Don't Be Isolated: Valves for Water and Wastewater Operators
Know every valve you turn: what it is, how it closes, how it fails, and how to isolate a pipe or pump safely without slamming a check or starting water hammer.
Who it is for
Water distribution and treatment operators, wastewater plant and collection system operators, and maintenance staff who operate, exercise and repair valves. It pairs with the Lift Station Operation class.
Format
Online, self-paced: 10 timed modules with the manual reading, worked examples and a short check after each module, plus the student manual to download.
Length and price
2 hours, $70.
What you will learn
10 modules. Every example uses the fictional White River water system and the White River Resource Recovery Facility.
- Why valves matter: parts and words (10 min)What valves do, the parts of a valve, rising and nonrising stems, open left or right, and counting turns.
- Isolation valves: gate, butterfly, plug, ball and knife gate (15 min)Gate, butterfly, eccentric plug, ball and knife gate valves: how each closes and where each belongs.
- Throttling and special valves: globe, pinch, solenoid, mud and telescoping (10 min)Globe and pinch valves, solenoids, mud valves and telescoping valves, and why throttling needs the right valve.
- Check valves and slam (15 min)Swing, ball, tilting disc and silent checks, why checks slam, and the Eastside lift station case.
- Automatic control valves and air valves (15 min)Pilot operated PRVs, sustaining, altitude and pump control valves, pressure zones, and air valves on mains and force mains.
- Backflow preventers: an overview (5 min)Back pressure and back siphonage, air gaps, double check and RP assemblies, and yearly testing.
- Actuators: manual, gear, electric, pneumatic and hydraulic (10 min)Gearboxes, electric, pneumatic and hydraulic actuators, limit and torque switches, and fail positions.
- Isolation, lockout and operating valves without water hammer (15 min)Double block and bleed, proving isolation, water hammer math, critical closing time and closing slowly.
- Valve exercising programs and maintenance (10 min)Planning an exercising program, the valve record, valve boxes, packing and lubrication.
- Troubleshooting valves (5 min)A troubleshooting table for valves that leak by, stick, spin or slam, and the RAS pump 3 case.
What operators take away
- How each valve type works, inside: gate, butterfly, plug, ball, knife gate, globe, pinch, check, control, air and backflow valves, drawn as cutaways.
- Which valve belongs in which service, in water and in wastewater, and why the wrong valve fails early.
- Why check valves slam and what fixes it, and how pilot operated, altitude and air valves do their jobs.
- Actuators, limit and torque switches, and fail positions, and what to do when an actuator trips.
- How to isolate a pipe or pump with double block and bleed, prove it, and operate valves without water hammer, with the math worked out.
- How to plan a valve exercising program, keep the record, maintain packing and boxes, and troubleshoot valves that leak, stick or spin.
- Timed online modules with a short check after each one, a final quiz that opens when every check is passed and the study time is logged, and a certificate of completion from Wastewater Academy™ when you pass it.
- A student manual to download (comes with the class).
Look inside
A few sample pages from the student manual. Tap a page to open it full size.
These are sample pages only. The full student manual comes with the class.
Register
2 hours, $70.
CEU approval status varies by state. Check with your state certification office before you count class hours toward a renewal.
Questions about this course? Contact help@ActivatedSludge.com.
Our courses have not been approved by any state agency unless a state approval number is shown. Whether a course counts toward your renewal is decided by your certifying authority. Please confirm with your state before enrolling. See where you can use these classes.
Registration is open. Register online and start right away.
After you pay, you are taken to a page where you start the online course and download the student manual. Work through the 10 modules in order; each ends with a 4-question check, and you need 3 of 4 to open the next module. The study timer counts time only while a module page is open and in the foreground, and you have been active in the last 5 minutes. It pauses when the tab is in the background or idle. Module checks open after about 30 percent of that module's required study time is logged. The final quiz opens after every check is passed and 1 hour 50 minutes of study are logged. It has 15 questions; you need 80 percent, with up to 3 attempts. After you pass and fill in a short course evaluation, you get a certificate of completion from Wastewater Academy™ in the name you enroll with. Online access, including the course, manual, quiz, and certificate, lasts 90 days from purchase. To see the style of questions first, try a free practice quiz.
Before you buy, read our refund policy, terms of use and privacy notice.
Certificate Only, $56: Same online course, manual and final quiz, with 90 days of access. The certificate reads “Certificate of Completion. Not submitted for continuing education credit.” and lists no contact hours, CEUs or license numbers. See terms.
Taking more than one class? This class is part of the All-Access Pass: every online class except Indiana exam prep, for 365 days, for $220. Training a crew? See group pricing.
See the All-Access Pass