The
mission of the Training and Certification Section is to provide training and testing for public water supply operators,
wastewater treatment works operators, backflow prevention
operators and monitoring well drillers. We
provide testing only for water well drillers.
PUBLIC DRINKING
WATER -
Public drinking water systems may be publicly- or
privately-owned and are subject to EPA drinking
water standards to protect public health.
WASTEWATER
- Under the Clean Water Act, discharges
into surface waters such as wetlands, lakes, rivers, estuaries, bays
and oceans are regulated by EPA in order to protect the nations water
and watersheds. This section details the training
process and certification of licensed wastewater treatment operators.
WELL
DRILLERS - A Water Well
Driller drills, bores, cores, or constructs a water well. The
mission of the water well certification program is to protect the
health of West Virginia citizens who rely on water wells for their
drinking water source, through implementation of the West Virginia
Water Well Design Standards. Protection of ground water resources and
aquifers is accomplished by assuring that water wells are constructed,
modified, and abandoned in a technically sound manner.
MONITORING
WELL DRILLERS -
A monitoring well is defined as being any
cased excavation or opening into the ground made by digging, boring,
drilling, driving, jetting or other methods for the purpose of
determining the physical, chemical, biological or radiological
properties of groundwater. A monitoring well driller is the
individual operating the drilling rig when drilling, constructing,
altering or abandoning a monitoring well., pursuant to Chapter 22,
Article 12, "Groundwater Protection Act". West Virginia
presently requires all monitoring well drillers that operate within
the state to be certified by the state.
CROSS-CONNECTION
AND BACKFLOW PREVENTION - Plumbing
cross-connections, which are defined as actual or potential
connections between a potable and non-potable water supply, constitute
a serious public health hazard. There are numerous, well-documented
cases where cross-connections have been responsible for contamination
of drinking water, and have resulted in the spread of disease. The
problem is a dynamic one, because piping systems are continually being
installed, altered, or extended.
FLUORIDATION
- is the deliberate addition of the naturally occurring element,
fluorine, to drinking water for the purpose of reducing tooth decay
resulting in better health. This section details the training
process, materials of fluoride treatment by fluoride certified water
operators.
National Drinking water standards can be found on the
EPA's Ground
Water and Drinking Water homepage.
