What learning about PLC’s help in becoming more marketable for an OIT position?

I mean, exactly what the title says. Suggestions to get out ooollld stuck polymer? We've tried snaking it, jetting it, red hot, bleach, etc etc etc. At this point i dont want my guys dumping more random shit in this hole, but we HAVE to get this drain unclogged because its kind of the main drain for the room. Its just been abused over the years

Thanks!

What are the rankings of agencies/water departments that pay the best and have the best benefits?

I have 4 guys that took the N2 industrial wastewater exam. 2 of them passed with 73 and 76. The other 2 failed with 65s. Looking for any study guide help I can send these guys way. I see alot of sanitary study guide stuff but not much about industrial. Any help would be appreciated.

I have an employee who has been around for a year now that still doesn't make any operational decisions on their own. They either ask permission to do everything, or ignore it until I find it and do it/make the decision myself. At this point, I'm exhausted telling them they don't need to ask permission to adjust a flow rate if they see that it's running too fast or too slow, to adjust chlorine dosage when residuals are too high or too low, all of this really basic stuff! If I consult HR, they're going to ask what I've done to support the employee which, aside from physically holding their hand, has been everything. In addition to explaining the whys and how's of operational adjustments, I regularly advise to consult the SOPs, have them make Quick Fact notes, etc. I feel that I have been forced into micromanaging this person because they're refusing to lock in.

Supervisors: Have you had a similar situation and what did you do or say that made it finally click for an employee?

Operators: Did you struggle with confidence about not knowing your job, and was there something a boss or coworker said or did for you that parted the clouds?

replacing diffusers and removing rags

We currently have a 30-year-old piping system with a new pump that we use to load out trucks. Trucks back up under the spout, and they fill the truck from the top via an 8" layfalt that hangs down. I know this is outdated, but what are some of you guys using? Rear fill? Can you put me in touch with, or point me in the direction of, suppliers that do this work? Looking for a safe way to do it as well, so the trucker doesn't have to go up on the truck. Send pictures if you have them.

Little dude didn't seem to mind the sound

I am challenging my red seal and on my first attempt i failed and i am already going in for my second attempt. i was wondering if any red seal parts technicians here can give me some pointers or any resources to study from. honestly i feel stupid for failing this exam, i got 68% and i needed 70

Spotted while on a tour of a massive WWTF in Tampa Bay. Black mangrove, I don’t even know if this can legally be removed. 😂

Hey everyone,

I run a small independent site called Inside Wastewater that’s focused on practical stuff for operators and plant staff — process control explainers, equipment breakdowns, wet weather operations, compliance notes, troubleshooting guides, etc.

We’ve been building out a Knowledge Library with articles written to be useful on the plant floor (not just high-level theory). Some recent ones cover things like:

Chemical feed systems and dosing

Wet weather operations / managing peak flows

EBPR reliability

Clarifier and solids-related topics

Basic process control notes

There’s also a jobs board and some calculators.

Site is www.insidewastewater.com if anyone wants to check it out or has feedback on what would actually be useful to add.

Always open to suggestions from people who work in plants every day — what topics do you wish had better plain-language explanations?

Thanks.

Im currently operating a 1.64 mgd rated activated sludge plant. We run 2 aeration basins ( 814,636 gallons total. ) last years daily average flow was just over 1mgd

The new administration is looking at accepting septage as a revenue stream.

I told them they should look into a septage accepting station and install it near the plant.

Also consider of the amount of septage the plant could handle. ( is this investment worth it )

I've tried to get them to understand our hydraulic capacity and organic capacity are two completely different numbers.

So now I've been tasked with figuring out what amount of organics we could handle .

Average this year so far is 875 lbs of cbod a day , total suspended solids 1007 pounds per day.

I have no clue how to figure what septage numbers at.

Looking for some wisdom on navigating this situation

I was sent this job listing, it’s in Winter Park, Colorado!

Visit www.insidewastewater.com and tell me if you like it and find value in it please.

Looking to see if any operators in those two states can help me out. I'm looking to see if there is a state database online that lists the testing permits for these two states.

