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*DECEMBER 2025*

In this issue:

* Operator Exchange - Peer to Peer Training Program. [ #link_1389912064779 ]
* Documentary Film Features Portland Water District. [ #link_1389912066563 ]
* Job Boards for Water and Wastewater Position Openings. [ #link_1389912068132 ]
* Get Ready for Cold Weather! [ #link_1389912070779 ]
* DMR-QA Study 45. [ #link_1389912072571 ]
* No-Cost Cybersecurity Vulnerability Assessments for POTWs. [ #link_1 ]
* Certification and Training Update. [ #link_2 ]
* For Practice. [ #link_3 ]

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Operator Exchange - Peer to Peer Training Program.

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Have you ever wondered how other plants operate? Curious to see different types of treatment equipment? Here is your chance to spend time at another plant and earn TCHs in the process.

MeWEA’s Peer to Peer/ Operator Exchange program involves wastewater operators, mechanics, lab techs, and/or managers spending half a day at another wastewater facility. The time will be spent experiencing new processes and technologies to learn knowledge and skills from experienced operators and technicians. The visiting operator will earn continuing education training credits needed to maintain their wastewater certification. 

To participate in the program:


* Complete the training form, choosing between three categories: Operations, Laboratory, or Management. This information helps establish the goals and topics of the training session.
* Select the facility you wish to visit and coordinate a time. The MEWEA Treatment Plant Operators Committee is available to assist you in selecting a facility based on your needs.
* Exchanges last a minimum of 3 hours. Forms are signed by the host.
* Complete all sections of the form and submit to the MEWEA Treatment Plant Operators Committee at [email protected]. You will receive an emailed training certificate which will be sent to NEIWPCC to record your training credits.

This is an exciting opportunity to see how other plants work, learn new skills, and network with other clean water professionals.

To download the training forms, as well as learn about the Peer-to-Peer program, go to [link removed]. For more information on the program, contact [email protected].



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Documentary Film Features Portland Water District.

As America’s aging wastewater system begins to fail, one plant does all it can to stay afloat. Plant manager Dustin Price, together with his dedicated team, battle aging infrastructure, “forever chemicals” and the misconceptions of an odor averse public to keep Portland, Maine clean and healthy.

Join the Portland Water District (PWD) crew to view this award-winning film, followed by a discussion. Screenings are at the Portland Museum of Art (PMA Films — Portland Museum of Art [ [link removed] ]) on December 26, 27, and 28 and on January 25 at the NEWEA annual conference in Boston.

More information about the film can be found at Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong - Feature Doc — Alexander Wolf Lewis [ [link removed] ].

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Job Boards for Water and Wastewater Position Openings.

Is your facility seeking to hire new water/wastewater personnel?  Do you know someone looking for employment?  Here are links to job boards where you can post your job openings or see water/wastewater position openings at other organizations:

*Maine:*

Maine Water Environment Association (MeWEA)

Career Opportunities [ [link removed] ]

Maine Water Utilities Association (MWUA)

Career Opportunities - MWUA [ [link removed] ]

Maine Rural Water Association (MRWA)

Career Center - Maine Rural Water Association [ [link removed] ]

*Regional:*

New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA)

[link removed] [ [link removed] ]

DEP is also hiring!  Positions include environmental specialists, scientists, engineers, GIS, planning, administration, and more.  Here are links to recruitment videos:

Facebook - [link removed] [ [link removed] ]

Instagram - [link removed] [ [link removed] ]

LinkedIn - [link removed] [ [link removed] ]

More information on applying for jobs at DEP can be found at:

[link removed].

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Get Ready for Cold Weather!

A yellow sign with black text

For 5 to 6 months of the year, Maine operators face an environment of cold, snow and ice at their wastewater treatment facilities. These conditions present enormous challenges that are rarely encountered in warmer climes.

Very little specific help has been published for wastewater operations in cold weather climates. Maine operators have faced and overcome a wide variety of problems over the years and have developed innovative solutions. Operators need to be creative and plan ahead. Here are a few “tricks of the trade” gained through operator experiences.

