Administration
What this domain tests
Administration covers the management side of operating a public water system: records, reporting, asset management, budgets and rates, emergency planning, security, and customer communication. The exam checks whether you can document decisions and keep the system financially and operationally sustainable.
Core rules and concepts
- Accurate records support compliance: daily operating logs, chemical use, maintenance, sampling results, and monthly operating reports. If it is not recorded, it is hard to prove it happened.
- Asset management identifies critical pumps, valves, tanks, and controls, then sets repair or replacement priorities. Preventive maintenance is cheaper than emergency replacement.
- Water loss is the difference between water produced and water billed. It includes flushing, firefighting, main breaks, meter error, and unauthorized use; not all water loss is a leak.
- Rate setting must cover operating costs, debt service, and reserves. Small systems often underprice water and defer capital renewal.
- Emergency response plans address power failure, contamination, main breaks, chemical shortages, and security threats. Keep contact lists current and test the plan.
- Security includes fencing, locks, alarms, SCADA access control, and cybersecurity hygiene.
Worked example
A plant produces 12.5 million gallons in a month and bills 10.0 million gallons. Non-revenue water = 12.5 − 10.0 = 2.5 million gallons. Percentage = 2.5 ÷ 12.5 × 100 = 20%. Before declaring a major leak, account for flushing, firefighting, and main breaks. The reasoning: production and billing periods must match, and authorized unmetered uses explain part of the gap.
Traps
Comparing produced water to billed water over different periods; treating all non-revenue water as leakage; keeping records but not reporting them; and writing an emergency plan that is never exercised or updated.