Operator - Southwest EFC

The Importance of Small Water Systems Creating and Implementing a Flushing Program

swefc — Mon, 19 May 2025 23:02:39 +0000

For small water systems, maintaining water quality is critical to ensuring safe and reliable drinking water for communities and customers. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by creating and implementing a flushing program. A well-designed flushing program helps remove sediment, prevent stagnation, maintain good levels of free chlorine residuals to maintain proper disinfection and maintain good water quality. It also protects public health and a system’s ability to inspect infrastructure. Here are some reasons small water systems should prioritize this practice.

Improving Water Quality

Water in the distribution system can become stagnant, especially in low-flow areas or dead-end pipes. Stagnation leads to sediment buildup, bacterial growth and potential chemical imbalances, which can degrade water quality. Regular flushing clears out contaminants, ensures proper chlorine residual levels and delivers fresher water to customers. For small systems with limited resources, this proactive measure is a cost- effective way to maintain compliance with water quality regulations.

Preventing Infrastructure Damage

Sediment and debris in pipes can cause corrosion, reduce flow capacity and damage system components over time. A flushing program helps remove these materials, extending the life span of pipes and reducing maintenance costs. It also helps operators plan and prepare budgets for future replacement of existing equipment. For small systems where staff and budgets are limited, preventing costly repairs through routine flushing is a smart investment.

Enhancing Customer Confidence

Discolored water, strange odors, or poor taste can erode public trust in a water system. Flushing prevents these issues, ensuring customers receive clean, clear water. For small communities, where word-of-mouth travel fast, consistent water quality builds confidence and strengthens community relationships.

Meeting Regulatory Requirements

Regulatory agencies often require water systems to maintain specific water quality standards. A flushing program helps small systems meet these standards by controlling biofilm growth, maintaining disinfectant levels and reducing the risk of contamination. Documenting flushing activities also demonstrates compliance during inspections.

Written by: Mike Rivera, Water/Wastewater Utility Specialist at the Southwest EFC

Featured Image courtesy of rick on Flickr.

The post The Importance of Small Water Systems Creating and Implementing a Flushing Program first appeared on Southwest EFC.

Benefits of Training

swefc — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 21:31:35 +0000

Written by: Dawn Nall

Water and wastewater system operators are typically required by their licensing state or regulating agency to show regular continuing education to maintain their certification. Often, certified operators are the only staff in a water or wastewater utility attending training classes. The reason for this limited training is almost always money. It takes time and money to send personnel to training, and there often isn’t enough money in the budget to send several people. However, research shows training can increase productivity and revenue. So, the money argument isn’t supportable. Why should you want to train employees?

In the day-to-day operations and management of a utility, it is possible to overlook the significant value of the utility to the surrounding community. Water and wastewater utilities are complex systems that provide life sustaining services to residents and businesses. The health and well-being of a community depend upon the water and wastewater utilities running efficiently and effectively, while remaining affordable. A training program helps a utility maintain a well-qualified workforce with the knowledge needed to operate, maintain and manage the utility’s infrastructure and supporting systems.

Regulatory compliance is necessary to insure the utility is focused on public health and safety. Training is essential to maintaining compliance, meeting customer expectations and staying up to date with developments in the industry. Technology and regulations change, sometimes quickly, requiring on-going education throughout the utility. All employees can benefit from training, although different types of training will be needed for different experience levels and positions.

It is important that training be viewed as an investment in the employees and the utility, rather than a cost or burden to the utility. Increased knowledge of how to accomplish the necessary tasks in a safe, effective, and efficient manner will benefit the utility considerably in the long-run.

Some specific benefits of a training program are discussed below.