Planning for low temperatures includes insulating and protecting critical water lines (chemical feed, samplers, etc.), assuring heating systems are in place and operational, and winterizing exposed mechanical systems. Operators should conduct as much exterior maintenance as possible during late fall prior to the onset of winter. Tasks include:


* Clean up - pick up hoses, extension cords, trash, tools and store materials undercover.
* Mark low structures like culverts, curbs, driveway edges, lagoon liner edges, hatches and manholes that could be damaged by plows and loaders. Grade stakes work well for this.
* Pre-locate critical access points.
* Make sure stored equipment (valves, pumps, pipes) are completely drained or winterized with antifreeze to assure functionality when needed.

If you didn’t know this already, water freezes! This will affect the efficiency of wastewater treatment processes and mechanical systems, as well as presenting hazards to workers, including falling ice and slippery walkways. Expansion during ice formation can damage concrete and masonry and burst pipes.

Condensation can also be a big problem in winter, causing ice-up on doors and windows which can lead to many sprung hinges when these are forced open or closed. Make sure to insulate and or ventilate areas with condensation problems.

Many parts of Maine can expect 100+ inches of snow each winter, covering manholes, hatches, curbs, and tools. It is important to maintain access to facility treatment structures, pump stations, storage buildings, hatches, and sampling locations.

Plan ahead for snow removal! Know where you will put removed snow. Establish plow lanes and snow dump areas. Avoid piling it against walls and fences. Also, consider where melt water will go to avoid icing problems and flooding during thaws. Have your plow trucks, snowblowers, shovels, roof rakes ready to go and accessible. In some cases, you may want to maintain snow cover in places to provide insulation for underground water lines.

To protect low structures from damage by loaders and plows, install concrete pylons, spacing them closer together than the narrowest plow!

Snow adds weight loads to structures. You may need to relieve snow loads from building roofs and tank covers. Weight depends on density of snow and can be deceptive. Aging structures can fail under snow loads that they previously withstood. It is critical to maintain an even distribution of weight during the removal process (domes and arches). Clearing off roofs can be dangerous! Work should be performed from the ground with roof rakes when possible.

Ice cover can cause significant damage to lagoons. Ice blocks and shelves can be hung on lagoon sides during drawdown These can slip off during melting, which can tear and puncture the liner and shear off lines, baffles and aeration headers. Seasonal discharge and snowfluent storage lagoons are the most susceptible.

Rocks and gravel from roadways can become sandwiched between liner and ice layer and slice through liner as ice moves vertically. Lateral movement of ice sheets can tear out baffle anchors and impact concrete structures, leading to costly and time-consuming liner and structure repairs. Plan ahead by clearing gravel and rocks off lagoon liner edges, removing and storing unneeded surface aerators, lines and floats prior to freeze up, monitoring curtain baffles, and planning for gradual drawdown.

As water freezes it expands by about 10%. Pores, holes and cracks in concrete and masonry allow water to soak in, which expands and contracts during freeze and thaw cycles, putting tremendous stress on structures. Spalling occurs when ice forms beneath surfaces, causing large pieces of concrete to flake off.

Air-entrained concrete can help reduce these problems. The air voids provide pressure relief sites during a freeze event, allowing the water inside the concrete to freeze without inducing large internal stresses. Make sure concrete is properly sealed to prevent water absorption and freeze/thaw damage. De-icing agents can actually cause additional damage to concrete because they increase the number of freeze/thaw events, so it is better to use gravel and sand where possible.

Repair chipped and cracked concrete with commercial grade sealer, seal exposed anchor holes, shovel stairs and walkways ASAP, and address drainage and drip problems to prevent buildup and need for de-icing agents.



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DMR-QA Study 45.

DMR-QA Study 45 closed August 29th, 2025 and all results were due to the DMR-QA coordinator by October 24th, 2025.

Remember, if you received a “Not-Acceptable” score for one or more parameters, you must complete a corrective action report and perform retests for all parameters with “Not Acceptable” results. A copy of the corrective action report and retest results must be sent to the State DMR-QA coordinator by December 5th, 2025. 

If you have questions about the DMR-QA program, please contact Brett Goodrich at 207-450-5590 or [email protected].

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No-Cost Cybersecurity Vulnerability Assessments for POTWs.

A valuable tool for evaluating the cyber hygiene of your facility is to conduct a vulnerability assessment. A vulnerability assessment is a systematic examination to determine the adequacy of security and privacy measures by identifying security holes that may be exploited on a computer or network. The assessment may also include a vulnerability scan that detects and classifies system weaknesses in computers, networks, and communications equipment. Results are used to predict the effectiveness of security controls and countermeasures over time.

