Dredge Operator

As a Dredge Operator, you use a large piece of equipment to move materials. Your work helps water to flow from one place to another, or amend shorelines that are shrinking due to erosion.

Dredge Operators spend all of their day working their dredge to remove rock, sand, and debris from rivers, streams, and lakes. Operating your dredge involves turning it on and off, raising or lowering it with the use of winches, and clearing it of debris. Dredge Operators also verify how deep the dredge is and how well it’s working through the use of complicated tools. Once the channel is clear, you use your dredge to suck up the material you’ve removed, and carry it away to another location for disposal.

You’re also responsible for fixing the dredge if it’s broken, and performing routine maintenance to keep it from breaking down in the first place. You may sharpen the cutting edge during your down time to ensure that it will be able to cut through rock and debris quickly.

You operate a very powerful tool, able to clear a large amount of debris in a small amount of time. You may be working in delicate environments, full of small creatures that call that debris home. Because of this, there may be state, local, or even federal laws that dictate how you operate your dredge in those sensitive locations.

You must be familiar with these regulations before you begin your work. This may require you to ask the Project Manager for specifics about the site before you set out for the day.