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 post is usually found in all types of authority and in sections that are sometimes called Economic and Development and include engineering service, 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.

The standard working week requires 37 hours and sometimes this will entail anti-social shifts. Flexibility is essential.

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.

Estimated salary range

Variable: from £25,000 to £30,000 due to possible differences in job description as given above.

Please note that salary information is a guide only and there may be local agreements in place. For further information about salaries for particular positions, please contact your local council directly.

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.

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