Environmental Science & Engineering - www.esemag.com - September 2003
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The operator is a linchpin in treatment facilities
by Jack Cronk
The Oxford Dictionary defines
linchpin (also lynchpin) figuratively
as an element or person
vital to an organization. The
ordinary meaning is a pin passed
through an axle-end to keep a wheel in
place.
I feel that the role of the waterworks
operator is so vital to the public health
of communities and to the protection
of the environment that the operator
could be described as the “linchpin” of
the waterworks industry. The politicians,
administrators and government
authorities at municipal, provincial and
federal levels plan and finance the
construction of waterworks facilities
for public and industrial use. The
design and construction activities of
professional engineering, project management
and construction companies,
equipment manufacturers and suppliers
and the various trades are equally
important. As well, there is a necessary
regulatory system in place to monitor
and ensure the quality of the product of
almost any type of water or wastewater
system, public or private.
There seems to be a recognized system
in place for each of the above
occupations to provide education and
apprenticeship and ensure professional
standards and conduct, performance
and workmanship. Yet at the end of the
day, when the ribbon has been cut and
everyone has gone home, the operator
(the “linchpin”) is left to ensure the
facility continually produces and transports
the water or wastewater at certain
standards without fail.
Assuming that the importance of
the operator is as described above, I
sometimes ponder the reasons why the
education, occupational trade and
employment standards for waterworks
operators are not as uniformly developed
as some other equally important
occupations. The analogy that I have
used is to ask if the public would be
accepting of a nurse who was hired and
told to do the job for some time, perhaps
years, before becoming aware of
and receiving training (education). I
think many people would prefer a
nurse who was educated prior to gaining
employment. Yet, the system that
exists now is such that most waterworks
personnel receive “training”
only after gaining employment. Why?
The hypothesis that I propose is that
the present stage of development of
waterworks employment as a trade or
professional occupation is a result of
the interaction of political, technical
and social circumstances that have
synergistically created a lack of understanding
and misperception about the
nature of water and the technology of
water and wastewater treatment.
Firstly, water itself, because of its
ubiquitous nature, is not given sufficient
value as a natural chemical resource. Nor is the normal mineral
content of and biological life supported
by natural water sources easily
appreciated. This is due to our inability
to observe dissolved minerals or
microscopic organisms with the naked
eye. It is easy to be led by advertising
to believe that it is necessary to purchase
bottled water rather than trust in
or be knowledgeable about tap water. It
is easier to generalize about perceived
contamination or pollution than to
actually understand some technical or
scientific facts. This is only human
nature. Yet, people do have a desire to
have safe and pure drinking water and
to protect natural water bodies from
pollution that may harm their continued
use for recreation, fish and other
wildlife habitat and further human
consumption. And rightly so!
Whether a surface or ground
source, water supplies are usually very
local to a community. Municipally provided
water and sewer service is relatively
new for many small rural communities,
if fifty years is considered a
short time span. Producing and marketing
a potable product is controlled
by a local authority at as low a cost as
possible. In this respect water supply
differs from other province-wide utilities
such as electricity, natural gas or
telephone service. This has prevented
the creation of a unified working trade
with a common and focused skill set.
Regional distribution systems may be
helping to change the picture in some
respects.
Deadly waterborne illness outbreaks
have recently focused the public,
media and political attention on
water treatment, but for how long and
to what extent? Yes, there are and will
continue to be improvements to monitoring
of water supplies and abatement
of wastewater pollutants.
The area that I see a need to continue
to upgrade and develop is the
requirement and availability of education
to create a workforce to meet the
needs of the technology being used to
treat water and wastewater. I now prefer
to use the term education rather
than training because it carries a more
substantial meaning. The mandatory
examination and certification of operating
personnel are worthy processes;
they must not become a perfunctory
requirement, but only a part of a carefully
considered and designed education
curriculum.
The prescription for prevention of
future frightening public health
tragedies caused by the failure of a
waterworks system is a paradigm shift
about what is required to prepare a
workforce of professional tradespersons
to properly fulfil the role of the
“linchpin” of the waterworks industry.
Jack Cronk has a diploma in Chemical
Technology from Red River College
and a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry)
from the University of Manitoba. He
has Class III Water Treatment and
Class II Wastewater Treatment
Operator Certification by examination
through the Manitoba Water &
Wastewater Association (MWWA). He
is currently President
of the Western
Canada Water &
Wastewater Association
(WCWWA). Email:
jcronk@mb.
sympatico.ca.
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