Several options exist for municipal wastewater facilities to participate in no-cost Cybersecurity assessments.


* *_Maine National Guard (MENG)_* is providing free vulnerability assessments to POTWs. Please contact [email protected] <[email protected]> if you would like to participate__
* *_National Rural Water Association (NRWA) _*is joining forces with the Cyber Policy Initiative (CPI) to offer a first-of-its-kind, completely free cyber volunteer taskforce to assist small and rural water & wastewater communities in protecting critical infrastructure, The initiative is named the "Project Franklin, "in honor of US founding father Benjamin Franklin. To learn more about the program, contact Aaron Gaylord [email protected] or john.degour@nrwa.
* *_EPA’s Water Sector Cybersecurity Evaluation Program._* EPA offers free assessments to public drinking water plants (DWP) and wastewater facilities. The evaluation provides the assessed utility with a risk mitigation template to help understand discovered cybersecurity vulnerabilities and provide guidance on enhancing overall cybersecurity posture. Click Here [ [link removed] ] for more information on EPA’s vulnerability assessment program.__

In addition, CISA, in collaboration with EPA is offering free vulnerability scanning for water and wastewater utilities. More information can be found at Free Cyber Vulnerability Scanning for Water Utilities [ [link removed] ].

Assessments are completely voluntary and confidential with no information shared with regulatory authorities.

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Certification and Training Update.

There are a lot of exciting training and conferences coming up this fall/winter. Here are some highlights:

*RCAP Offers No-Charge Disaster Planning and Preparation Virtual Workshop*

"Disaster Planning and Preparation "will be offered virtually on Tue, December 2, 2025 from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST for 4 Wastewater TCHs. The webinar provides systems of all sizes with an understanding of the importance of disaster planning and preparation for their water and wastewater systems. The training will include a description of what a disaster is, how it can affect systems, and steps that can be taken to prepare for potential disasters, including an overview of Risk and Resiliency Assessments and Emergency Response Plans. Questions? Contact Amanda Sparks, (207) 823-0618, [email protected]. To register, go to Registration [ [link removed] ].

*MRWA’s 45th Annual Conference & Trade Show*

MRWA’s 45th Annual Conference & Trade Show is just around the corner; December 9 - 11, 2025 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. Located a short walk from downtown Bangor, the Cross Insurance Center is the perfect place to make new connections in the industry this year.

More conference information can be found Here [ [link removed] ].

*Grade 3-5 Exam Prep at 3 Locations*

Back by popular demand, join Patrick Wiley for a 3-day class to help prepare for your Grade 3-5 wastewater exam. Held live in South Portland and remote in Bangor and Presque Isle on December 16-18, 2025.

Go to JETCC’s Training Calendar [ [link removed] ] to register.

*JETCC’s Wastewater Operator School (WOS) begins January 2026*

This six-month, 12-session program is designed to give in-depth training to entry-level operators and others seeking to increase their understanding of biological wastewater treatment concepts. The program includes demonstrations, treatment plant tours, applied wastewater math, and practice questions to help understand concepts and prepare for certification exams. Instruction is led by industry professionals drawn from agencies and municipalities. All sessions are held in-person, many of them at the Portland Water District. 

Registration will open soon. Click Here [ [link removed] ] for more details.

*Cybersecurity Tabletop Exercise (TTX) – New Date!*

Join EPA, CISA, DEP, and DHHS for a no-charge, virtual Cybersecurity Tabletop Exercise (TTX) on January 20, 2026 from 9 AM – noon and receive 3.0 TCHs for both drinking water and wastewater operators.  

This 3-hour interactive, scenario-driven discussion allows participants to learn cybersecurity best practices and exercise cybersecurity incident response plans.

For more information, contact [email protected].

*NEWEA Annual Conference January 25-28, 2026 at Boston’s Mariotte Copley Place*

NEWEA is known for bringing together the brightest minds and most innovative water quality solutions—leaders who make a real impact on daily life. Nowhere is this more evident than at the NEWEA Annual Conference, the premier event showcasing influential professionals and cutting-edge work in the water environment industry.

Attracting over 2,500 engineers, consultants, scientists, operators, and students, the conference features a wide range of technical sessions and more than 200 exhibitor displays. It offers a valuable forum for sharing ideas, exploring state-of-the-art concepts in wastewater treatment, and building lasting professional connections.

Visit [link removed] for more information.

