Prerequisite Classes:
Sacramento State University, Office of Water Programs: This link will take you to Sacramento State University’s page, depicting their various water program home study courses. Most states allow these courses to satisfy prerequisite education requirements, but check wih your individual state to confirm.
For California residents, I would recommend taking Water Treatment Plant Operation, Vol 1 to satisfy the T2 Exam classroom requirement. I would also recommend taking this same class even if you are testing for your D2, if you also plan on testing for you T2, as it will satisfy the classroom requirement for both exams. If you have no desire to test for treatment certification, then I would recommend taking Water Distribution System Operation and Maintenance to satisfy the Distribution requirement. At any event, both books are invaluable resources.
Other Training Resources:
Water Treatment Operator Training Handbook
A very valuable resource for anyone following a Treatment line of certification. This book is provided by the American Water Works Association and written by Nicholas G. Pizzi.
Water Distribution Operator Training Handbook, 2nd Edition
This book is super valuable and a wealth of information. I use it all the time for its great, easy to access, information. If you are planning on pursuing a Distribution line of certification, but are enrolling in the home study course “Water Treatment Plant Operation, Vol 1” as a way of fulfilling both the Treatment and Distribution class requirements, then this book is essential to have for Distribution exam preparation.
(I have provided this link to the second edition, even though there are newer editions, because the information in it still just as valuable as it ever was, and the cost is much cheaper.)
Practice Exam Questions
AWWA has this book of practice exam questions that is pretty decent. I have included this link here because a lot of people ask me for practice exam questions.
I’m personally not a huge fan of the way most people use practice exams as a study tool. Everyone always seems to want them, but what ends up happening is that people end up taking them and studying the questions over and over as if they are getting a cheat sheet to the test, and then they are disappointed (and ill prepared) when the questions they saw on practice exams are not on the actual exam. Is essence, I think they can hamper studies by making people feel like they just need to study those questions, and then they will have the answers and pass the exam, and that’s just not true.
I think they can be very useful when used to find weaknesses in your overall knowledge. My recommendation is not to simply go through them and study the questions, but to also use all the terms used in the incorrect answers as much as the correct answers. If you don’t know any terms used, write those words down, and then look them up and study them.
Also, the book breaks down questions by exam level. Be wary of only studying the ones that correspond to your exam level. In principle, the lower level exams should be more basic and focus on definition type things more, and the higher level exams should focus on management, water quality, and government regulations, but in reality it’s not necessarily so. So if you pick this up, make sure and study them all.
Applied Math for Water Plant Operators – Workbook
After mastering the information in my water math DVD courses, its a good idea to get some extra practice applying the principles to solve other problems. This math workbook is very good and has a variety of math problems broken down by subject.
Job Hunting Resources:
Simply Hired
bcwaterjobs
wikipedia list of water companies
Certification Information by State:
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Conneticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
My Other Podcasts:
Breaking Your Chains: A podcast which I try to produce in a monthly format, but which ultimately seems to come out periodically. It’s main theme is to highlight the enjoyment of life, living your life without fear, and creating your happiness. It affords me the opportunity to share subjects which I feel compelled to share, as well as gives me a platform for my occasional rants. You can find it in any podcast directory, or at the website linked above.
Kauai Podcast: A podcast which is currently on hold but has 37 awesome episodes. It is designed to explore the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Topics initially include island overviews, activities, and travel planning, but then move into specific explorations and adventures, historical interviews, and local culture.
Exploring Tampa Florida and Beyond: A podcast which I started, taking the same concept of Kauai Podcast and applying it to the Tampa, Florida area. In this podcast, I aim to get out and explore the area in a fun, educational, and entertaining way.