Intermediate and Advanced School

Water and Wastewater Intermediate and Advanced School


Date & Time

April 17 - 21, 2023

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Location

Embassy Suites by Hilton Loveland Hotel Conference Center & Spa
4705 Clydesdale Parkway
Loveland, CO

Registration

Register here

Fees:

  • Intermediate Water - $450 (after April 2nd, $500)
  • Advanced Water - $450 (after April 2nd, $500)
  • Intermediate/Advanced Wastewater - $450 (after April 2nd, $500)
  • Activated Sludge - $450 (after April 2nd, $500)
  • Industrial Wastewater - $450 (after April 2nd, $500)

Event Description

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:

  • Intermediate Water
  • Advanced Water
  • Intermediate/Advanced Wastewater 
  • Activated Sludge 
  • Industrial Wastewater

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. 

Additional Information

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