Who it is for
New operators and operators in training, utility and city staff, students, and anyone who wants to see how a Wastewater Academy™ online class works before choosing one.
Introduction to Wastewater Treatment
A free, 1-hour online class. See how a Wastewater Academy class works before you choose a full course.
Format
Online, self-paced: 7 modules with narrated slides, reading, worked examples and a short check after each module, a student manual to download, and a short practice quiz.
Length and price
About 1 hour. Free. No payment and no card needed.
Not for CEU credit. This free class does not give contact hours or CEU credit in any state. When you pass the practice quiz you can print a certificate of completion that says “Not for CEU credit.” Our full classes list their own CEU status on each class page.
What you will learn
7 modules, about 50 minutes of study plus a 10 question practice quiz. Worked examples use the fictional White River Resource Recovery Facility, an 8 MGD activated sludge plant serving 72,000 people.
- Why we treat wastewater and what is in it (8 min)Where wastewater comes from, infiltration and inflow, what is in it (organics, solids, nutrients, pathogens), and the oxygen sag that untreated sewage causes in a river.
- Measuring wastewater: flow, BOD, TSS, ammonia and pH (8 min)The five numbers every plant uses, how the BOD and TSS tests work, grab and composite samples, flow over the day, and the pounds and percent removal formulas.
- How treatment works: physical, biological and chemical processes (6 min)The three kinds of treatment, how microbes clean water in activated sludge, the goals of treatment, and which kind each stage of the plant uses.
- The plant from start to finish, preliminary and primary treatment (6 min)The whole plant on one process flow diagram, then screens, grit removal, flow measurement and the primary clarifier.
- Secondary and advanced (tertiary) treatment (8 min)Activated sludge, RAS and WAS, the five numbers that run it, trickling filters, lagoons and other processes, and removing nitrogen and phosphorus.
- Disinfection and solids handling (6 min)UV and chlorine disinfection, and the solids train: thickening, anaerobic digestion, biogas, dewatering and biosolids.
- Permits, monthly reports and the people who run the plant (8 min)What is in an NPDES permit, effluent limits, how a lab result becomes a DMR and MOR, a real looking month with exceedances, and the roles of plant staff.
What you take away
- Why we treat wastewater: public health, the river’s oxygen, and the permit that sets the limits.
- What BOD, TSS, ammonia, pH and flow mean, how each is measured, and the pounds formula (mg/L × MGD × 8.34) every operator uses.
- Physical, biological and chemical treatment, and the goals each stage of the plant serves.
- Every stage on one process flow diagram: preliminary, primary, secondary, advanced (tertiary), disinfection and solids handling.
- NPDES permit basics, how a lab result becomes a line on the DMR and MOR, and what happens when a limit is exceeded.
- Who runs a plant: operators, lab, maintenance, the responsible official and the state.
- A 45 page student manual with a formula sheet, plant fact sheet, sample monthly report and glossary.
- A short practice quiz and a certificate of completion (not for CEU credit).
Look inside
Three of the 29 narrated slides, and three pages from the student manual. Tap an image to open it full size.
The full student manual comes with the class, free.
Start the free class
About 1 hour. Free. Not for CEU credit.
Type your name and email and start right away. There is no payment and no card. Work through the 7 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 front. The practice quiz opens as soon as every module check is passed, with no extra study time to log. It has 10 questions; you need 80 percent, with up to 3 attempts. After you pass and fill in a short course evaluation, you can print a certificate of completion, marked “Not for CEU credit,” in the name you type here. Your course link works for 90 days. Bookmark the course page so you can come back to it.
Ready for more?
Go deeper with a full class, or try the free calculators in the Operator Toolbox.