This February, members of our state-side community resources team held a free operator training in Vermont. The training, which focused on disinfection and water quality monitoring, spanned four hours and gave attendees the chance to collect and test samples.

Mark Johnson, RCAP Solutions’ State Lead in Vermont, explained that “The class combined important theoretical concepts on disinfection with hands-on chlorine residual and coliform sampling exercises.”

This training, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, enabled Vermont operators to earn Training Contact Hours or THCs. These TCHs are accumulated so that water system operators can renew their certification, something that needs to be done every three years.

In addition to the hands-on experience, attendees were grateful for the networking opportunities, with one participant telling us, “Talking with Mark and other operators was informative. Good presentation.” Johnson continued on this, “Even for the most seasoned operator, the opportunity to improve on skills and compare technique with other operators is invaluable.”

Attendees hone their chlorine residual analysis technique and learn how to use both low and high range for analysis. High range chlorine analysis is not commonly practiced by operators, but it is an important skill for them to have if needed for emergency disinfection or to respond to a chlorine overfeed situation.