More than 450 wastewater treatment operators from around the Northwest gathered at Clackamas Community College (CCC) for the 35th annual Water Environment School. The event provides an opportunity for operators, managers and mechanics to gain continuing education units needed to apply toward license renewal.
CCC’s Water and Environmental Technology (WET) program is one of two programs in Oregon, serving northwestern states including Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. Students in the program may select from disciplines including drinking water treatment, pumping and system distribution; and wastewater collection and treatment.
“Our program serves an enormous need in the community,” said John Lewis, program director. “Clackamas Community College is the glue for the Pacific Northwest, particularly in wastewater management.”
Industry forecasts estimate that nearly half of the current water and wastewater work force will retire in the next five years, creating a great need for operators. About 85 percent of the students who graduate from CCC’s program are placed in jobs in the field, while others go on to continuing education. Starting wage for treatment operators in the Portland metro area is about $22 an hour.
CCC’s Water and Environmental Technology program would benefit from the bond measure the college placed on the May ballot. If it passes, the bond would be used to update and renovate classrooms and college facilities and modernize equipment used in training students for jobs and university transfers. A major focus of these improvements is the updating and expansion of science labs that are used by thousands of CCC students, including those in the Water and Environmental Technology program.
“We’re using the same chemistry lab I was using in the early 1980s,” said Lewis. “The lab was opened before OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) published laboratory safety standards.” This is currently CCC’s only chemistry lab space, and WET students share the lab with students taking introductory and organic chemistry courses.
This year’s Water Environment School featured a variety of different sections, from operations and management to technology and asset management. Featured speakers include water and industry professionals on topics ranging from the history of water treatment to solids composting to sleep deprivation. Oregon Attorney General John Kroger opened the general session with a keynote address.
“It was great of Clackamas Community College to host this important educational event,” said Attorney General Kroger. “It’s very important to bring wastewater treatment workers and water experts together to talk about protecting our water resources.”
The Water Environment School includes a manufacturer’s representative exhibition in the college’s Randall Gym, with vendors from around the Western United States. Al Rossmeisl of Aquarius Consulting first took part in the school 15 years ago. Since then, he’s seen the program grow in numbers, with greater numbers of women joining the ranks.
“People are becoming more and more aware of these services. They understand that water and wastewater are closely tied together. It is a sustainability issue,” Rossmeisl said.
For more information on the Water and Environmental Technology program at CCC, contact John Lewis at 503-594-3149 or jlewis@clackamas.edu .
Two photos from the Water Environment School are shown. Kristal Winders, city of Forest Grove, utility worker; and Don Carlile with Pump Tech showing a sewage pump. Carlile is a pump technician and has been in the industry for more than 30 years. Photo credit: Tamara Barry.