By Jordan Ann Kevan de Haan, Environmental Technician / Communications Professor
Environmental technicians have a wide range of rewarding career opportunities, including drinking water operator. In Ontario, drinking water operators play a vital role in testing, treating, and disinfecting our water to guarantee its safety for consumption. To be employed as a drinking water operator in either a municipal or regulated non-municipal system, training and certification is necessary.
As part of the Environmental Technician program at St. Lawrence College, second year students complete a Water Treatment and Distribution course. Information and techniques specific to operation of drinking water treatment plants are provided in this course and follow the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) Entry Level Course for Drinking Water Operators (ELO) curriculum. The course includes fundamental knowledge about water properties, pathogens, treatment and distribution methods, as well as the regulations pertaining to water quality.
The MECP exam for the Entry level Operators course is administered at the end of the course, and students who achieve 70% on the exam and who graduate from the Environmental Technician program receive the Entry Level Drinking Operator certificate. This year all second year students in the Environmental Technician program were successful in completing the exam with the necessary grade for certification.
Melanie Ayotte, who graduated from the Environmental Technician program this spring, shared her perspectives about the course: “The Water Treatment and Distribution course is an invaluable opportunity for environmental technician students to learn about the vital role of water treatment in the protection of the environment and of public health. It’s also a great introduction to water treatment as a skilled occupation that typically pays well and involves many opportunities for professional development. Our cohort was well-placed to pass the entry-level operator exam, given our natural curiosity and strong work ethic. I congratulate all my classmates on a job well done in this class and in the environmental technician program overall.”