Administration
Administration
This domain tests the management side of operations: records, budgets, asset management, emergency planning, staffing, and public communication. Questions often ask what document controls a decision or what must be kept and for how long.
Core rules and concepts
- Keep operational records that support compliance: monitoring results, calibration and maintenance logs, chemical usage, permit reports, and complaint investigations.
- Asset management links inventory, condition, criticality, and life-cycle cost. A pump with a low failure probability but high consequence may still rank above a cheap, redundant unit.
- Budget for O&M, debt service, and reserves separately. Rate studies should cover full cost of service, not just chemicals and power.
- Emergency response plans should identify vulnerabilities, key contacts, alternate water or treatment options, and mutual aid.
- Public communication is part of compliance: CCRs, public notices, boil-water orders, and construction advisories must be accurate and timely.
Worked example
A system has $480,000 annual O&M, $120,000 debt service, and wants $60,000 per year for reserves. Total revenue need is $660,000. With 4,000 connections, average revenue per connection is $165 per year, or $13.75 per month. If the reserve were omitted, the average would be $150 per year, but the system would underfund replacement and risk a rate shock later.
Traps
Building a budget on past spending without reserves; confusing capital and operating costs; keeping records only until the next permit cycle; and writing an emergency plan that names no alternates or mutual-aid contacts.