Where is the conscience of the municipal engineer?
- Bruce Hickin
- Sep 4
- 3 min read
As a wastewater operator, technician, or engineer, your decisions ripple far beyond blueprints. Every system you approve, every valve you specify, every component you standardize—these are not just technical choices. They are environmental choices. And increasingly, they are ethical ones.
That brings me to a question I believe needs to be asked, openly:
Where is the conscience of the municipal engineer?
Today, around this country, we continue to see oil-based hydraulic systems installed in the heart of facilities tasked with protecting our water.
Petrochemical circuits in sludge gate operations. Glycol-flushed actuators above wet wells. Diesel-driven hydraulic packs beside stormwater diversions. The pattern is familiar: hydrocarbon in places built to protect water. The irony is staggering.
So, where does the responsibility land?
On the person who approves the systems, who draws up the specs, who maintains the infrastructure. Every time oil is specified in a facility designed to protect the environment, that contradiction is locked into place.
Oil spills don’t happen because of careless engineers. They happen because of complacent design. Habit is not justification—especially when cleaner, field-tested alternatives are available.
The reality is: we don’t need to.
Water—as a hydraulic medium—is not theory. It’s not experimental. It’s not emerging.
It’s proven. It’s already operating today in sludge control, knife gate actuation, flood control gates, fire suppression, shipboard bilge systems, offshore drilling platforms, and municipal wastewater treatment facilities.
These systems use clean tap water or seawater—no oil, no additives, no proprietary blends—just pressure and flow. The principles are the same:
Pascal's Law still applies
Force = Pressure × Area
Valves still open and close.
Cylinders still stroke and retract.
Pumps still move fluid through circuits with predictable efficiency.
The only difference is what happens when something fails. Water is non-toxic, cost effective and leaves no environmental legacy.
The Objections—And the Real Answers
Whenever I raise this issue, I hear the same pushback:
“Water is too corrosive.”
Start with materials. Wetted metal surfaces in 316 stainless. Every sliding interface pairs carbon-reinforced PEEK against stainless. Where two surfaces touch, one is PEEK and the other is stainless. Use polymer-coated contact points elsewhere. No dissimilar-metal traps. This is standard practice in our builds.
“It won’t match our existing equipment.”
No, it’s not compatible with legacy oil circuits. But neither is solar with diesel. Neither is LEED design with asbestos insulation. That’s the point. It’s a better system.
“Suppliers don’t offer it.”
They do when tenders require it. Markets follow stamped documents.
“Too niche.”
It stays niche until municipal engineers put it in the baseline list.
“It’s not in the spec.”Engineers write the spec. If oil sits beside drinking water, a signature put it there. And specs? You write them. You shape them. You enforce them.
The spec is not the ceiling. It’s the floor. And you have the authority to raise it.
From Habit to Accountability
We need to move away from habitual design and toward accountable engineering.
Every time we sign off on a system that pushes oil through an environment meant to clean water, we lock in contradiction. We normalize risk. We make oil part of our water story.
That is no longer acceptable.
Because this isn’t just about failure rates or repair costs.
It’s about conscience.
It’s about whether we are willing to acknowledge that there is a better way—and whether we’re brave enough to act on it.
Picture this: in 20 years, every municipal hydraulic system running on tap or seawater. No spill kits. No hazmat drills. No sheen on wetland intakes. Systems that can fail without environmental consequence. That’s ethical design.
So here’s the question—one I believe every wastewater professional should start asking at the start of every design discussion:
Why are we still putting oil in our water systems?
So next time you spec a hydraulic system, ask:
Could this run on water?
Could I eliminate oil here entirely?
Am I leaving a cleaner system for the next generation of operators?
In most cases, the answer is yes.
The final question: Will you?
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