Intermediate and Advanced School
Rocky Mountain Water and Wastewater Intermediate and Advanced School
April 4 - 10, 2020
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.
The Rocky Mountain Water and Wastewater Plant Operators School also offers fundamentals courses that are geared towards the basics of water and wastewater treatment for operators new to the field. The Fundamentals School is held annually.
Industrial Wastewater
This course is designed to train operators in the safe and effective operation of industrial wastewater treatment plants, with emphasis on physical-chemical processes. Special emphasis is given to facilities that neutralize acidic and basic water and that remove metals from wastewaters.
The following topics are covered:
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 |
Intermediate 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 moral, legal, and ethical responsibilities of an operator. The following topics are covered during this week-long course:
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 |
Intermediate Water
The intermediate water course is an operator training course designed for “C” and “B” operators. The following topics are covered during the week-long course:
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 |
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Advanced Water
This course is designed to provide information on new topics facing the water field. The course is not geared toward the operator’s testing for certification. There is new information about certification and regulations. The course is geared for operators with multiple years’ experience in the field.
Topics include:
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 |
Biosolids
This course is designed to train biosolids managers and operators in the compliance, processing, and land application of biosolids. There will be a Biosolids Land Appliers exam and review for a RMWEA/ABC, Inc Biosolids Certification on Friday.
Topics include:
Basic Wastewater Overview | Land Application Methods & Equipment | Nutrient Management N-P and Metals |
Operator Certification | Web Soil Survey | Math |
Land Application Site Selection | Regulatory Compliance | Site Inspection Audit |
Public Information | Submitting Letters of Intent | Biosolids Sampling and Analysis |
Safety | Industrial Pretreatment | Stabilization and Digestion |
Plant Maintenance | Biosolids Jeopardy | Vector Attraction Reduction |
Activated Sludge
The activated sludge process control course provides a basic understanding of the process and how to control it. Activated sludge process control is the most difficult activity in wastewater treatment. This course teaches you to monitor and control activated sludge microbial environments to improve effluent quality, and shows you how to save money, if at all possible. You only have a few key controls available to effectively operate an activated sludge system, so learn how to use them effectively! The course includes a field trip to a wastewater treatment plant where you become the troubleshooter and figure out how to improve operation and/or save money. Enrollment restricted to 35 people.
Topics include:
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 |
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