Water Education - Academic Technology and Outreach | Montana State University

MWC training programs

Between 2000 and 2010, the Montana Water Center created a series of online, CD and DVD training resources for small water and wastewater systems operators. Created through a series of grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, these resources provided valuable training and continuing education opportunities, particularly for small, rural water system operators. Using the technology and tools available at the time, the media team at the Montana Water Center (MWC) developed programs covering ground water and surface water basics, water contamination, water quality, water treatment technologies, stormwater issues, and small water system operations.

More than 10,000 copies of each program (in some cases 40,000+) have been freely distributed via disk to small water systems and state water departments throughout the country and U.S. territories. Thousands have accessed the programs online or by attending hands-on workshops. Many states offered continuing education credits to small-systems operators for completing courses.

Unfortunately, with the recent termination of Adobe Flash, these programs, in their native format, are no longer functional on most computers.

As we continue to see interest and demand for education resources for water professionals, we have "repackaged" the content from the original courses and are presenting it using current technology.

The Montana Water Center is no longer able to provide CEU certificates for these resources. However, we can vouch for the content, accuracy and relevance of these resources should individuals desire to apply for CEUs in their own state using these resources. We strongly recommend investigating this potential with your state’s certifying organization before beginning any of these programs.

Badges Now Available!

MSU has partnered with Credly to provide digital badges on their Acclaim Platform. Badges allows you to share your abilities online in a way that is simple, trusted and can be easily verified in real-time. Badges also provide employers and peers concrete evidence of your capabilities and what you had to do to earn your credential.

Each of the WATER courses offered through ATO has its own badge!

Plus there is a WATER BASICS MASTERY badge for successfully completely ALL FOUR water courses! You can find more information about badges on the ATO Digital Badge page. To see these and ALL of the badges that Academic Technology and Outreach (ATO) has to offer, visit the MSU-ATO page at Credly.

If you're interested in receiving a badge, please contact ATO at outreachadmin@montana.edu.

Operator Basics

MWC operator basics The Operator Basics program was released in 2000, with the most recent version updated in 2005. While the primary audience for Operator Basics was initially small water systems operators, much of the content in these programs is focused on basic hydrology, water quality and community water system issues. These courses may also be of benefit to a wide variety of professionals, such as local and state level policy makers and planners, educators, construction managers, landowners, natural resource managers, real estate professionals and others.

Operator Basics contains three complete courses (and a Water Exploration showcase). Certified operators may use this training to meet continuing education requirements if approved in your state. Please verify this with your certification agency prior to taking any of these courses.

Operator Basics: Ground Water Systems

Operator Basics: Ground Water Systems is an update of the Ground Water Systems module of the Operator Basics course that was initially released in 2005, and is focused on basic hydrology, water quality and issues related to ground water dependent community systems. Registration link below -- IT'S FREE!

This course contains 5.5 hours of reading content and 5.5 hours of video-viewing content -- for a total of 11.0 hours. It also contains a 50-question final quiz. All content must be viewed, and a score of 70% or greater on the final quiz is needed to successfully complete this course.

A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION is awarded when all 268 pages are viewed, and the quiz is passed with a score of 70%.

Here is the breakdown of course content in HOURS.

Operator Basics: Surface & Ground Water Systems

Operator Basics: Surface & Ground Water Systems is an update of the Surface & Ground Water Systems module of the Operator Basics course that was initially released in 2005, and is focused on basic hydrology, water quality and issues related to surface and ground water dependent community systems. Registration link below -- IT'S FREE!

This course contains 6.5 hours of reading content and 6.5 hours of video-viewing content -- for a total of 13.0 hours. It also contains a 50-question final quiz. All content must be viewed, and a score of 70% or greater on the final quiz is needed to successfully complete this course.

A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION is awarded when all 292 pages are viewed, and the quiz is passed with a score of 70%.

Here is the breakdown of course content in HOURS.

Operator Basics: Wastewater & Lagoon Systems

Operator Basics: Wastewater & Lagoon Systems is an update of the Wastewater & Lagoon Systems module of the Operator Basics course that was initially released in 2005, and is focused on collection systems, treatment options, operations and maintenance, monitoring and reporting, and troubleshooting common problems in community wastewater lagoon systems. Registration link below -- IT'S FREE!

This course contains 4.2 hours of reading content and 4.8 hours of video-viewing content -- for a total of 9.0 hours. It also contains a 50-question final quiz. All content must be viewed, and a score of 70% or greater on the final quiz is needed to successfully complete this course.

A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION is awarded when all 211 pages are viewed, and the quiz is passed with a score of 70%.

Here is the breakdown of course content in HOURS.

PLEASE NOTE: These videos are RECORDINGS of illustrative and interactive animated activities and quizzes. These videos are NOT themselves interactive -- but you can follow along and pause a video to test your own knowledge.

Water Quality Basics

WQE screenshot Water Quality Basics is a repackaging of the Water Quality Expedition program that was initially released in 2007. This course takes water system personnel and regulators on a virtual expedition through water quality issues, including primers on the hydrologic cycle and determinants of water quality. The course includes sections on important issues such as fate and transport, iron and manganese, hard water, fire in the watershed, animal feeding operations, nutrients, wastewater treatment, and emerging contaminants. Registration link below -- IT'S FREE!

This course contains 1.0 hour of reading content and 1.5 hours of video-viewing content -- for a total of 2.5 hours. It also contains a 50 point final quiz.

A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION is awarded when all 102 pages are viewed, and the quiz is passed with a score of 70%.

Here is the breakdown of course content in HOURS.

The Montana Water Center and MSU ATO are NOT able to provide CEU certificates for these resources. However, we can vouch for the content, accuracy and relevance of these resources should individuals desire to apply for CEUs in their own state using these resources. We strongly recommend investigating this potential with your state’s certifying organization BEFORE beginning any of these programs.

NOTE: In the original Operator Basics program it was generally accepted that 10 hours of reading/viewing time = 1 CEU.

These courses were created in partnership with and administrated by Academic Technology and Outreach of Montana State University. The original content for these courses was created by the media development team at the Montana Water Center at Montana State University. This material is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement OIA-1757351. Additionally, the following wording should be included on all publications (including web pages) of material based on or developed under this award, except scientific articles or papers appearing in scientific, technical, or professional journals:

"Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation."