Many wastewater treatment operators at work today didn’t really seek out the career — they fell into it through connections or circumstance. That’s true of Larry Littrell, an operator with the Lake Stevens (Wash.) Sewer District.The district, about 20 miles north of Seattle, operates a 2.3 mgd (average) plant serving a residential community of about 30,000. Littrell holds Group IV certification, the state’s highest level, and is one of three full-time operators at Lake Stevens. The facility uses an activated sludge process with aerated earthen lagoons. A new plant using membrane filtration will open in about 18 months and will
