Industry group, 2213
Water, Sewage and Other Systems
63,310 people work in this industry in the US, at mean pay of $70,940 a year (BLS, May 2025). What follows is how much of their working time the best AI models could finish, when, and in which jobs and tasks. Estimates.
of the paid hours. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
a year: 46 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 40%
- 15%
- 45%
of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 30% is within reach in tasks not yet seen there.
Across the US: 30% within reach now and 36% by the end of 2028, on the long-run pace at four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
Share of the paid hours within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
What handing the work over would take
For the 57,290 people in jobs so far, 91% of the industry's people; the others are in the totals above and join this split as the review reaches their jobs. Shares of their working time within reach now, at the pace and reliability chosen above. Estimates. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
about 24 million hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
about 21 million hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
about 10 million hours a year. Short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the totals.
What their work is made of
- 25%
- 18%
- 9%
- 7%
- 41%
Each task's time split among five kinds of doing, judged one task at a time; only documents and systems can count as within reach.
What changes for the people
For the 57,290 people in jobs reviewed task by task so far, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five: the shares of their working time, from each job page's own map, weighted by how many people here do that job. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job. Estimates.
Conversation, in-person and hands-on work.
Desk work within reach in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs.
Desk work within reach that is small if wrong, with lighter checks.
What most people here would learn first
How many of them have each skill among the first two things to learn on their job's page. Every state, and the US
- The hands-on craft33,253 (58%)
- Judgment where errors are severe29,470 (51%)
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself21,807 (38%)
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts16,303 (28%)
- Running AI inside the business systems9,150 (16%)
- The conversations2,697 (5%)
- Signing off under your license780 (1%)
- Dealing with people outside the organization470 (1%)
- Handling protected records90 (under 1%)
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this industry's paid hours were within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 24%. Today's estimate: 36%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 53% of the working time of the people in this industry as physical work. For 41% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 25% in a purpose-built cell, 15% in a structured facility, 1% in any setting. 0.58 of 3.
- Not physical 47%
- No robot shown 12%
- In a purpose-built cell 25%
- In a structured facility 15%
- In any setting 1%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. Weighted by the people in each occupation; each job's page names the robot behind each rated task.
Where the hours are
Jobs by hours within reach now. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index. The 40 largest jobs hold 88% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators | 16,780 | 33% | 12 million | $58K |
| Office Clerks, General | 3,110 | 56% | 3.7 million | $42K |
| General and Operations Managers | 3,600 | 45% | 3.4 million | $114K |
| Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 1,490 | 88% | 2.7 million | $49K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers | 2,480 | 48% | 2.5 million | $85K |
| Customer Service Representatives | 1,810 | 64% | 2.4 million | $46K |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 1,330 | 59% | 1.6 million | $45K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | 1,430 | 54% | 1.6 million | $66K |
| Billing and Posting Clerks | 670 | 85% | 1.2 million | $46K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers | 1,030 | 47% | 1 million | $89K |
| Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel | 690 | 59% | 842,464 | $84K |
| Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters | 1,780 | 23% | 836,742 | $54K |
People: BLS counts for this industry, May 2025. Pay here: the median paid for the job in this industry, else its mean, else the national median. 100 smaller jobs (7,380 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 98% of the industry's people; the rest are in BLS "all other" groups with no task list, or in counts BLS does not publish.
The tasks with the most hours within reach by the end of 2028
Across the whole industry, on the chosen pace and reliability.
- Record operational data, personnel attendance, or meter and gauge readings on specified forms.Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators3.8 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Operate and adjust controls on equipment to purify and clarify water, process or dispose of sewage, and generate power.Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators2.9 million hours60% of the task within reach
- Inspect equipment or monitor operating conditions, meters, and gauges to determine load requirements and detect malfunctions.Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators2.9 million hours50% of the task within reach
- Direct and coordinate plant workers engaged in routine operations and maintenance activities.Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators2.1 million hours40% of the task within reach
- Compute, record, and proofread data and other information, such as records or reports.Office Clerks, General778,973 hours100% of the task within reach
- Plan and establish work schedules, assignments, and production sequences to meet production goals.First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers581,971 hours100% of the task within reach
- Plan and develop new products and production processes.First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers538,837 hours70% of the task within reach
- Design new equipment to aid in the repair or maintenance of machines, mechanical equipment, or building structures.Maintenance and Repair Workers, General501,761 hours70% of the task within reach
- Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks484,560 hours100% of the task within reach
- Direct and coordinate activities of businesses or departments concerned with the production, pricing, sales, or distribution of products.General and Operations Managers460,392 hours40% of the task within reach
Scan a typical company in this industry
The industry's largest jobs, in the proportions BLS counts across the whole industry, at the pay it pays, run through the company scan. A starting point before you have a roster, or a benchmark for the one you have. Or choose the whole industry: every occupation BLS publishes for it with task data, at its nationwide headcount, the sector report ($249 for the full report, or included in Pro).
Next to this industry
Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
How it is built: BLS counts the people in each job in this industry; each job's tasks and their lengths give its share within reach at a date; the industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Value is pay times 1.43 for benefits and payroll costs. Seen in Claude use splits today's share by whether Anthropic saw people bring each task to Claude in 2025; other AI tools are not counted. How it works
Questions about this industry
- How much of the work in Water, Sewage and Other Systems is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 36% of the paid hours in Water, Sewage and Other Systems are within reach of AI models now and 40% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which jobs in Water, Sewage and Other Systems carry the most hours within reach?
- By hours within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index): Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators (16,780 people, 33% of their time, about 12 million hours a year); Office Clerks, General (3,110 people, 56% of their time, about 3.7 million hours a year); and General and Operations Managers (3,600 people, 45% of their time, about 3.4 million hours a year).
- Which tasks in Water, Sewage and Other Systems carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
- Record operational data, personnel attendance, or meter and gauge readings on specified forms (Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators, about 3.8 million hours a year); Operate and adjust controls on equipment to purify and clarify water, process or dispose of sewage, and generate power (Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators, about 2.9 million hours a year); and Inspect equipment or monitor operating conditions, meters, and gauges to determine load requirements and detect malfunctions (Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators, about 2.9 million hours a year).
- What would people working in Water, Sewage and Other Systems learn first?
- Among the 57,290 people in jobs reviewed task by task, the skills most often among the first two things to learn on their job's page are the hands-on craft (33,253 people); judgment where errors are severe (29,470 people); and reviewing work you did not do yourself (21,807 people). By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 57% of their working time stays with people, 35% becomes checking a model's work and 8% can be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- How is this estimated?
- BLS counts the people in each occupation in Water, Sewage and Other Systems (May 2025); each occupation's share of working time within reach comes from its O*NET tasks, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. The industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Task data covers 98% of its people, and 91% are in occupations reviewed task by task. Data checked November 10, 2026.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.