Course catalog
Continuing education courses
Continuing education for wastewater operators. Approval and credit differ by state, so the catalog below shows availability for one state at a time.
Each awards 1 CEU hour · $19.00 USD each · All count toward Class 1-4 licenses.
Illinois Effluent Standards: Which Rung, Why
Core
Enable Illinois wastewater operators to understand the state’s effluent standards framework, how plant classification affects effluent limits, and…
Approved for renewal creditTrickling Filter Arm Speed and Recirculation
Core
To equip Class 3 wastewater operators with a clear understanding of trickling filter arm speed control and recirculation management under varying…
Approved for renewal creditReading Your NPDES Permit: Rows and Units
Core
Equip wastewater operators with the skills to accurately read, interpret, and apply the limits, units, and reporting requirements presented in…
Approved for renewal creditHydraulic vs Organic Capacity
Core
Hydraulic vs Organic Capacity: Understanding Your Plant's Design Limits Enable operators to accurately interpret their plant's design basis…
Approved for renewal creditActivated Sludge: Advanced Process Control
Advanced
To deepen operators' understanding of activated sludge process control focusing on the key operational lever of wasting rate and its impact on sludge…
Approved for renewal creditPrimary Clarifiers: Withdrawal Rate and Septicity
Advanced
To provide wastewater operators with a practical understanding of primary clarifier operation focusing on sludge withdrawal rate, septicity risks…
Approved for renewal creditDMR Arithmetic: Loads, Removal and the Flow Term
Core
Equip wastewater operators with a clear understanding of discharge monitoring report (DMR) arithmetic related to loads, percent removal calculation…
Approved for renewal creditTreatment Process Fundamentals
Advanced
To equip wastewater operators with comprehensive understanding of key treatment process fundamentals—including preliminary treatment, primary…
Approved for renewal creditHeadworks: What Gets Past Screens and Grit
Core
To equip wastewater treatment plant operators with a clear understanding of the function, challenges, and downstream impacts of headworks screening…
Approved for renewal creditClarifier Operation and Troubleshooting
Core
To equip wastewater operators with deep understanding and practical skills to operate and troubleshoot primary and secondary clarifiers effectively…
Approved for renewal creditRising Sludge or Bulking: Telling Them Apart
Advanced
To equip wastewater treatment operators with the knowledge and skills to accurately differentiate between rising sludge and bulking phenomena in…
Approved for renewal creditClarifier Weirs: Loading, Level and Blocks
Core
This lesson equips operators with practical knowledge on clarifier effluent weir loading, level monitoring, and troubleshooting weir block issues to…
Approved for renewal creditIntroduction to Wastewater: Sources, Treatment
Introductory
A foundational course for wastewater operators covering sources, treatment processes, permits, and safety.
Approved for renewal creditInfiltration or Inflow: Telling Them Apart
Advanced
To enable wastewater treatment operators to accurately distinguish between infiltration and inflow in wet weather conditions, understand their…
Approved for renewal creditWhy an Ammonia Limit Exists: pH and Temp
Core
To equip wastewater operators with a clear understanding of why ammonia limits exist in effluent regulations, emphasizing the chemical and biological…
Approved for renewal creditThe Flow Number: Contact Time and the Storm DMR
Advanced
To equip wastewater treatment operators with a clear understanding of flow measurement challenges during wet weather events, the concept of contact…
Approved for renewal creditPond Maintenance: Levees, Weeds and Burrows
Core
To equip wastewater operators with practical knowledge about the structural maintenance challenges of wastewater stabilization ponds, focusing on…
Approved for renewal creditAfter the Filter: Clarifier, Chlorine and Sludge
Core
To equip wastewater operators with practical knowledge about the operation and regulatory context of clarifiers, chlorine disinfection, and sludge…
Approved for renewal creditChemical Phosphorus Removal: Feed, Floc and Sludge
Core
To equip wastewater treatment operators with practical knowledge and decision-making skills relevant to the chemical phosphorus removal process…
Approved for renewal creditHow Illinois Proves a Violation: Averaging
Core
To equip wastewater operators with a clear understanding of how Illinois wastewater permits define and prove effluent violations using averaging…
Approved for renewal creditSecondary Clarifier Blanket and RAS Control
Advanced
To enable wastewater operators to effectively control the secondary clarifier blanket and Return Activated Sludge (RAS) rate to ensure optimal…
Approved for renewal creditActivated Sludge Process Control
Advanced
To equip wastewater operators with a thorough understanding of activated sludge process control, emphasizing operational levers, common pitfalls…
Approved for renewal creditSpill Response Without Causing a Second Release
Core
Equip wastewater operators with practical knowledge and decision-making skills to effectively respond to chemical and sewage spills while preventing…
Approved — not yet released for enrollmentProtecting the Process Through a Peak Flow
Advanced
Equip wastewater treatment operators with practical knowledge and skills to protect the biological and hydraulic processes during peak wet weather…
Approved for renewal creditStandby Power: Proved Under Load, or Not Proved
