially designed equipment, and mark where digging must occur to reach damaged tanks or pipes. | 74% |
| Withdraw cables from pipes and examine them for evidence of mud, roots, grease, and other deposits indicating broken or clogged sewer lines. | 73% |
| Ensure that repaired sewer line joints are tightly sealed before backfilling begins. | 73% |
| Rotate cleaning rods manually, using turning pins. | 72% |
| Install rotary knives on flexible cables mounted on machine reels, according to the diameters of pipes to be cleaned. | 72% |
| Start machines to feed revolving cables or rods into openings, stopping machines and changing knives to conform to pipe sizes. | 70% |
| Dig out sewer lines manually, using shovels. | 70% |
| Update sewer maps and manhole charts. | 67% |
| Cover repaired pipes with dirt, and pack backfilled excavations, using air and gasoline tampers. | 67% |
| Cut damaged sections of pipe with cutters, remove broken sections from ditches, and replace pipe sections, using pipe sleeves. | 67% |
| Requisition or order tools and equipment. | 66% |
| Break asphalt and other pavement so that pipes can be accessed, using airhammers, picks, and shovels. | 63% |
| Tap mainline sewers to install sewer saddles. | 58% |
