Water Treatment Specialist

City of Thornton
Thornton Colorado

We are hiring a new Water Treatment Specialist or Water Plant Operator (depending on experience) to join our incredibly talented and dedicated team plant operators! Our ideal candidate will have a CO water plant operator A certification. If you are a person that likes variety, challenges, and accomplishments, is team oriented but can work individually to deliver a common goal, this is the place for you. 

We are hiring a new Water Treatment Specialist or Water Plant Operator (depending on experience) to join our incredibly talented and dedicated team plant operators! Our ideal candidate will have a CO water plant operator A certification. If you are a person that likes variety, challenges, and accomplishments, is team oriented but can work individually to deliver a common goal, this is the place for you. 


2025 Salary Range for specific positions below. Specific hiring rate depends on certification & years of experience. Base pay not including overtime or shift differential.

Water Plant Operator I: $28.27 - $37.31/hr
Water Plant Operator II: $30.25 - $39.93/hr
Water Plant Operator III: $32.37 - $42.72/hr
Water Treatment Specialist: $37.06 - $48.92/hr


The city of Thornton is seeking a Water Plant Operator/Water Treatment Specialist who represents a culture of health and is committed to providing high quality drinking water to our diverse customer base of 160,000 people and growing. Our system is also diverse, with multiple source waters including the South Platte River, Clear Creek, and a developing source on the Cache la Poudre River; two water plants; multiple pump stations; and plenty of capital improvement projects on the horizon, all making Thornton a very exciting place to work. Some job duties include:

  • Operate one of two High Performance Water Treatment plants- (1) 50 mgd ultrafiltration plant and (1) 20 + mgd ozone/biofiltration plant
  • Monitoring Raw, Process and Finished Water Quality
  • Adjusting Water Treatment Chemicals
  • Perform Lab Bench Tests
  • Adjusting Raw and Finished Water Flows
  • Ordering and Receiving Chemicals
  • Filter and Membrane Surveillance
  • Rotating Shifts