Treatment Process
31%of exam
Laboratory Analysis
16%of exam
Equipment Operation + Maintenance
26%of exam
Source Water Characteristics
15%of exam
Safety + Administration
12%of exam
Quick Facts
- Exam
- Water Treatment Class I
- Owner
- WPI / ABC Testing
- Scored
- 100 questions
- Pretest
- Up to 10
- Format
- Multiple choice
- Recall
- 40%
- Application
- 60%
- Calculations
- 10%
- Units
- US + metric
- Adoption
- Confirm with certifier
Treatment Order
Mix -> Floc -> Settle -> Filter -> Disinfect
Mix: disperseFloc: growSettle: clarifyFilter: polishDisinfect: inactivate
Coagulation vs Flocculation
Coagulation
- Destabilize charge
- Rapid dispersion
- Chemical driven
Flocculation
- Grow floc
- Gentle mixing
- Collision driven
Destabilize then grow
Process Picker
- Raw turbidity changes→Review treatment dose(Test before adjusting)
- Weak floc→Check chemistry + mixing(Verify conditions)
- Settled turbidity rises→Inspect clarification(Check loading)
- Filter head loss rises→Evaluate backwash(Follow plant criteria)
- Filter turbidity rises→Investigate breakthrough(Protect clearwell)
- Residual falls→Check demand + feed(Verify analyzer)
- Iron staining appears→Check oxidation + removal
- Membrane quality worsens→Check integrity(Inspect barrier)
Treatment Train
- Rapid mix
- Disperse coagulant
- Coagulation
- Destabilize particles
- Flocculation
- Grow settleable floc
- Sedimentation
- Settle floc
- Filtration
- Remove remaining particles
- Disinfection
- Inactivate pathogens
- Direct filtration
- Skip sedimentation
- Membrane
- Pressure-driven barrier
Dose vs Residual
Dose
- Chemical applied
- Before demand
- Feed controlled
Residual
- Chemical remaining
- After demand
- Field measured
Demand = dose - residual
Process Control
- Jar test
- Optimize treatment dose
- Head loss
- Filter resistance
- Breakthrough
- Particles pass filter
- Filter-to-waste
- Divert ripening water
- Backwash
- Clean filter bed
- Breakpoint
- Free residual rises
- Chlorine demand
- Dose minus residual
- Iron / manganese
- Oxidize then remove
Treatment Math
- CT
- Residual x effective time
- Detention
- Volume / flow
- Chemical use
- Start + received - ending
- Dry feed
- mg/L x MGD x 8.34
- Product feed
- Active need / decimal purity
- Surface loading
- Flow / surface area
- Backwash rate
- Flow / filter area
- Percent removal
- Removed / influent x 100
Chlorine Balance
Total = Free + Combined
Dose: appliedDemand: consumedResidual: remaining
pH vs Alkalinity
pH
- Current intensity
- Hydrogen-ion activity
- Not buffering
Alkalinity
- Neutralizing capacity
- Resists pH change
- Titration result
Intensity vs capacity
Laboratory Sampling
- Sample point
- Represent intended water
- Preservation
- Limit analyte change
- Holding time
- Analysis deadline
- Chain of custody
- Track sample control
- Calibration
- Adjust against standard
- Verification
- Check without adjustment
- Blank
- Detect contamination
- Duplicate
- Check precision
Calibration vs Verification
Calibration
- Compare standard
- Adjust response
- Document change
Verification
- Check performance
- No required adjustment
- Document result
Adjust vs confirm
Laboratory Results
- Turbidity
- Particle scattering indicator
- pH
- Hydrogen-ion activity
- Alkalinity
- Acid-neutralizing capacity
- Hardness
- Calcium + magnesium
- Free chlorine
- Uncombined residual
- Combined chlorine
- Chloramine residual
- Total chlorine
- Free + combined
- TSS
- Suspended solids mass
Maintenance Types
Prevent, Predict, Correct
Prevent: scheduledPredict: trendsCorrect: repair
PLC vs SCADA
PLC
- Local control logic
- Reads inputs
- Commands outputs
SCADA
- Supervisory view
- Remote data
- Alarms + history
Control vs supervise
Equipment Picker
- Pump rattles→Check cavitation(Inspect suction)
- Pump loses prime→Find air pathway(Restore safely)
- Reverse flow occurs→Inspect check valve
- Analyzer disagrees→Verify reference result
- SCADA alarm occurs→Confirm field condition
- Generator readiness unknown→Perform approved exercise
- Vibration trend rises→Plan predictive work
- Equipment fails→Correct + document
Pumps + Valves
- Prime
- Liquid-filled pump casing
- Cavitation
- Vapor-bubble collapse
