Administration
What the exam tests
Administration tests the records, reporting, financial, and emergency-management duties that keep a water system compliant and reliable. Expect DMRs, monthly operation reports, CCRs, asset management, budgets, security, emergency response plans, and operator certification records.
Core rules and concepts
- Keep daily logs for chemicals, flows, pressures, residuals, and maintenance; submit required monthly operation reports and DMRs accurately and on time.
- The CCR must be delivered by July 1 and include source water, monitoring results, violations, and health effects language.
- Asset management links inventory, condition, criticality, and replacement cost; a budget should separate operating, capital, and emergency reserves.
- Emergency response plans cover power loss, contamination, main breaks, floods, and security; test communication and mutual-aid agreements.
- Non-revenue water = water produced − water billed. Track it to find leaks, meter errors, and unauthorized use.
Worked example
A system produces 120 MG in a year and bills 96 MG. Non-revenue water is 24 MG, or 24 ÷ 120 = 20%. If the state benchmark is 10–15%, the system should review master-meter calibration, customer-meter accuracy, main-break history, and flushing records. The reasoning: use the same units and same period; do not compare a monthly production figure with an annual billing figure. A high percentage is a signal to investigate, not proof of a single cause.
Traps that cost marks
- Reporting a DMR with estimated values without labeling them as estimates.
- Mixing million gallons with gallons in a loss calculation.
- Treating the CCR as a substitute for Tier 1 public notice.
- Keeping certification and training records only in someone’s desk drawer.