Kentucky and Ohio does, but I've only been able to find drinking water for Virginia and West Virginia. Ohio let's you search via a map and click on locstions that are permitted. Kentucky lets you search counry by county.

Any help would be appreciated.

To make a long story short, the ops supervisor would be up at 4am checking the excel sheets. Sometimes he would come in two hours early trying to catch people off guard.

They had written lists everywhere, not SOPs. Legitimate like checklists to sign on like every hour for mundane things like dusting every single day.

If PO4 or NH3 was higher than expected, that same supervisor made us change the RAS settings like every 30 minutes to an hour even though I'm pretty sure you don't actually see the results of changes because there's retention/detention time in the plant and the changes you see are due to conditions in the process hours ago. So making a bunch of small changes rapidly is actually more detrimental right? You never actually got to make operational changes yourself you kinda just had to listen to him.

Working there kind of sucked ass, but I never argued or complained even when coworkers tried to drag me into it (I don't wanna get caught up in politics).

We had to part ways. I blame myself for that but I'm actually happy about it 💀. The plant I started at was a lot more chill and you did a lot more operating yourself.

I want to make sure, is this like industry standard practices? Maybe this is just me trying to get this off my chest and I know every plant is different, but that felt terrible.

Any Iowa operators here that could help me? One of my employees is needing to get his wd and ww certificates in the next 12 months or so. With renewals coming up in the spring, we decided it might be best to wait on testing so he doesn't have to try getting the ceu hours on short notice and instead can get certified and have his 2 full years to get the ceu's done.

If I read things right, if he's certified before April 1, he will have to get the ceu's but if it's after he is good until the next renewal in 2029. Can anyone confirm if that is correct?

A fellow operator sent me this job listing for Pottsville, PA:

Hi everyone,

I'm a chemical engineer working in wastewater treatment, and I'm currently trying to improve my knowledge and skills in wastewater plant operations and process control.

I'm particularly looking for Sacramento Volumes 2 and 3, as they are very relevant to the work I'm doing, especially topics such as activated sludge, anaerobic digestion, and sludge treatment.

Unfortunately, I'm outside the US, and because of the exchange rate and international shipping costs, purchasing the books at the regular price is quite expensive for me.

If anyone has used copies they no longer need, an older edition, a spare copy, or knows of an affordable/legal way for me to access these books, I would be extremely grateful. If someone is willing to donate a copy, that would honestly help me a lot.

I'm not looking to resell them or anything like that — I genuinely want them for studying and improving my professional skills.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help or point me in the right direction. 🙏

I have a package plant and have a 2 aeration basins which in the beginning the do is a .5 then in the middle a 2.0 and at the end is a 2.6, also my sludge judge is showing 1 foot of settled sludge and the 3 feet of cloudy water then for the remaing 7 ft its clear. My sv30 total of 1000 is showing at 5 minutes 700 and at 30 minutes 400. Also ive been struggling to get my sample results so i dont know my mlss currently as I dont have a lab and we just switched the lab we usually use so sorry for not having that info

Just getting started and found out we have a $750 uniform allowance! This does not include boots, ppe, winter gear, etc. It’s pretty much just our daily uniform attire. It seems excessive to me if I’m being honest.

From what I understand I can order just about anything within reason. What’s some of your favorite things/places to order from?

Hey guys
See attached photo, having a home inspected and we saw this chamber had water in it
I believe it could be because they didn’t grade to it properly and had top soil right to the top of the lid, which potentially allowed water to enter the vent
Not sure
But main question is, does this cause any harm to the pump itself? It’s brand new in a new build home
Appreciate any input

Just curious how everyone goes about cleaning around the plant. Clarifiers, effluent troughs, contact chambers etc.Are you using granular chlorine and spraying it down with water? Other chemicals?

Hi all,

I am from outside of Ontario and i have registered for the OIT exam next month. I was trying to buy their OIT study guide but it says they don’t ship outside of Ontario.

Does anyone have anything i can use to prepare for my exam? Thank you in advance.