- Check valve
- Stops reverse flow
- Isolation valve
- Stops section flow
- Control valve
- Regulates process variable
- Throttling valve
- Adjusts flow
- Water horsepower
- gpm x head / 3960
- Efficiency
- Output / input x 100
Facility Equipment
- Raw-water intake
- Screen + pump source
- Static mixer
- Inline chemical mixing
- Chemical feeder
- Meter treatment chemical
- Chlorine system
- Feed disinfectant safely
- Storage tank
- Store treated water
- Electric motor
- Drive rotating equipment
- Air compressor
- Supply compressed air
- Blower
- Move process air
Controls + Maintenance
- PLC
- Executes control logic
- HMI
- Operator interface
- SCADA
- Supervises remote data
- Preventive
- Scheduled before failure
- Predictive
- Condition trend driven
- Corrective
- Restore after fault
- Work order
- Document asset work
- Load test
- Prove backup power
Well Levels
Static and pumping difference gives drawdown
Static: pump offPumping: pump onDrawdown: difference
Static vs Pumping Level
Static
- Pump off
- Recovered condition
- Reference level
Pumping
- During withdrawal
- Lower level
- Operating condition
Resting vs operating
Source Picker
- Storm runoff arrives→Trend raw water(Adjust deliberately)
- Well area floods→Protect + inspect(Follow response plan)
- Static level declines→Review source trend(Compare like conditions)
- Raw demand rises→Investigate source change
Source Water
- Surface water
- Rapidly changing source
- Groundwater
- Often mineral influenced
- Biological
- Bacteria, protozoa, viruses
- Chemical
- Dissolved contaminant risk
- Physical
- Turbidity, color, temperature
- Watershed
- Intake drainage area
- Wellhead area
- Well recharge protection
- Source assessment
- Identify susceptibility
Wells + Protection
- Static level
- Well not pumping
- Pumping level
- Level during withdrawal
- Drawdown
- Static-pumping level difference
- Flooding
- Well contamination warning
- Sanitary seal
- Blocks surface entry
- Protection plan
- Prevent source contamination
- Raw-water trend
- Early process warning
Safety Sequence
Stop -> isolate -> verify -> respond
Stop: protect peopleIsolate: control energyVerify: confirm conditionsRespond: follow plan
Safety Picker
- Chemical release occurs→Activate emergency plan
- Maintenance begins→Apply energy control(Verify isolation)
- Confined entry planned→Apply entry program
- Violation suspected→Follow reporting procedure
- Complaint arrives→Document + investigate
Safety Controls
- SDS
- Chemical hazard guidance
- PPE
- Task-specific protection
- LOTO
- Control hazardous energy
- Confined space
- Evaluate entry hazards
- Atmosphere test
- Verify entry conditions
- Spill plan
- Protect then respond
- Emergency plan
- Defined response actions
Administration + Security
- SOP
- Approved work method
- Operating record
- Preserve actual conditions
- Public notice
- Follow regulatory requirements
- Perimeter security
- Control physical access
- Unique credentials
- Preserve accountability
- Least privilege
- Limit system access
- Inventory
- Track critical supplies
- Consumer complaint
- Document and investigate
Common Traps
Dose vs residual
Dose is applied ≠ Residual is remaining
pH vs alkalinity
pH is intensity ≠ Alkalinity is capacity
Turbidity vs pathogens
Turbidity indicates particles ≠ Not organism identification
Display vs field
SCADA shows signals ≠ Field confirms condition
Silence vs solve
Acknowledge silences alarm ≠ Cause still remains
Stopped vs isolated
Stop command is control ≠ LOTO controls energy
Assessment vs protection
Assessment identifies risk ≠ Plan reduces risk
Last Minute
- 1.Weights: 31 / 16 / 26 / 15 / 12
- 2.Recall 40%; application 60%
- 3.Calculations = 10%
- 4.Coagulate, flocculate, settle, filter, disinfect
- 5.Demand = dose - residual
- 6.CT = residual x time
- 7.Total chlorine = free + combined
- 8.pH = intensity; alkalinity = capacity
- 9.Calibration adjusts; verification confirms
- 10.PLC controls; SCADA supervises
- 11.Drawdown = level difference
- 12.Verify field before adjusting
- 13.Follow SDS and energy control
- 14.Confirm blueprint with certifier
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