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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners?
Task-level automation exposure for Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners: 22 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
22%
weighted task index
22 of 22 tasks scored
Median Salary
$49,880 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
30,650 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+7.8%
employment change
2,800 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 49 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$36,200 – $66,890
Highest medians
Nebraska $66,890
New Jersey $64,650
New Hampshire $64,590
Washington $63,090
Minnesota $62,190
Lowest medians
West Virginia $36,200
Arkansas $38,330
Mississippi $38,870
Tennessee $39,480
South Dakota $40,040
State figures come from the 47-4071 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 22%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 56%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 3%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 6%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 6%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 10/100
Low
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
22 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 10%
2 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 10%
2 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 80%
18 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Emerging & rewritten tasks
Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.
- Revision 07/2017 · Incumbent
Pump, clean, and repair septic tanks, sewer lines, or related structures such as manholes, culverts, and catch basins.
Replaced: Clean and repair septic tanks, sewer lines, or related structures such as manholes, culverts, and catch basins.
Constituent Tasks
#11602 · Core · 42% automatable
Communicate with supervisors and other workers, using equipment such as wireless phones, pagers, or radio telephones.
interpersonal — On-site construction discussion is contextual, physical
Communicate with other construction or extraction personnel to discuss project details.
#11601 · Core · 10% automatable
Drive trucks to transport crews, materials, and equipment.
situated mobility — Truck driving needs real-world navigation and control
Drive trucks or truck-mounted equipment.
#11613 · Core · 15% automatable
Inspect manholes to locate sewer line stoppages.
physical manipulation — Plumbing inspection needs hands-on physical access
Inspect plumbing systems or fixtures.
#11604 · Core · 10% automatable
Operate sewer cleaning equipment, including power rodders, high-velocity water jets, sewer flushers, bucket machines, wayne balls, and vac-alls.
physical manipulation — Equipment and facility cleaning is hands-on
Clean equipment or facilities.
#11603 · Core · 80% automatable
Prepare and keep records of actions taken, including maintenance and repair work.
data analysis — Record operational or environmental data into logs
Record operational or environmental data.
#11610 · Core · 10% automatable
Revision
Clean and repair septic tanks, sewer lines, or related structures such as manholes, culverts, and catch basins.
physical manipulation — Equipment and facility cleaning is hands-on
Clean equipment or facilities. Maintain plumbing structures or fixtures.
#11608 · Core · 22% automatable
Measure excavation sites, using plumbers' snakes, tapelines, or lengths of cutting heads within sewers, and mark areas for digging.
physical manipulation — Physical site dimension measurement
Measure work site dimensions.
#11612 · Core · 10% automatable
Service, adjust, and make minor repairs to equipment, machines, and attachments.
physical manipulation — Physical maintenance of construction tools
Maintain construction tools or equipment.
#11609 · Core · 22% automatable
Locate problems, using specially designed equipment, and mark where digging must occur to reach damaged tanks or pipes.
visual inspection — Physical locating of worn parts needs hands-on presence
Locate equipment or materials in need of repair or replacement.
#11615 · Core · 3% automatable
Dig out sewer lines manually, using shovels.
physical manipulation — Manual digging with tools in ground
Dig holes or trenches.
#11620 · Supplemental · 9% automatable
Clean and disinfect domestic basements and other areas flooded by sewer stoppages.
physical manipulation — Equipment and facility cleaning is hands-on
Decontaminate equipment or sites to remove hazardous or toxic substances. Clean equipment or facilities.
#11606 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Withdraw cables from pipes and examine them for evidence of mud, roots, grease, and other deposits indicating broken or clogged sewer lines.
physical manipulation — Plumbing inspection needs hands-on physical access
Inspect plumbing systems or fixtures.
#11605 · Supplemental · 20% automatable
Ensure that repaired sewer line joints are tightly sealed before backfilling begins.
visual inspection — Installation inspection requires on-site physical check
Inspect completed work to ensure proper installation.
#11619 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Rotate cleaning rods manually, using turning pins.
physical manipulation — Physical maintenance of mechanical equipment
Maintain mechanical equipment.
#11607 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Install rotary knives on flexible cables mounted on machine reels, according to the diameters of pipes to be cleaned.
physical manipulation — Hands-on equipment attachment
Install equipment attachments or components.
#11611 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Start machines to feed revolving cables or rods into openings, stopping machines and changing knives to conform to pipe sizes.
physical manipulation — Equipment and facility cleaning is hands-on
Clean equipment or facilities. Install equipment attachments or components. Operate heavy-duty construction or installation equipment.
#11622 · Supplemental · 80% automatable
Update sewer maps and manhole charts.
text generation — Document editing largely automatable with human review
Edit documents.
#11617 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Cover repaired pipes with dirt, and pack backfilled excavations, using air and gasoline tampers.
physical manipulation — Operating compaction equipment by hand on site
Spread sand, dirt or other loose materials onto surfaces. Compact materials to create level bases.
#11614 · Supplemental · 7% automatable
Cut damaged sections of pipe with cutters, remove broken sections from ditches, and replace pipe sections, using pipe sleeves.
physical manipulation — Plumbing repair is manual dexterity in situ
Remove worn, damaged or outdated materials from work areas. Cut metal components for installation. Maintain plumbing structures or fixtures.
#11618 · Supplemental · 55% automatable
Requisition or order tools and equipment.
decision support — Construction procurement needs human supplier judgment
Order construction or extraction materials or equipment.
#11616 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Break asphalt and other pavement so that pipes can be accessed, using airhammers, picks, and shovels.
physical manipulation — Breaking rock and concrete is physical labor
Break up rock, asphalt, or concrete.
#11621 · Supplemental · 12% automatable
Tap mainline sewers to install sewer saddles.
physical manipulation — Drilling construction materials is hands-on tool work
Drill holes in construction materials.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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