Introduction
Even when the weather is kind, there is plenty of work for
drainage engineers. When it is very wet they are in even
greater demand. A section engineer may also be called team
leader in charge of a group of specialist drainage engineers.
It is challenging work. The posts are sometimes called
Environment or Highways and include engineering services, drainage,
structures, highways and landscape.
Work Environment
This is both office-based and outdoors involving local
travel. Engineers have to work in all weathers and often in
unpleasant conditions. Protective clothing is provided
including overalls, strong boots and high visibility jackets or
vests for working on highways. They will use specialist
drainage equipment, including CCTV cameras and radio controlled
tools to detect leaks and similar problems. In the office
they use computer software..
Daily Activities
The aim of the section engineer is to provide a quality service to
members of the public, other council services and the private
sector regarding all drainage matters. This will involve solving,
or pre-empting, a variety of problems to do with highway drainage,
private and municipal sewers, land drainage and gully
cleansing.
On an average day, section engineers will spend most of their
time organising their team to provide a quick response to
emergencies, or work on pre-planned drainage projects. Heavy rain
and floods may cause blockages in public sewers with health risks
as well as a disruption to our water supply. Engineers may
work with environmental health officers and water companies to
solve the problem. During severe floods, engineers try to
ensure that public services continue to function as normally as
possible. This may entail building 'bailey bridges' to
provide access in public places where streets and roads have become
impassable or constructing extra pipes to take the water away.
Ideally, the section engineer will have foreseen problems and
built special irrigation systems for areas at risk of
flooding. Projects involving public sewers and highway
drainage systems are on-going concerns aimed at preventing
potential problems. Contractors and developers - of land for
housing estates, factories, leisure centres and so on - rely on the
drainage engineer to ensure that properly constructed drainage
systems are in place.
Skills & Interests
You would need the following qualities to be good at this job:
- practical ability;
- attention to detail;
- project management ability;
- good with figures;
- confidence;
- ability to get on with people from different backgrounds.
You would also be motivated to protect the environment and the
public and be a good communicator.
Entry Requirements
It is usually necessary to have a degree or the equivalent in a
construction/ engineering discipline and relevant experience.
As section engineer includes a supervisory role, some experience of
management is often required. A vocational qualification such
as a Certificate in Management Studies is useful. This can
sometimes be obtained through in-service training.
Future Prospects & Opportunities
Promotion prospects are fairly good even though drainage
engineering is a narrow field of work. Length of experience
and further qualifications help towards more senior jobs and to
posts in other aspects of engineering. You can progress from
section engineer to Principal Engineer. Opportunities exist
outside of local authorities - in water companies and private firms
for example. Qualifying for membership of the Institute of
Highway Incorporated Engineers (IHIE), or professional bodies where
members offer specialisms - such as the Association of Building
Engineers - is a very useful career move.
Further Information & Services
Association of Building Engineers www.abe.org.uk
Institute of Highway Engineers www.ihie.org.uk
Institution of Civil Engineers www.ice.org.uk
SEMTA www.semta.org.uk
Careers Wales have produced a Spotlight article on careers
in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths): https://www.careerswales.com/en/spotlight-on-stem/
You may find further information about this area of work through
Careers Wales (www.careerswales.com/) or
in your local library, careers office or school careers
library.