Appreciates the Magazine
To the editor:
I personally appreciate your magazine. I was excited to see a magazine directly related to operator issues and their own input. I have been a certified wastewater treatment plant operator for 33 years and have a passion for sharing my experiences with others in our profession.
Your magazine does just that. It’s so informative at a grass roots level. The layout and pictures are topnotch. I would agree that future issues could be devoted to water reuse and reclamation, as this will benefit so many communities in the future. We have a pending water reuse project whereby we will be providing our treated effluent for an industrial application. When it is completed and online, maybe there would be an opportunity to contact you and we could share a story about it.
Keep up the quality work and thank you!
Ron Dickrell, Superintendent
Marshfield (Wis.)
Wastewater Utility
Why Not Open-Book Exams?
To the editor:
Your magazine is great — a good source of current noteworthy information. I am a retired wastewater treatment plant dual-license operator and have had a major problem with closed-book exams.
I came into the industry with a master’s degree in civil engineering, so I am no dummy. I failed my first exam and was very frustrated. I eventually was successful in both wastewater and water.
The problem I have is all you have to do is know where to look to find the formula, explanation or solution to the problem. We all do this now, so why should we not be able to do so for testing/exam purposes?
As our workforce ages and retires, where will our replacements come from? We need to make it easier for our entry-level operators to become licensed in whatever state they are employed. Trusting our memory is antiquated and is a sure way to err.
Richard B. Scott
West Paris, Maine
