On September 2, 2014 Wastewater 101 spent the day in Gary, Indiana with the Gary Sanitary District. This fall’s Certification Review sessions have been set up to do 4 hour sessions spread over the month instead of a two-day cram course for both the Wastewater Operators and the Collection System Operators.
The morning session was spent with the Operators who are studying for their Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Operator’s licenses from Class I to IV municipal and a Class D industrial. Gary Sanitary District for years has been a forerunner in providing education and advancement opportunities for their Operators and has made it mandatory for all Operators to become certified with at least a Class I certification. We covered the Operator Certification Manual provided by IDEM, collection system and pretreatment. I was pleased to discover the knowledge retention is very high for those taking the course.
The afternoon was spent with the Collection System Operators who will be sitting for the Indiana Water Environment Association’s Collection System Committee’s Collection System Certification Test. This was probably my favorite session of the two (enjoyed both, but just wait and you’ll understand why this was my favorite). This session (of course) started with math – mainly focusing on conversions, the shuffle for MGD and gpd, percent and decimals. In the math session we also found the area and volumes of rectangular and circular structures and converted inches to feet and feet to inches. Other topics included; terms, rules and regulations, SSMP (Sewer System Management Plan) and Budgeting. At the end of the day we went back to conversions and that is what made my day. Everyone of them GOT IT. They had no problem with the math calculations to convert from cubic feet to gallons to pounds or from seconds to minutes to hours and were able to keep up with their UNITS. I felt like a proud mama!! Job well done!!
Can’t wait for the next round of classes with the wonderful crew at the Gary Sanitary District.