By Wayne Graham, Wastewater Specialist, Vermont Rural Water Association
We had another full SAC class, Operation of Wastewater Treatment Facilities, this past fall, with 22 students attending over an eight-week period. Once again, I was pleased to join an incredible lineup of instructors — Paul Olander, Andy Fish, Eamon Twohig, Dave DiDomenico, Bruce Lawrence — who passed on years of experience and knowledge to the students. Speaking of experience, Steve Cijka (Brandon WWTF) and Chuck (Ludlow WWTF) joined us as students, even though both could have taught the course. What a great opportunity for the entry level students to hang out with two great operators like Steve and Chuck!
Two of the students were an entry-level husband and wife team from the Lakehurst Campground Lagoon facility. They worked very hard during the course, and I just found out that both passed the Grade 1 exam on their first try. Congratulations Jodi and Josh, and welcome to the water sector industry!
We had the opportunity to take several tours of the Montpelier WWTF, and as usual observed a very busy but awesome facility, expertly staffed by Chris, Matt, Sam, and Jeremy. We also got to tour the Waterbury WWTF, where Chief Operator Pete Krolczyk took several hours out of his busy day to show us facility and explain to the students what it means to be operators and stewards of our environment. It is very interesting to see class attendees questioning, and developing relationships with, the operators giving the tours. I encourage attendees throughout the course to become active in the field and to get to know their fellow operators.
As always, it is very encouraging to see such a talented group entering our industry, which continues to provide lots of opportunities. Green Mountain Water Environment Association will be offering the next Sac Class (Operation of Wastewater Treatment Facilities) in the spring of 2018 — maybe I’ll see you there!
For information about the spring Sac course, contact Lisa Goodell at GMWEA – lisa.goodell@gmwea.org
To return to GMWEA’s website, click here: www.gmwea.org