Water Treatment Process Control

This is the HRDC's flagship operator course. Trainees learn how raw water becomes safe drinking water, and spend more than half of the course on the floor of the Von Bach Water Treatment Plant, working alongside NamWater process controllers.

By the end of the course you can read the plant's instruments, adjust chemical dosing, run jar tests, backwash filters and keep the records a treatment works needs.

• Explain each stage of conventional treatment
• Calculate and adjust chemical dosing rates
• Run jar tests and interpret turbidity and chlorine readings
• Operate and backwash rapid gravity filters
• Keep plant log sheets and report faults

Course content

1. Raw water and catchments1 week
2. Coagulation, flocculation and settling2 weeks
3. Filtration and backwashing2 weeks
4. Disinfection and chlorine safety2 weeks
5. Process monitoring and laboratory tests2 weeks
6. Supervised plant shifts3 weeks

Entry requirements

• Grade 12 with English and Mathematics (or Grade 10 plus 2 years' plant experience)
• Medically fit for shift work
• Certified copy of ID

Who should attend