Core
To equip wastewater operators with the knowledge and skills to understand the importance of properly testing standby power systems under load…
Approved for renewal creditLimits That Move: Seasons, Floors and Bands
Core
Equip wastewater operators with comprehensive, practical understanding of how to interpret and report on effluent limits that change by season…
Approved for renewal creditHydrogen Sulfide: Four Numbers, One Ceiling
Core
To equip wastewater operators with a thorough understanding of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) hazards, exposure limits, and safe operating practices to…
Approved — not yet released for enrollmentNitrification: Alkalinity, Cold and Sludge Age
Advanced
To equip wastewater treatment plant operators with a clear understanding of the critical factors affecting nitrification—alkalinity consumption, cold…
Approved for renewal creditWet Weather Operations for Treatment Operators
Equip wastewater treatment operators with practical knowledge and decision-making skills for managing infiltration and inflow, handling peak flows at…
Approved for renewal creditDisinfection CT: Contact Time Is Not Volume/Flow
Advanced
To correct common misconceptions about disinfection contact time (CT) by demonstrating that contact time is governed by actual water residence time…
Approved for renewal creditStorm Modes: What To Switch and When It Is Late
Advanced
Equip wastewater treatment operators with practical knowledge and decision-making skills to manage wet weather flows effectively at the headworks…
Approved for renewal creditThe Four Design Flows and What Your Permit Uses
Core
To equip wastewater operators with a clear understanding of the four legally defined design flows per Illinois regulations, how these flows relate to…
Approved for renewal creditThe Baffle That Works and the One That Does Not
Advanced
To equip wastewater treatment operators with practical knowledge and decision-making skills regarding wet weather impacts on clarifier operation…
Approved for renewal creditLagoon Effluent: Flow, Coliform and Chemicals
Core
To equip wastewater operators who oversee lagoon treatment systems with practical understanding of lagoon effluent characteristics, measurement…
Approved for renewal creditSolids in the Effluent: Which Failure Is It?
Core
Enable wastewater treatment operators to accurately diagnose different failure modes causing solids in the effluent during wet-weather events and…
Approved for renewal creditReading Your NPDES Permit: What It Actually Asks
Core
Equip wastewater operators to accurately interpret the numeric and textual requirements in their NPDES permits, focusing on understanding permit…
Approved for renewal creditFlow Splitting: Why One Tank Fails First
Core
To enable wastewater operators to recognize, diagnose, and manage unequal flow splitting to parallel treatment tanks, understand the role of flow…
Approved for renewal creditLagoons: What You Control and What You Inherit
Core
To equip wastewater operators with a clear understanding of lagoon systems focusing on distinguishing operator-controlled variables from inherited…
Approved for renewal creditConfined Space Rescue: Why Rescuers Die Too
Core
To equip wastewater operators with critical awareness of confined-space hazards, focusing on the reasons why rescuers are often casualties…
Approved — not yet released for enrollmentFilter Media: Depth, Grading and BOD Credit
Core
Equip wastewater operators with a thorough understanding of filter media design requirements, biological treatment credit, operational control, and…
Approved for renewal creditPond Upsets: Low DO, Odor and Turnover
Core
To equip wastewater operators with practical understanding of facultative pond operation, focusing on common upsets—low dissolved oxygen (DO), odor…
Approved for renewal creditFilamentous Bulking: Cause, Cure and Mistakes
Advanced
To equip wastewater operators with a clear understanding of filamentous bulking, its causes, how to effectively address it, avoid common mistakes…
Approved for renewal creditWhy Your Plant Has the Limits It Has
Core
To enable wastewater operators to understand the reasons behind their plant's effluent limits by exploring the regulatory framework, permit…
Approved for renewal creditWet Weather at the Headworks: Grit and Screens
Advanced
Equip wastewater treatment operators with practical knowledge and decision-making skills for effective wet weather operation at the headworks…
Approved for renewal creditRBCs: Shaft Weight, Film Control and Failure
Core
Equip wastewater operators with practical knowledge of Rotating Biological Contactors (RBCs) focusing on shaft mechanical load issues, film thickness…
Approved for renewal creditWriting the Wet Weather Operating Plan
Core
Provide wastewater treatment operators with the knowledge and skills to effectively develop and implement a Wet Weather Operating Plan focused on…
Approved for renewal creditWasting Rate, Sludge Age and the F/M Lever
Advanced
Wasting Rate, Sludge Age, and the F/M Lever in Activated Sludge Process Control To equip wastewater treatment operators with practical knowledge and…
Approved for renewal creditCalibration Records and the Flows Nobody Logs
Core
Equip wastewater operators with a clear understanding of calibration record requirements, the distinction between instrument calibration and…
Approved for renewal creditBypass and Upset: The Defence You Must Prove
Advanced
Equip wastewater treatment operators with a clear understanding of regulatory requirements, operator responsibilities, and best practices surrounding…
Approved for renewal credit