ANTHC to offer five online courses so rural water operators can earn renewal credits

The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium will hold five Zoom courses from Nov. 10 through Jan. 14 so rural water operators can earn continuing education units from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the state's Rural Utility Business Advisor program said in a notice Tuesday.

Students need a computer, consistent internet access and an active email address. Operators from rural community water systems get preference.

The units help operators meet the department's renewal requirements for water and wastewater certificates, which allow no exceptions or deadline extensions, according to its certification renewal rules. Levels 1 through 4 need 3.0 units, 2.0 of them core water or wastewater units, in the three years before expiration. Small treated systems need 1.0 and small untreated systems 0.5. One unit equals 10 contact hours of instruction.

Every certificate expires Dec. 31, and units must be earned by then. Operators who fall short must retake and pass exams, then reapply.

The series opens with Introduction to Groundwater Treatment, Nov. 10, 11 and 12, then Introduction to Surface Water Treatment, Nov. 16, 18 and 20. Level 1 Water Treatment Math runs Dec. 7 through 10, followed by Introduction to Water Treatment Safety, Dec. 14, 16 and 18, and Level 2 Water Treatment Math, Jan. 11 through 14, 2027. The introductory classes meet 10 am to 12:30 pm and the math classes 10 am to noon. The math courses teach skills required for the matching certification exams.

For certificates expiring this Dec. 31, the January class comes too late.

Introductory courses award 0.75 units each and math courses 0.8, according to each class's sign-up sheet, posted with the notice. None lists a cost. The department says drinking-water core courses repeated within three years earn no credit.

The advisory program, which began in 1994, aims to increase the managerial and financial capacity of rural water and wastewater utilities.