NV Water/Wastewater Operator study plan

Map the Domain 1 blueprint into a checklist covering source water, coagulation/flocculation/sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, storage, and distribution, and rate your current confidence on each item from 1 to 5.

Define and compute the core water-treatment math set: flow (Q = A × V), detention time, surface overflow rate, filter loading rate, and chemical dose in mg/L converted to lb/day using the 8.34 factor.

Explain the purpose and typical operating range of each coagulant and flocculation aid you are likely to encounter (alum, ferric chloride, polymer) and how pH and alkalinity affect them.

Describe the Nevada-specific regulatory framing at a high level: who primacy belongs to, what a public water system is, and which operator certification grade corresponds to which system classification.

Sequence the conventional treatment train and state the water-quality parameter each unit process is trying to control (turbidity, TOC, pathogens, DBPs).

Calculate CT (disinfectant residual × contact time) for free chlorine and interpret whether a given CT value meets a target inactivation ratio.

Differentiate the four DBP precursor control strategies and identify which operational change reduces trihalomethane and haloacetic acid formation.

Interpret a jar test: identify optimal coagulant dose, describe what floc size and settle rate tell you, and adjust dose for a raw-water turbidity spike.

Read a distribution-system pressure and chlorine residual log and flag readings that indicate a problem.

Identify each major distribution appurtenance (hydrant, valve, blowoff, air release, meter, backflow preventer) and state its inspection and exercise frequency.

Explain cross-connection control hierarchy and describe the difference between an air gap, an RPZ, a double check, and a PVB, including where each is acceptable.

Compute storage requirements and explain how tank level, turnover, and booster chlorination interact to keep residual in the far reaches of the system.

Diagnose common distribution water-quality complaints (red water, taste and odor, low pressure) and trace each to a likely cause.

Outline the steps of a main break repair from isolation through disinfection, flushing, and bacteriological sampling before return to service.

Complete a timed 50-question mixed set weighted 50/50 across both domains and score it against the answer key.

Categorize every missed question by root cause: formula error, vocabulary gap, process misunderstanding, or regulatory detail you have not memorized.

Re-teach yourself the three weakest Domain 1 topics from your error log in writing, without looking at notes.

Compare drinking water and wastewater terminology that is easy to confuse (for example, detention time versus solids retention time, and clarification versus sedimentation) and write the distinctions.

Map the Domain 2 blueprint into a checklist spanning preliminary treatment, primary clarification, biological treatment (activated sludge and trickling filters), secondary clarification, disinfection, solids handling, and the collection system.

Draw and label the activated sludge process, and define F/M ratio, MCRT/sludge age, SVI, and MLSS with the formula for each.

Compute BOD and TSS removal efficiency, pounds of solids wasted, and return-activated-sludge rate for a worked problem.

Explain nitrification and denitrification in terms of the organisms, oxygen demand, alkalinity consumption, and the operational conditions that favor each.

Describe the purpose of each collection-system structure (manhole, lift station, force main, gravity sewer) and the failure modes you would inspect for.

Troubleshoot filamentous bulking and pin floc from SVI, DO, and F/M data, and list at least three corrective actions for each with the mechanism behind it.

Explain disinfection of wastewater effluent, including how ammonia, nitrite, and turbidity interfere with chlorine and what that means for dose control.

Sequence sludge thickening, digestion, dewatering, and disposal, and state what each step is trying to achieve in terms of volume and stability.

Interpret a lift-station alarm scenario and describe the response sequence, including how to avoid a sanitary sewer overflow and what reporting follows one.

Identify the safety hazards specific to wastewater (H2S, confined space, methane, biological exposure) and the control for each.

Memorize the regulatory and reporting facts you keep missing: monitoring frequencies, reporting deadlines, and the operator's role in each.

Complete two timed 50-question mixed sets and compare scores to your Week 4 baseline.

Drill all formulas from both domains from memory on a blank sheet, then check against your Week 1 formula sheet.

Practice explaining a process aloud in plain language for each domain, as if briefing a new operator, to expose gaps that multiple-choice practice hides.

Take one full-length timed simulation under exam conditions and score it by domain.

Review only the error log and the from-memory formula sheet; do not introduce new material.

Re-drill the ten highest-frequency misses until you can answer each correctly and explain why the distractors are wrong.

Write your exam-day plan: timing per question, when to skip and return, and how you will handle a calculation you cannot finish.