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Date: 09/19/2025

Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners

Clean and repair septic tanks, sewer lines, or drains. May patch walls and partitions of tank, replace damaged drain tile, or repair breaks in underground piping.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

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

    Skills

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    Knowledge

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    Career Video

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 52660/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 25.32/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 1,260
    • Yearly Projected Openings 120

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Attention to Detail
    • Integrity
    • Independence
    • Cooperation
    • Self Control

    Tools

    • Caulking guns
    • Claw hammer
    • Concrete mixers or plants
    • Concrete spreaders
    • Digital camcorders or video cameras
    • Drain or pipe cleaning equipment
    • Earthmoving buckets or its parts or accessories
    • Global positioning system GPS receiver
    • Material handling hoses
    • Mobile excavators
    • Personal computers
    • Pipe or tube cutter
    • Pipe wrenches
    • Pneumatic hammer
    • Power drills
    • Pry bars
    • Shovels
    • Sludge or sewage handling trucks
    • Tampers
    • Tape measures
    • Trowels
    • Two way radios
    • Water pumps

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Internet browser software
    • Route navigation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

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