MISSOULA — You may not think about where your wastewater goes every day, but managing toilet flushes, storm water and industrial runoff is a crucial part of Missoula's infrastructure, keeping the people of the city, and the river healthy.
But the wastewater treatment facility in Missoula has been having a difficult time filling crucial positions.
“The qualifications are fairly rigorous. Like this, there's, you know, millions of dollars worth of equipment out here. And, you know, it's really important to meet all of our permit requirements. So, you know, there's a lot of responsibility for the position,” said Missoula Deputy Public Works Director of Utilities Logan McInnis.
Learn more about the challenges the Missoula wastewater treatment facility is facing:
McInnis says that the wastewater facility has several open positions, but the main one they have been trying to fill for months is the plant operations and maintenance manager. It's a position that requires years of experience and certifications. While trying to fill this position has been proving a challenge for the facility in Missoula, it is not a unique issue.
“It's a national problem. You know, I think somewhere between 30 and 50% of people in this industry are going to retire in the next 10 years. There's something like 1.7 million vacant positions in the water and wastewater industries throughout the country. So it's not just a Missoula or a Montana problem. It's sort of a nationwide problem,” said McInnis.
The wage for the position is between $36 an hour and $41 an hour, plus government benefits. However, finding qualified candidates has been difficult. The city has seen dozens of applications over the months, but none that had the necessary experience and qualifications.
McInnis says that even with the enticing pay and benefits, there are still hurdles when trying to come to Missoula.
“The cost of living in Missoula is high. So it's hard to move into town and buy a house,” said McInnis.
The National Association of Realtors has named Montana the least affordable state in 2024. But even with the high cost of living, McInnis says there are still other reasons that he thinks make the position attractive.
“There's a lot of like satisfaction of working in public service. You're providing a, you know, a need to the public, you're, you know, providing clean water for the public to drink, you're protecting the aquifer, the river, you know, you're just helping the customer. So I mean, there's, there's a lot more to it than just an hourly wage,” said McInnis.
MTN also asked the city whether they think the shifting attitude towards going into the trades may help their situation going into the future, and they said that they do think the shift may help them fill positions once new workers get their qualifications.
