We all know that one of the neat things about the Internet is the ability to find just about anything you might want to know. When you're studying for a certification exam or just trying to refresh your knowledge, online quizzes can be a fun diversion that is also educational!

One of our friends at RCAC shared a link to ProProfs, which is a site where anyone can create a quiz. If you search for "water treatment" the first few pages of results have some good options. There's even a set of quizzes that follow the California Water Treatment Plant manual. 

Depending on what type of subject you're studying, you can change the search phrase. There isn't anything formal to these quizzes, i.e. they don't "count" for anything. That said, testing your knowledge is one of the best ways to study when you're tired of reading the text book.

Industry professionals: It's also fun to have a group of colleagues take the same quiz and compare your scores. See who knows the most! 

This year's Water Environmental Federation Technical Conference (WEFTEC) will be held October 5-9, 2013 in Chicago. The annual conference is, according to WEF, "the largest conference of its kind in North America and offers water quality professionals from around the world with the best water quality education and training available today." 

What that means in plain language for operators is a huge opportunity to learn from the best and receive a lot of continuing education credits in one shot. But, we know it's often difficult for those at small systems to travel to conferences. WEF is working hard to make WEFTEC more accessible for everyone across the industry.

This year, for the first time, access to the exhibit halls (and up to 8 contact hours each day) is 100% free for those who register online. Also, registration fees have been reduced to make the conference sessions more affordable. This includes operators who can get a special rate (savings of $300) as WEF members. (If you're not already a member, the cost is much less than that $300 difference!)

If you need help getting approved to go, check out WEF's handy Employer Approval Tips guide with talking points, worksheets and forms. Being prepared with facts and benefits can go a long way when a travel decision is in someone else's hands. 

During 2011 and 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted a series of face-to-face training events for tribal water and wastewater operators. The training sessions emphasized practical, applicable knowledge about operations and maintenance (O&M) as well as asset management.

The materials have been archived into series of interactive, self-paced training modules. Topics for the new training modules include:

• Sewer System Overview 
• Lift Station Overview 
• Overview of Lagoon System Management 
• Decentralized Wastewater Systems 
• Providing and Protecting Potable Water 
• Drinking Water Distribution System Management 
• Storage Tank Management 
• Asset Management 
• Techniques for Developing a Rate Structure 
• Water and Wastewater Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Case Studies

While the content was developed with tribal operators in mind, it is highly applicable to most small or rural systems. The format allows an operator, manager or board member to consume the material on his own time and only the topics that are applicable. 

The Water Sifu "turns ordinary water workers into black belts." We stumbled across this free podcast developed by an operator in California. Over the course of 28 episodes, Ty Whitman tackles a range of topics covered on water supply treatment and distribution certification exams. 

"Interesting, informative, and fun talk about the drinking water industry. This podcast is created by a water worker not only for anyone in the industry, but anyone who's ever been curious about it, with a mixture of classroom style and "just for fun" style shows."

If you're not familiar with podcasts, they are short audio episodes of one or more people discussing a topic. Some share time-sensitive information and others, like this one, are more timeless in the featured content. You can listen to podcasts on the web, download them to your computer, or use them on your mobile device. Episodes of The Water Sifu are available for direct listen and download or you can subscribe through iTunes. 

While Whitman does share his own opinions and anecdotes in the episodes, the uniqueness of this podcast makes this a fun supplement to traditional certification exam prep. As with face-to-face training sessions, the added human touch of the audio format makes learning easier. We're not endorsing these, but the instructor also has math DVDs available for purchase.