Indiana Water Operator Training Manual

[Pages:173]Water System ID Number: IN______________ Operator Name: ________________________

Indiana Department of Environmental Management

Indiana Rural Water Association

American Water Works Association

Indiana Water Operator Training Manual

Prepared for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management under contract by: Indiana Section American Water Works Association, Inc.

Subcontractors ? Indiana Rural Water Association, Inc., and Smith Group Consulting, LLC

Indiana Water Operator Training Manual

Introduction

Indiana water system operators enjoy special responsibilities to their neighbors, families, friends and customers. These operators are, in the words of former Technical Secretary of the Indiana Stream Pollution Control Board, Oral Hert, "defenders of the public health and safety." Safe drinking water is not just a convenience, it is a necessity.

Indiana public water systems are regulated by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). This training guide has been developed in cooperation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). The materials included in this training course are designed to assist "grandparented" and other small water system operators to understand and meet their important responsibilities in providing safe drinking water to their water system users.

This training guide contains useful information for all water system operators. Please keep this guide for future use and refer to it if you need help in understanding drinking water regulations, contacting state or federal environmental officials, or obtaining help from the government or professional organizations.

There are eight lessons in this guide. After the first tutorial, each class is designed to build upon information presented in previous lesson(s). You have been offered an opportunity to attend training classes on three or more of these lessons, depending upon the certification(s) that have been issued to you by IDEM. If you wish, you may attend additional classes or retake classes you have already attended, depending upon available space.

All training course materials will be made available to students on a computer CD-ROM disc and also will be accessible on the Internet. Following each training class, there will be a self-graded test. You will be asked to turn in your self-graded test to your instructor. Your test results are not intended to be shared with other students or your employer. The test results will be used to evaluate training class effectiveness and identify students who may need additional assistance. If your instructor believes you might benefit from additional assistance, you will be contacted privately. But you need not wait to be contacted if you believe you need some help. Just let your instructor know and arrangements will be made.

Introduction - 2

Indiana

Water Operator

Training Manual

Contents

Introduction

Lesson 1. Hydrological cycle, Overview of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the Drinking Water Branch, basic overview of regulations and operator responsibilities, audit your system classification, operator and system certification, Basic water sampling, small system laboratory assistance program, Positive total coliform sample procedures, Well disinfection, public notification, Wellhead Protection, state contacts, where to get help and self-graded student examination

Lesson 2. DSS systems and operators, pressure tanks, storage tanks, cross connection control, coliform and nitrate monitoring, lead and copper monitoring, chemical contaminant monitoring, distribution system chlorine and self-graded student examination

Lesson 3. DSM systems and operators, storage tank booster pumps, pump maintenance, records, meter selection, pressure vessels, distribution system flushing, sampling site plans and self-graded student examination

Lesson 4. DSL systems and operators, distribution system booster pumps, backflow prevention, storage tank maintenance, system security and self-graded student examination

Lesson 5. WT1 systems and operators, ground water, wellhead protection, isolation areas, basic ion exchange, inline filtration, interpretation of chemical and bacteriological sample reports, well disinfection and self-graded student examination

Lesson 6. WT2 systems and operators, chemical feed devices, disinfection, fluoride standardization, Monthly Report of Operations, water stabilization and self-graded student examination

Lesson 7. WT3 systems and operators, filtration, gravity filters, pressure filters, lime soda softening, reverse osmosis, advanced ion exchange softening and self-graded student examination

Lesson 8. WT4 systems and operators, surface water, ground water under the direct influence of surface water, coagulation and flocculation and self-graded student examination

Appendices

A. State and federal contacts

B. Professional organizations

C. Cross connections

D. Indiana certified laboratories

D. Public notification

E. Nitrate monitoring

F. Self-graded examination answers

H. Glossary

Indiana Water Operator Training Manual

Lesson One ? all operators

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Contents

Hydrological cycle Overview of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the Drinking Water Branch Basic overview of regulations and operator responsibilities Audit your system classification Operator and system certification Basic water sampling Small system laboratory assistance program Positive total coliform sample procedures Well disinfection Public notification Wellhead protection State contacts Where to get help Self-graded student examination

Hydrological cycle For the most part, the amount of water in the world has remained the same over the centuries. Water may change from ice to liquid, boil off to steam or evaporate into vapor, but the amount of water stays about the same in and above the earth. This means that the water we drink is recycled. Nature does a pretty good job of cleaning up water through a process known as the hydrological cycle (also called the water cycle). Human-made pollutants threaten water quality everywhere on the planet. Part of our job as water operators is to protect our water system from these pollutants by monitoring water quality and using best management practices to prevent the contamination of our drinking water supplies. The following drawing illustrates the hydrological cycle:

Courtesy: U.S. Geological Survey

Please consult the glossary of this manual for information concerning some of the terms used in the drawing.

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Overview of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the Drinking Water Branch

The U.S. Congress is the authority for federal laws and regulations concerning the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implements Congress' laws.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is responsible for implementing the U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA) throughout Indiana.

The authority for these activities comes from the Indiana Legislature, which allows IDEM to work with the Indiana Stream Pollution Control Board to establish enforceable regulations concerning environmental matters.

IDEM's Office of Water Quality (OWQ) is responsible for maintaining clean air and water in Indiana. Several branches of OWQ work together to put the SDWA and the CWA into practice.

The Drinking Water Branch (DWB) has the responsibility to administer drinking water regulations. The four Sections of the branch (Compliance, Permits, Certification and Capacity Development, Field inspection and Ground Water) work together to meet branch goals.

The following diagram illustrates the above-described flow of responsibilities:

U.S Congress Indiana Legislature

EPA

IDEM OWQ DWB

Indiana Public Water Systems

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