Median Pay by Area
- Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos
- $61,610 a year
- Corpus Christi
- $54,700 a year
- Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands
- $51,940 a year
- Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington
- $51,780 a year
- San Antonio–New Braunfels
- $51,630 a year
- El Paso
- $50,030 a year
Texas wastewater operators
The steps from no license to a Class D wastewater treatment operator license in Texas, the TCEQ-approved training each class needs, how to apply to TCEQ and take the exam at a testing center, how to renew and what operators earn. Every requirement links to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) or the Texas rule it follows.
TCEQ makes the final eligibility determination. Check with TCEQ before you apply.
Why it matters
Under Texas rules (30 TAC Chapter 30, Subchapter J), anyone who operates, assists in operating or contracts to operate a domestic wastewater treatment facility, or supervises wastewater collection activities, must be licensed or registered by TCEQ. Operators-in-training are the exception.
Every treatment facility must be operated at least five days a week by its licensed chief operator, or by an operator licensed at the required level or higher, who must be reachable by phone or pager seven days a week. The license level the chief operator needs depends on the facility's category.
TCEQ issues wastewater treatment operator licenses at Class D, C, B and A. Class D is the entry license and Class A is the highest. Wastewater collection system operators have their own Class I, II and III licenses.
A Provisional Class D license is for applicants who do not yet have a high school diploma or GED. It is valid for 2 years and must be upgraded to a Class D or higher license by the end of that time.
Step 1
Class D needs a high school diploma or GED and no work experience. Class C needs a high school diploma or GED and 2 years of work experience.
At least half of the experience for a wastewater treatment license must be in actual domestic wastewater treatment facility operation or maintenance. Related work with similar tasks counts at half rate.
College or extra TCEQ-approved training can stand in for some experience: 16 semester hours or 20 more training hours equal six months, and 32 semester hours or 40 more training hours equal one year. Class C applicants can substitute up to one year, and Class B and A applicants up to two years.
A bachelor's or master's degree can shorten the experience for Class B and Class A when the major is chemistry, biology, engineering, microbiology, bacteriology or a similar discipline TCEQ approves.
Experience as support staff or as an administrative official, such as a secretary, bookkeeper, mayor, city manager or utility board member, does not count unless you do routine, on-site operating work.
Step 2
Every class needs training hours in TCEQ-approved courses. Class D and Provisional Class D need 20 hours, including Basic Wastewater Operation. Class C needs 60 hours, Class B 100 hours and Class A 160 hours.
Courses are taught by TCEQ-approved training providers. TCEQ's training database lets you search wastewater (WW) courses by course, provider, hours and delivery method.
TCEQ-approved training includes:
Step 3
TCEQ suggests studying the most current training materials from all of your required courses, the rules for licensing wastewater personnel and the rules for operating public wastewater treatment and collection systems.
TCEQ's Need-to-Know criteria list what each class should know for its exam, by subject: statutes and rules, permits, the design criteria in 30 TAC Chapter 217, safety, laboratory, management, general knowledge, collection, pumping and treatment processes.
Step 4
Once you meet the education, experience and training requirements, apply online with TCEQ's Occupational Licensing Electronic Application (OLEA) and pay the fee. TCEQ must approve your application before you can take the exam.
TCEQ lists a $111 application fee for Class D, C, B and A, and $74 for Provisional Class D.
Your application expires 365 days after you apply, or after you fail the same exam four times, whichever comes first. After that you need a new application and fee to test again.
Step 5
All TCEQ licensing exams are given at TCEQ-approved computer-based testing (CBT) centers, many at colleges across the state's 16 TCEQ regions. After you receive your approval letter, contact a center to make an appointment and bring the letter to your exam.
Each testing center sets its own testing fee, and some do not give refunds. Class A exams run up to 6 hours and not every center can hold exams longer than 4 hours, so confirm with the center before you book.
Need an accommodation for a disability? Send TCEQ's special accommodations request form and get approval before you register for the exam.
Step 6
Texas licenses are valid for three years. To renew, complete 30 hours of continuing education, submit a renewal application and criminal history attestation, and pay the renewal fee: $111 on time, 1.5 times that 1 to 90 days late and 2 times that 91 to 180 days late.
Continuing education hours come from TCEQ-approved training courses, and they must be finished before your license expires; the 180-day renewal window does not extend that deadline. You can check your hours on TCEQ's License Information search.
Class A and B operators cannot use Basic Wastewater Operation, or an equivalent course, for renewal hours. Since March 23, 2025, wastewater operators can no longer renew by taking an exam instead of completing the hours.
A Class D license cannot be renewed by operators of activated sludge facilities, trickling filter or RBC facilities permitted for 100,000 gallons per day or more, or facilities that dispose of effluent through subsurface area drip dispersal.
Exam day
TCEQ sets the content of its own licensing exams, based on the laws, rules, job duties and standards for each license. The questions are confidential.
The minimum passing score is 70%. Exams have a 3-hour time limit, except Class A, which has 6 hours. Computer-based exams give your score and an exam analysis right away, and passing applicants are issued a license within a week.
If you fail, you can retest while your application is still approved. Some centers offer one immediate retest on the same day.
You may use a pen or pencil, scratch paper from the proctor and a non-programmable calculator. Phones, smart watches, books, notes and other electronic devices are not allowed. The Class D and Class C wastewater exams are also offered in Spanish.
TCEQ writes its own licensing exams; Texas does not use the WPI (ABC) exams. Operator Master's free practice questions, timed practice exam and math help are built on the WPI exam format and the WPI formula table, so they cover general wastewater treatment knowledge and math, not TCEQ's exam questions, format or Texas rules. Use TCEQ's Need-to-Know criteria and your course manuals as your main guide. Operator Master is an independent study tool, not the official exam.
Pay
The median pay for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Texas was $49,460 a year ($23.78 an hour) in 2025, compared with $60,020 nationally. One in ten earned $36,550 or less, and one in ten earned $70,270 or more.
These federal figures cover drinking water and wastewater operators together, at every class. Pay for a new operator is usually nearer the low end.
Moving up
These are Texas's wastewater treatment operator classes on the high school diploma or GED path. At least half of the experience must be in wastewater treatment, and a related degree, college hours or extra approved training can replace part of it.
From another state
If you hold a current license from another state, territory or country with requirements equivalent to Texas's and have a good compliance history, TCEQ may waive the qualifications, training or exam. The license is issued after TCEQ approves your application, receives the fee and verifies your license with the other jurisdiction.
A license issued this way follows the normal Texas renewal rules, and reciprocity is not granted for a lower-level license of the same type.
Military service members, veterans and spouses who hold a current license from a jurisdiction with substantially equivalent requirements are issued a Texas license, within 30 days of a complete application. Verified military service, training or education is credited toward the requirements, but not toward the exam.