Join us for the two days before the 2015 Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport Show – Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 21-22 in Indianapolis – to take part in the National Association of Wastewater Technicians (NAWT) nationally acclaimed workshops.

Once again, NAWT will offer its two-day onsite inspector training course as well as the updated and revised course on operation and maintenance of conventional systems. The inspector course looks at inspections at the operation level. The course is specifically designed to address issues that would be encountered while conducting inspections for real estate and property transfer.

The first day covers the basics of sewage treatment and system types from a troubleshooting perspective. This provides an overview of how systems should work from the perspective of solving or troubleshooting problems. The second day goes through a step-by-step procedure to conduct a system inspection. It requires attendees to locate and identify all parts of the system, assess their condition and determine if they are operating properly.

There is an exam at the end of the workshop on inspection procedures, leading to the NAWT national inspection certification. We are exploring use of the Camp Camby facilities again this year for the second day as well as other system options off site; we will provide more information on this in the coming months.

A variety of instructors and practitioners will participate in the workshop. This is a place where you can get your inspection questions answered. This will be a unique opportunity to look at inspections from the perspective of practicing professionals. After taking this course the participants will be prepared to take the operation and maintenance courses.

O&M

All systems, whether conventional or advanced, need maintenance. This course will take a look at the operation and maintenance requirements of conventional systems. This course is based on CIDWT (Consortium of Institutes for Decentralized Wastewater Treatment) materials supplemented with new and additional materials. A method to evaluate the system from an operation and maintenance perspective will be provided.

There are discussions on the role of service providers in overall system management and industry ethics as well as discussions on performing maintenance safely. The course addresses how to select and operate pumps, operation and maintenance for both gravity and pressure distribution systems, and includes hands-on sessions on the second day of the workshop. At the end of the second day, an exam for certification will be provided.

These are the premier national education courses; do not miss this opportunity to go through the materials with your peers from across the country.

Remember to visit the NAWT website and have your college student submit their essay to our contest for the NAWT scholarship. In addition, make sure you nominate a special industry person for the NAWT Excellence in Service Award. Information about these programs is available on our website. Look at posted updates of education presentations. Let us know what else you would like to see on the site.