Next fall, students in Shasta College’s Water Treatment Technology (WTT) program will be able to use new equipment and supplies for their training, thanks to a $100,000 grant from the State of California’s Proposition 39, which provides state funding to local education agencies for energy efficiency and energy generation projects.
The Water Treatment Technology Program teaches students the fundamentals of water and wastewater treatment including energy consuming equipment, such as pumps, compressors, aerators, and emergency generators that are used to treat drinking water and wastewater in the north state. “This award allows our instructors to use the latest equipment for hands on training and demonstrations,” says Susan Wyche, Dean of Business, Agriculture, Industry, Technology and Safety, “and highlights a program that is a steady supplier of water and wastewater treatment operators for the north state.”
Nationally, the energy used by water and wastewater utilities accounts for 35 percent of typical U.S. municipal energy budgets (NYSERDA, 2008). Electricity use accounts for 25 to 40 percent of the operating budgets for wastewater utilities and approximately 80 percent of drinking water processing and distribution costs (NYSERDA, 2008). Drinking water and wastewater systems account for approximately 3–4 percent of energy use in the United States, resulting in the emissions of more than 45 million tons of GHGs annually (U.S. EPA, 2012b). The grant will provide students with the opportunity to operate up-to-date equipment, making their training more relevant and helping them to be more competitive when seeking employment.
The grant was developed by Tom Warnock, a part-time instructor for Shasta College and principal engineer with Pace Engineering, a local civil engineering firm specializing in water and wastewater treatment plants. Warnock, who holds multiple California certifications for water treatment, wastewater and distribution (T5, WW 4, and D2), teaches two semesters of drinking water treatment, and a semester of water distribution, which includes the pipes, valves, meters, wells and reservoirs that bring drinking water to consumers.
“The classes prepare students to take the state exams required to become either a certified drinking water treatment plant operator or a distribution operator,” Warnock says. “Students can test up to a Grade 2 without having work experience at a water treatment plant. Passing the exam qualifies them for a position as an operator-in-training, which they need to gain work experience prior to being granted the certificate.”
In the Redding area, water and wastewater treatment operators make a mean average salary of $52,000, with the statewide the averaging $70,00, based on the most recent Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey. The demand for operators in Redding over the next few years is expected to grow by 15%, and as high as 28% in the greater north valley, according to Sheila Stock, a research program specialist for the EDD’s labor market information division who is based in Redding. Anticipated retirements will only add to demand.
Locally there are 12 public agencies within a 28-mile radius of Shasta College operating 10 surface water treatment plants, 40 wells, and 9 wastewater treatment plants. According to Warnock, these agencies currently employ an estimated 50 past and current students enrolled in the Water Treatment Technology Program at Shasta College.
In addition to the six water and wastewater courses, Shasta College also offers Work Site Learning, which allows students to job shadow for up to 180 hours per semester at local water and wastewater facilities, including the cities of Shasta Lake, Redding, and Anderson, as well as Mountain Gate CSD, Bella Vista Water District, Centerville CSD, Shasta CSD, and Clear Creek CSD. The class allows students to participate in the daily routine of an operator. “It also affords the opportunity for those in the field, who in numerous cases are graduates from the WTT Program, to pay it forward to a student that might be the next hire at that agency,” says Warnock.
The WTT program is taught in the evenings at the downtown Redding campus of Shasta College. That will change in the fall, when the program will relocate to the main campus, to accommodate the additional equipment provided by the grant. Warnock will be joined by his colleague, Jessica Chandler, P.E. (and California Certified T2, WW 3 and D2), who was hired this semester by Shasta College to replace long-time instructor Eric Marshall, who recently retired.
Additional resources:
You can learn more about the Shasta College Water Treatment Technology program at the Shasta College website:
http://www.shastacollege.edu/Academic%20Affairs/BAIT/Pages/BAIT%20Home%20Page.aspx
You can learn more about water and wastewater certifications at the State Water Resources Control Board website:
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/occupations/DWopcert.shtml
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/operator_certification/cert.shtml
For more information about Proposition 39:
