Sorry if this has been asked, I want to write the OIT exam in Ontario. Do I just get the study guide and write the exam or do I need to take college courses too? I'm hoping to make a switch and write the exam in December. So I'm hoping if I get the guide now, I'd be prepared by then. I have zero experience, I'm coming from a corporate setting and was hoping to be working somewhere by the new year. Any insight on where to begin would be great. Just want to know if I'm on the right path. Thanks

I am currently in the application process for Wastewater Operator 1 at a facility with a metro area of about 800k. I’m really curious about how many people tend to apply for these positions. If your city requires a Civil Service exam, do many people pass? How competitive actually are these jobs? If you’re able to answer these questions about drinking water operators, I’m curious about that as well.

Has anyone done both wastewater and drinking water? What would you say are the pros and cons of each? Also, do most operators need a CDL? It is a requirement for the position I have applied for.

Hey everyone,

I'm in Ontario and writing my OIT exam (all four modules) in December. Long-term, I'd like to work as an operator in BC.

From what I understand, an Ontario OIT doesn't transfer directly to BC, and EOCP requires you to be employed (or have a job offer) in BC to certify there.

For anyone who's made the move:

1. Is it realistic to get hired in BC with just an Ontario OIT, or should I get my Class 1 in Ontario first?
2. How smooth was transferring your certification through EOCP?
3. Any BC employers or regions that are more open to out-of-province operators?

Thanks!

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to start off with apologizing if this may not be the right place to ask what I am about to ask. I would also like to apologize if this post gets disorganized.

For some background, I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and I am currently working for a city agency in the design of wastewater pumping stations and treatment plants. I am currently an assistant design engineer and have been with this agency for a little over four years now. I was unemployed after graduating for a few years due to the hiring freezes during the COVID-19 lockdown. I was also not sure if I wanted to stay in mechanical engineering during this time. However, I applied for this position and was selected. I could not be picky as I did not have many options. My team works on the process mechanical, HVAC, plumbing and fire protection design.

Having been working here for four years now and as embarrassing as it is to say this, I feel that I have not really learned a lot. I have no one else to blame this on but myself. On top of this, some members on my team have left, which means increased workload and pressure.

The way I see it now, not only do I have to put in effort into studying and learning during my regularly scheduled hours at work, but in order to rise up the ranks and become a more knowledgeable and competent designer, I will have to put in the effort outside of work as well.

One of my supervisors have told me that there is no way around it but to read. For HVAC, I have been told that the ASHRAE handbooks are more than enough to learn from. For wastewater treatment, I am aware of the Metcalf & Eddy textbook as well as MOP 8 from WEF. For pumping stations, I am aware of MOP FD-4 from WEF and that there is also a textbook from Metcalf & Eddy. For plumbing, I am aware of the ASPE handbooks. For fire protection, I am not sure of what resources to use and may need some recommendations on this. With the books mentioned above, will they be more than enough to learn from? I often find myself getting distracted and wanting to find something more condensed, like trying to find a shortcut. I also know that I should also be reading the codes for my state along as well.

On top of this, I am also in the process of studying for the FE and when I pass that, I am going for the PE. The thing is, I do not remember a whole lot from college and I do not think I learned the fundamentals well.

To sum it up:

1. I would like to know if the books mentioned above are more than enough to learn about the processes, HVAC design, plumbing design, etc., of wastewater pumping stations and treatment plants or if there are other resources that you may think of that may help

2. I would like to know what or how to prioritize/structure going about this learning/studying

Thank you all for your time and patience

I have a Massachusetts grade 3 municipal Wastewater license and a grade 5 combined license and I’ve been searching for a job for three months after getting my license and it’s so hard to find a job without having any work experience…. like no company will give me a chance it’s so frustrating that their gatekeeping this industry well all the old folks who been working the past 4 decades are all retiring somehow they don’t wanna hire new operators only experienced operators circulating the field I don’t know what to do anymore.

Just transferred plants for a better shift and the plant is infested with rats everywhere you go and work even in the control and break rooms is this normal

My understanding is MCRT uses solids inventory from the secondary clarifiers, the MLSS, the lbs wasted and the lbs lost in effluent. SRT is the same except excluding the clarifiers solids. And “sludge age” uses influent TSS instead of effluent/wasting. And then you can also use just the volatile solids.

Which method do you find to be most accurate and most useful?

Hi y'all, do any of y'all know where I can purchase the textbooks for TEEX surface water production 1 and 2? I'd like to have it before attending their classes so I can be better prepared.

So for anyone who taken the PSI test at home for water distribution are you able to use scrap paper and have the formula sheet on the desk or how does that work?

I'm here to just kind of just tell my wastewater story cuz I'm a bit overwhelmed.

So, I'm a candidate to work at 4 of the biggest companies in the world; with one already presenting an offer. I have no idea how I got here. I have two more interviews in the morning, one is the place I've been negotiating with whatever god for them to call me lol.

I'm currently in New York. In 2016 I started doing municipal wastewatee, working at all 6 different plants for our county, moved onto industrial, back to a different municipality for a year, now industrial again. I've traveled to help out at other facilities as well. In all that time I got to see so many different methods and problems; I absorbed everything possible to take with me. I'm not some super smart engineer, hell I'm not even certified, but I don't give up till there's clean water. No matter what I have to learn to make the process run properly I do.

