April 17 - 21, 2023
8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Embassy Suites by Hilton Loveland Hotel Conference Center & Spa
4705 Clydesdale Parkway
Loveland, CO
Fees:
The Intermediate and Advanced School offers courses that are designed to furnish established operators with information needed to better understand treatment processes and to perform their duties in an ever-changing environment. The courses offered at this school include:
These courses provide opportunities to prepare for the certification exams. However, the courses should not be used as the only study guide for the exams. The conference is NOT affiliated with the Colorado Operator Certification Program Office. The school registration does not include the exam.
RMWEA also offers an annual Fundamentals School focusing on the basics of water and wastewater treatment for new operators.
Scholarship options are available. Submit the Scholarship Application by April 2nd, 2023. Scholarships covering the tuition for one course of study in the Intermediate/Advanced School will be awarded to applicants employed by a town or municipality water or sewer district serving fewer than 3,300 residents within the Rocky Mountain Region. (CO, NM, WY). Scholarships will be reviewed and awarded based on the size of the community served, location, and level of certification required for that entity by the scholarship review board.
Course Instructors - Please complete the Instructor Acceptance Form.
Intermediate Water
The Intermediate Water course is designed for C and B operators.
Course Topics:
Operations and Maintenance | Math | Microbiology |
Disinfection and Chlorine Chemistry | Water Chemistry | Chlorination and Chlorine Safety |
Operator Certification – Regulation 100 | Cross-Connection Control and Backflow Prevention | Conventional Surface Water Treatment |
Plant Safety | Sampling and Testing | Hydraulics |
Principles of Sanitary Surveys | Pumps and Valves | Regulations |
Water Security and Emergency Response Planning |
Advanced Water
This course provides information on new topics facing the water field. The course is not geared toward the operator’s certification testing for certification. The course is geared toward operators with multiple years of experience in the field.
Course Topics:
Unit Process Optimization | Emerging Contaminants | Taste and Odor |
Regulations | Security/Vulnerability Assessment | Coagulation |
Plant Tours | Granular Media Filter Operation | Biological Filter Operation |
GAC Adsorption | Advanced Oxidation | Disinfection |
Sanitary Survey and Inspections | Reservoir Management/Microbiology | Residuals |
Management/Project Management | Advanced Treatment Technologies |
Intermediate/Advanced Wastewater
This basic course is geared toward the operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment plants. It includes practical approaches to problem-solving, as well as awareness of the moral, legal, and ethical responsibilities of an operator.
Course Topics:
Activated Sludge Processes – SBRs/MBRs/MBBRs | Aerobic/Anaerobic Sludge Digestion | Advanced Nitrification/Denitrification |
Wastewater Microbiology | Safety in Wastewater | Phosphorus Treatment |
Chlorination Equipment/Instrumentation | Math | Chlorination/Dechlorination |
Trickling Filters | Confined Spaces | O & M Lagoons |
Data Interpretation/Presentation | Ethics & Professionalism | Discharge Monitoring Reports |
Practical Pump Operation | Industrial Pretreatment Program | Clarification/Sedimentation |
Activated Sludge
The Activated Sludge process control course provides a basic understanding of the process and how to control it. It is the most difficult activity in wastewater treatment. This course teaches how to monitor and control activated sludge microbial environments to improve effluent quality, and provides opportunities for cost savings. The course includes a field trip to a wastewater treatment plant.=. Enrollment is restricted to 35 people.
Course Topics:
Application of Process Control Data | Overview of Activated Sludge Process | Foam, Bulking, and Filament Control |
Activated Sludge Microbiology | Hand-Held Meters | Mass Balance and Wasting control |
Trend Charts | Oxygen Uptake & Respiration Rate | Process Awareness and Physical Observations |
Settleometer Test | Return Sludge Control | Representative Data Collection |
Nitrification/Denitrification | Process Pressures | Process Control Plan |
Field Trip for Evaluation | Evaluation of Plant | Elements of Process Control |
Biological Phosphorus Removal | Bantam Slough Presentation |
Industrial Wastewater
This course trains operators in the safe and effective operation of industrial wastewater treatment plants, with a focus on physical-chemical processes. Emphasis is given to facilities that neutralize acidic and basic water and that remove metals from wastewater.
Course Topics:
Neutralization/Metals Precipitation | Air Stripping | Chemistry |
Carbon Adsorption/Ion Exchange | Clarification Sludge Processes | UV Oxidation |
Math for the Process Operator | Wastewater Microbiology | Trickling Filters |
Activated Sludge Processes | Industrial Pretreatment Program | Advanced Nitrification/De-Nitrification |
Stream Standards | Filtration | Pumps |
EPA Enforcement | System Safety | Sampling/Preservation |