Water, Fuels and Environment Technician

Non-Commissioned Member | Full Time, Part Time

In Demand

As a member of the military, Water, Fuels and Environment Technicians provide water supply, waste water treatment and environmental engineering support to operational units at home and abroad.

The Water, Fuels and Environment Technician job is one of seven Construction Engineering positions that provide all construction, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering services to Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) operations. The primary responsibilities of the Water, Fuels and Environment Technician are to:

• Install, operate and maintain water treatment and supply systems
• Install, operate and maintain waste water collection and treatment systems
• Set up and monitor various environmental programs
• Produce associated mechanical designs and specifications
• Produce associated mechanical drawings
• Conduct reconnaissance related to the above
• Assist other Construction Engineering tradespersons

Work environment

Water, Fuels and Environment Technicians often work day or night and must deal with the challenges that come with varying environmental conditions. They maintain their skills while employed at home units or on humanitarian and United Nations operational assignments.

If you choose a career in the Regular Force, upon completion of all required training, you will be assigned to your first base. While there is some flexibility with regards to postings (relocations), accommodations can’t always be made, and therefore, you can likely expect to move at some point in your career. However, if you decide to join the Primary Reserve Force, you will do so through a specific Reserve unit. Outside of training, your chosen Reserve unit will be your workplace on a part time basis, and you will not be obligated to relocate to a different base. As part of the Primary Reserve Force, you typically work one night per week and some weekends as a minimum with possibilities of full-time employment.

Water, Fuels and Environment Technicians, or WFE Techs for short, are entrusted with one of the most important roles in the Canadian Armed Forces – ensuring that Canadian soldiers, sailors and air crews are provided with clean, safe water on bases in Canada and wherever in the world they are deployed.

WFE Techs also take care of contaminated water like the wastewater from showers and toilets and deal with it so that it can safely go back out to the environment. They work with many other areas of environment concerns on bases in Canada and wherever in the world they are deployed, doing environment sampling and component testing to make sure that everything is in compliance. They’re also involved in hazmat spill cleanup. This could be anything from a simple fuel spill on a runway to the worst-case scenario involving an unknown chemical.

In the fuels part of their trade, WFE Techs take care of the tank farms where fuel is stored. Whether it’s aviation, gas, diesel or naval fuel, they ensure fuel delivery and storage systems are capable of delivering a safe product, and make sure the fuel is clean and dry.

WFE Techs are also part of the Disaster Assistance Response Team, or DART, based at CFB Gagetown. They take care of the portable Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit, or ROWPU. When the DART deploys, the ROWPU is one of the most important tools they bring with them.

On completion of their military and primary trade training, WFE Techs are posted to an Air Force, Army or Navy base for two years of on-the-job training. That involves pretty well all aspects of the trade, including time at a water treatment plant and at a wastewater treatment plant. They will also do some hands-on training with hazmat spill clean-up and environment testing. It’s very comprehensive, with a lot of technical requirements, especially with regards to mathematics, chemistry and lab work.

The minimum required education to apply for this occupation is the completion of the provincial requirements for Grade 10 or Secondary 4 in Quebec including Grade 10 Applied Math or Math 416 / CST 4 in Quebec.