1. Money

Investing in training can increase efficiency resulting in financial gain. A study by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) found that companies that spent on average $275 per employee per year on training earned an additional $121,000 per employee, while those that spent $900 per employee earned $168,000 per employee. Spending an additional $625 in training per employee resulted in 38% more revenue per employee or an additional $47,000 . – Reliabilityweb.com

When employees are well trained, they are able to complete their work more efficiently and effectively, leading to less money being spent on fixing mistakes. Poor performance is often the result of employees not knowing what they are supposed to do or how they are supposed to do it. Training can resolve these performance related problems and reduce the involvement of others to correct the mistakes. This improved performance leads to many financial benefits: reduced staff turnover, lower maintenance costs, fewer customer complaints, less need for supervision, increased worker confidence and increased worker output.

2. Staying up to date

“We all know that change is a constant in life, but the changes we see in technology today aren’t just rapid—they’re exponential. If the average car had advanced as quickly as the computer over the last 35 years, cars would get 3,666,652 miles per gallon and cost less than $5,000 today! And if you were to build an iPhone using the technology available in 1991, it would set you back $3.56 million, rather than the $1,000 MSRP of the iPhone X today.” – Awecomm.com article 1/3/18

Utilities need to be able to keep up with technology changes in order to meet customer expectations, to understand best management practices, and to improve efficiencies. A well-trained work force will help a utility keep up with changing software programs, technology changes, customer service skills, leadership trends, new strategies and creativity.

3. Job satisfaction and employee retention

Training workers allows them to feel qualified, valued, and able to perform assigned tasks. The training creates a supportive workplace, encouraging employees to stay at the job because they know they will continue to grow. This leads to better morale and improves the utility’s culture overall.

Employees who feel appreciated and challenged through training opportunities may feel more satisfaction in their jobs. Employees typically don’t want to become stagnant and, after a period of time, will begin to look for opportunities to grow. Well-trained employees are easier to promote as they have continually developed their skills. Employee training increases internal talent. Hiring needs and associated costs will decrease as staff retention increases. Retaining well-trained employees reduces turnover costs such as exit interviews, administrative functions related to termination, severance pay, unemployment compensation and employee replacement costs including advertising, interviewing, testing, moving expenses, administrative expenses, etc.

4. Enhanced company image leads to better recruitment

A successful training program helps make the utility more attractive to recent graduates and mid-career changes, as well as to new recruits that are looking to improve their skills. Your utility becomes more than a place to earn a paycheck, but a place where an employee can develop skills and grow. This helps when hiring in a competitive market.

Training can come in many forms and can be offered at a variety of skill levels. Training can include:

– On-the-job learning
– Mentoring schemes
– In-house training
– Individual study
– Off-site workshops
– Time to attend webinars

When economic times get tough, training budgets are usually one of the first areas that get slashed. This is an unfortunate phenomenon considering the impact it has on an organization’s recruitment, retention and employee morale.

Does your organization offer employee training benefits?

The post Benefits of Training first appeared on Southwest EFC.

Becoming a Water Utility Operator: Test-taking Strategies

Southwest Environmental Finance Center — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 17:30:15 +0000

*Written by Matt Ziegler

Are you interested in where our drinking water comes from, or how our cities and towns handle all of the wastewater that is generated by our modern society? Do you care about the health of your community and its future? Are you looking for a career that pays well with the potential for growth? If so, then a career as a water utility operator might be just what you are looking for.

Certified drinking water and wastewater utility operators are in high demand these days. The industry is seeing the retirements of those operators that went to work in the 70’s and 80’s and is in need of new, trained, and certified operators to carry on the infrastructure that supports our communities. As this transition in the workforce continues, our smallest water utilities that serve our smallest communities will be most challenged to hire qualified personnel.

So, how do you go about getting trained and certified to do this sort of work? It doesn’t take much to start, just a high school diploma or GED, some on the job training, and a willingness to learn. Within just 6-12 months of working at a water utility, you will be able to sit for an exam to become a certified drinking water or wastewater operator. Passing that exam and having that certificate lets everyone know that you are a professional with the knowledge and the experience to operate your community’s infrastructure and protect their health.

