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Drinking Water Operator Certification
To protect public health, drinking water treatment systems must be properly operated and maintained. For this reason, and to protect the financial investment of drinking water supplies, the Illinois EPA operates a Drinking Water Operator Certification Program that certifies the technical competency of operators of community water supplies.
An operator certified as competent by the Illinois EPA must be able to perform duties without endangering public health. In order to determine competency, the Illinois EPA must evaluate whether applicants for certification possess the necessary skills, knowledge, ability, and judgment to properly operate and maintain the facilities entrusted to their care. Therefore, applicants for certification must meet specific experience, education and examination requirements in order to qualify for certification. To help ensure that certified drinking water operators' knowledge stays current, certified operators are also required to meet continuing education requirements in order to renew their certificates.
Certification examinations and questions have been validated through a process of expert panel review with every question being examined for content, readability, accuracy, and relation to a job analysis. Certification examinations are offered each month at various locations around the state.
Information regarding non-community water supplies is available from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Links
Renewal Credits (login required)
Operator Certification Database
Drinking Water Operator Certification Forms
Drinking Water Operator Certification Requirements
2014 Drinking Water Operator Program Annual Report
PWS Distribution Service Line Material Inventory Reporting Guide
Community and Non-Community Public Water Supply Operator Certification Program Report-2021
Having Trouble Accessing the Operator Certification Database? Follow the steps below, using Google Chrome as your browser:
- In Chrome, click the 3 dots in the upper-right corner to open the menu.
- Select “More Tools,” then “Clear Browsing Data.”
- Uncheck everything except “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files.”
- Click “Clear data.”
- Now visit the site again by clicking this link: http://dataservices.epa.illinois.gov/operatorcertification/OpCertLogin.aspx
Meeting Notice
Water Supply Operator Certification Advisory Board Meeting
August 25, 2023
11:00 AM
Illinois EPA
Mississippi Conference Room
1021 North Grand Avenue East
Springfield, IL
Agenda