*MWUA's 100th Annual Tradeshow & Conference*

Save the date for MWUA's 100th Annual Tradeshow & Conference, February 3rd - 5th, 2026 at the Augusta Civic Center. Go to MWUA’s website at MWUA Annual Tradeshow & Conference - MWUA [ [link removed] ] for more information.

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For Practice.

1. What is the volume in gallons of a rectangular tank that is 10 ft by 30 ft by 16 ft?

a. 2,502 gal
b. 4,800 gal
c. 36,000 gal
d. 40,032 gal

2. How long will it take to fill the tank above if the flow entering the tank is 1.3 MGD?

a. 40 minutes
b. 42 hours
c. 4 days
d. 3.6 minutes

3. What is the volume of a tank in gallons if it is 12 feet deep and has a diameter of 30 feet?

a. 5,284 gal
b. 8,478 gal
c. 10,800 gal
d. 63,415 gal

4. How long will it take to fill the tank above if the flow entering the tank is 1.3 MGD?

a. 52 hours
b. 1.2 minutes
c. 1.2 hours
d. 5.2 hours

5. Your superintendent wants to know how efficient your primary clarifier was at removing
solids during a major rain storm a few days earlier. The lab tech tells you that the average 24-hour composite TSS of the sewage entering the primary settling tank on the day in question was 228 ppm, and the average 24-hour composite TSS of the effluent that same day was 87 ppm. What do you tell the superintendent was the approximate percent removal?

a. 86%
b. 99%
c. 52%
d. 62%

6. What is the mixed liquor suspended solids concentration given the following?

Initial weight of filter disk = 0.45 gm
Volume of filtered sample = 60 mL
Weight of filter disk and filtered residue = 0.775 gm

a. 0.005 mg/L
b. 0.5 mg/L
c. 3417 mg/L
d. 5417 mg/L

*Answers:*

1. c. 36,000 gal

Tank dimensions: 10 feet by 30 feet by 16 feet.

First, find Vol in FT3 = (10’)(30’)(16’) = 4,800 FT3

How many gallons can fit in 4,800 FT3?
Vol in gallons = 4,800 FT3 (7.48 gal/ FT3)
Vol in gallons = 35,904 gal which is rounded up to 36,000 gal.

2. a. 40 minutes

Vol = 36,000 gallons

Flow = 1.3 MGD = 1,300,000 gals/day

Time to fill tank = Volume/Flow

36,000 gal/ 1,300,000 gal/day = 0.028 days.

Time in hours: 0.028 days X 1440 min/day = 39.7 minutes. Round up to 40 minutes.

3. d. 63,415 gal

Tank dimensions: Depth (or Height) = 12’, Diameter = 30’

Vol in FT3 = 0.785 X 30’ X 30’X 12’
Vol in FT3 = 8,482 FT3

How many gallons can fit in 8,482 FT3?

Vol in gallons = 8,482 FT3 X 7.48 gal/FT3
Vol in gallons = 63,415 gal

4. c. 1.2 hours

Vol = 63,415 gallons
Flow = 1.3MGD = 1,300,000 gals/day

63,415 gallons / 1,300,000 gal/day = 0.0488days

0.0488days X 24 hr/day = 1.2 hours

5. d. 62%

Efficiency = (Value In – Value Out)/ Value In X 100

TSS entering the primary clarifier = 228 mg/L
TSS leaving the primary clarifier = 87 mg/L
Plugging in the numbers:
Efficiency = (228 mg/L – 87 mg/L) / 228 mg/L X 100 = 61.8% round up to 62%

6. d. 5,417 mg/L

MLSS is the suspended solids of the mixed liquor in the aeration basin.

First, subtract the weight of the filter disk to find weight of solids (in grams), and multiply by 1 million to convert grams to mg.

Suspended Solids = (Wt2 – Wt1)(1,000,000)
Suspended Solids = (0.775gms – 0.45gms)(1,000,000) = 0.325 gms X 1,000,000 = 325 mg

Next, convert the sample size from mL to liters by dividing by 1000:

Sample size in liters: 60 mL/1000 = 0.06 L

Next, divide the mass (in mg) by the sample size (in liters) to get mg/L:

Suspended Solids = 0.325 mg / 0.06 L = 0.005417 mg/mL = 5,417 mg/L

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Happy Holidays from our team to yours—we look forward to another year of collaboration.

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