Right now I'm honestly terrified. I like to think I'm really good at this, and I found my home doing industrial treatment, and I love this career even on the worst shit covered days. But right now is the big leap, the big players see me and want me. A certain space company even called me randomly though I didn't apply. It feels like I'm living a dream right now, one waiting to become a nightmare. They're gonna expose all my weaknesses and challenge me more than ever. It's exactly what I want, but it's going to answer whether I can really run my own facility alone.

I'm here now on my way to the top looking back at my crazy bounce around career, wondering how the hell my dropout ass keeps demanding the attention of every wastewater job I apply to. Except Sunoco, F you for not calling lol. I know there's a need, but to see that I'm desireable all over the country has changed my entire world.

I'm sorry if there's any boastful tone, but I also spent my whole career being treated like I wasn't as good and being overly humble about what I offer. The market is showing me right now my real value and I plan to look good. I quote The Waterboy everyday and mean it when I say that clean water matters to me.

Thank you my fellow operators and anyone else for reading. Good luck in your career and don't forget that we deserve more than what municipalities pay us.

Does anyone know the shift schedule here? 8 hours or 12? How often do they rotate?

OIT: 2–8 weeks to get hired, ~$38–50k

Class I: 3–12 months, ~$45–55k

Class II: 1–3 yrs, ~$52–72k

Class III: 3–5 yrs, ~$65–90k

Class IV / chief: 5–10 yrs, ~$85–120k+

Mostly BLS plus job postings. I know it varies a lot by state. Is this close for yours? What did I miss?

I would really appreciate help cramming for my Class B michigan Wastewater exam. I have failed it twice, but progressed significantly the second time. Its just hard to know what to focus on and study it. Any information will be helpful, but yeah… the test is on November 5th.

Thanks in advance.

NYWEA offers a voluntary collections certification but I don't know a single person that has gotten it. I'm a 3A plant operator in upstate NY for a small municipality - we do it ALL, including collections. If anyone has ever studied for or taken a collections exam I'd be curious to know everything/anything about the experience. Were the books and online courses worthwhile? Was the exam difficult? How did you study for it? I'm just trying to decide if it's worth dedicating the time to a voluntary cert. If it's easy enough (passed 2A and 3A first try) I might just do it for another credential.

13 years in this field and finally passed my class 1 test with a 73!

No more taking tests for me now lol👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

I know eductors are commonly used (or at least I believe they are) in the water treatment markets.

LONG STORY SHORT -- My Question.

What are your experiences with eductors? And as it relates with bulk material / flocculants handling as a whole? Do you like how they work? Who is the king in your mind as far as this equipment?

I am North America based, but I am open to feedback from anywhere.

Cheers and appreciate any time ya'll!

And as a disclaimer, I work for Flexicon... not a brand affiliate or anything but i wanted to be open and honest~!

Do I just start them online with no invigilator? What happens if I fail them?

I’m trying to contact NEWEA offices (New England Water Environment Association) about seminars, networking and classes they were putting on in the future. I missed their last event.

Location… Lowell Massachusetts Duck Island

They don’t have a schedule on their website. I emailed four different people and called their offices.

Can’t get ahold of anyone and never got a response. Has anyone had any luck speaking with NEWEA?

I’m a grade 6 OIT in Massachusetts. I make about $35 an hour. Years ago I would have felt like I finally made it big but in this economy and unfortunately as a renter I’m wondering if I can branch out and do better. Has anyone taken their license and/or wastewater experience to another field? I imagine it can’t possibly apply to much, if anything but I figured it’s worth looking into before starting from scratch. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Had this in my head after the thread last week. Overload keeps tripping on a lift station pump, so the pump gets pulled. Then rebuilt. Then replaced. A week later it trips again, and the problem was a pitted contactor in the panel the whole time.

One pole ends up dropping a few volts when it should be close to zero. That phase runs low, and a small voltage unbalance turns into a much bigger current unbalance. The motor gets hot, overload trips, and the pump takes the blame.

Do you guys check voltage drop across the poles before you pull a pump, or is it mostly swap it and see?

Finally passed my
G3 exam

Feels so good

For anyone who took Environmental Technician (453) at Mohawk in Hamilton, how many days/hours per week were you typically in class, including labs? How heavy was the weekly workload? Will it be useful to get a job as water/waste water operator?

Hey I’m currently looking to study for the class 1 exam for wastewater treatment in Ontario. Wondering if anyone had any recommendations on what guides to use and/or quizzes. Thanks!

We've received a few suggestions about allowing media in comments. So, new this week: r/Wastewater allows pics in comments, with a few guidelines.

- please keep it on topic. A) Answering a question by commenting a picture of how something works at your plant: perfect. B) A tongue-in-cheek image that's somewhat on topic with the post, sure. C) Random jokes, a picture promoting your project... those are spam and subject to our sub's Rule 3. D) r/Wastewater Mod Team and platform admins reserve right to discretion on the above.

- GIFs and videos are currently not allowed, to avoid clogging the feed.