What I do

I help make water clean to drink. I’m responsible for electrical, mechanical, and instrumental maintenance and repairs to water plants and equipment. I also am involved in process improvements to guarantee health and safety and water quality for customers.

Hear more about Joe's role by watching the video below...

How I became a technician

At school, I did the usual maths, science and English along with geography, history and P.E. I also did BTEC Sports and Nutrition. I took a day out of school each week to play football for Yeovil Town until I was 18-years-old. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a professional contract, so I looked to do something else.

For my first job I became a lifeguard, and I worked my way up to be a duty manager at a leisure centre before transferring over to the gym side of things. When it got taken over by a big corporate company, I felt I needed a change, so I applied for a few different apprenticeships. I got offered two at the age of 24 - and I chose this one. It was the best decision I ever made.

A typical day in my
working life

As a Production Technician, I help make water clean to drink. We take water from two open lake reservoirs, do a lot of filtration and chemical dosing to remove any potential 'nasties' and then it is put into the pipes for the customer. This site can handle a maximum of 80 million litres a day, but it depends on the weather. In winter, the average is 55 litres a day and, in the summer, it averages around 70 million litres a day.

Work starts at 8 am until 4.30 pm unless we have had a call out for a fault. We get the kettle on while checking the computer which monitors that everything is running as it should. If there are any issues, we action those straight away. After that, there are lots of different monitors on site that need maintenance, calibrating and looking after. We have a daily task sheet which is six pages long that we work through. We ensure that the process in the plant works to its optimum, so we are not wasting any chemicals or time.

We also look after different sites in Exmoor and there are regular site visits as well as reservoir site inspections. At times we also have to release water back into the environment, in line with Environmental Agency rules. There is a specific process of releasing water down stream of the dam to make sure we don’t damage animals and water life and a specific department looks after that side of things. We make sure the valve is working properly to keep the levels correct.

A little more about
my everyday role

The best bits about working in a team

There are five of us on site. It's great. There's a lot of breaking down why something has happened and how we can fix it without compromising water quality. We have a laugh and good fun, but we also make sure the work is done to a high standard to keep the water going for our customers. I am trying to gain as much experience as I can working with the others in the team who have been here for a long time.

The most exciting thing I’ve achieved so far in my job

I was proud when I completed my apprenticeship. Getting a full-time role and a job at the end of the process has been really good. Wessex Water puts you through lots of different training as well. I've done confined space training, forklift training and working at heights. It has opened my eyes up to a lot more.

What I wear to work

We wear high vis jackets, steel toe-capped boots and heavy-duty trousers. The work clothes are important as it is quite a physical job - it’s a big site and there is a lot of walking.

The next steps in my career journey

In the future, I want to move into a management role if possible. My aim is to work my way up the ladder.

The advice I'd give to
someone younger

I wish I had done my apprenticeship earlier. You have the opportunity to get paid to work and get a qualification at the end of it. You gain experience and you have your foot in the door which puts you in good stead going forward.

Find out more about this role

Discover what qualifications you’ll need, how much you can earn, and what the next steps are.

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Joe Grimstead