For many of us, preparing for, taking, and passing the water operator exam will be the biggest road block on our road to career riches. Maybe you haven’t taken a standardized exam since you were in high school and even then you never liked them? Maybe you know the material but freeze up when it comes to the exam? Maybe you don’t know how to study or your brain just doesn’t work that way anymore? Preparing for, taking, and passing the water operator exams can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be if you follow these tips:

– Identify subject areas where you need to study
– Develop a study plan leading up to the exam that specifies when and what you will study
– Gather together your study materials from trainings you have attended, state training manuals, and other free or paid sources
– Manage your study time to ensure that you cover all of the material you need to cover
– Take notes while you study and draw sketches to help visualize the information
– Test your knowledge with practice exams or flash cards
– Avoid memorization
– Study with a partner

On exam day, make sure you are well rested and well fed before the exam. If you followed all of the tips above, then you are prepared and know the materials. Take your time, relax, and don’t second guess yourself. You have already done all of the heavy lifting and the exam gives you the opportunity to show it!

Becoming a certified water utility operator is both challenging and rewarding. There is the opportunity to learn something new every day, serve your community, and protect the public’s health. There is a huge need for people like you to take up this career and help move us forward into the future. It has been said that water is life and that has never been more true when it comes to the life of our communities.

The post Becoming a Water Utility Operator: Test-taking Strategies first appeared on Southwest EFC.

Asset Management

swefc — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 04:02:22 +0000

As a water or wastewater system manager or operator, you are managing assets every day. You have to make decisions on what maintenance to perform on pumps, wells, tanks, treatment facilities, or any other assets. You have to decide what to do when an asset fails – repair it, replace it, or rehabilitate it. You have to make decisions regarding what spare parts to have on hand. The question is are you making well informed, data-driven decisions that are the most effective and efficient for your utility? Implementing an Asset Management Program will help you run your systems in a better, more informed way.

Asset Management has 5 core components. They are simple concepts that are probably practiced at some level already, but likely aren’t organized into a strategic process that aids in decision making. The 5 core components are:

1.) Current State of the Assets: What do you own and what are the characteristics?
2.) Level of Service: What do you want your assets to do?
3.) Asset Risk: Which assets would be critical to providing whatever it is you want to do?
4.) Life Cycle Costs: How would you operate, maintain, repair, rehabilitate or replace your assets to make sure they keep providing what you want?
5.) Long Term Funding: How will you pay for what you want to do with your assets (i.e., the operation, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, and replacement)?

The Asset Management thought process works with any type of asset (not just water or wastewater). You probably use it in your everyday life to help you make decisions about how best to spend you hard earned money (i.e. buy a new car or rebuild the transmission of what you already own?). Asset management really works to save money, time, and effort. It helps you spend your limited dollars in order to have the maximum impact.

Asset Management can also be thought of as crisis management or crisis reduction. Asset Management shifts the focus to controlling risks and proactively addressing concerns rather than reacting to every problem. It is much more cost effective to prevent a high risk asset from failing than it is to let the asset fail and deal with all the consequences that occur after the failure. For example, consider a pump whose failure will cause the entire community to be out of water. This pump has been poorly maintained and has been showing signs of distress. Fixing or replacing this pump before it fails is much better than waiting for the pump to actually shut down. It may be as much as 3 or 4 times more expensive to react to failure than prevent it. Asset Management also helps utilities identify which portion of the system actually requires replacement and which portions can remain in place. This analysis is vital given that the industry simply cannot afford to replace its entire aging infrastructure.

An asset management program can pay for itself in many ways: deferral of capital investment, avoiding catastrophic failure, reduction in lost revenues due to reduction of lost water, reduction in bonds and debt. A 2013 survey completed by McGraw Hill Construction on the Benefits of Asset Management reported the following: Improved ability to explain budgets; Better focus on priorities; Better understanding of risks; Increased ability to minimize costs; Reduced costs without sacrificing service levels. The more you do with Asset Management the more benefit you receive, but doing even a little bit will improve the operation and management of your system. Don’t feel overwhelmed. If you can get started with it, it will be worth your while.

Photo by: Mike Mozart

The post Asset Management first appeared on Southwest EFC.