An Internship Program to Develop Small System Sustainability

Steve WilsonIllinois State Water Survey – University of Illinois

Jennifer WilsonIllinois Water Resources Center – University of Illinois

Funding through

The Midwest Technology Assistance Center / USEPA

An Internship Program to Develop Small System Sustainability

http://illinois.edu/

Internship Programs

- internship programs are rare (or unknown)

- many are ran by larger communities for their ownbenefit

- focus is on operations, running plant, learningadditional technical skills

- not geared toward small systems and their specificchallenges


Small System Lack Capacity and Therefore Have Sustainability

Issues

- no resources for more than basic system operation

- no time, often one person does everything

- no support from board, many don’t value operatoror water as they should

- technically competent but lack planning/preparedness/ business skills

- part-time operators who aren’t engaged in futureof community and/or regular turnover


Certification Programsand Small Systems

- test on technical knowledge

- operators can take over a system with no businesssense or understanding of management needs

- boards often looking for cheapest solution to meetstate requirements

- some ran remotely with a “trainee” doing the dailyoperations


Small Systems Jobs Issues(Real or Perceived)

- operators age level continues to increase(67% over 50 in Illinois)

- few young people getting into waterand wastewater operations

- small communities can’t afford/ won’t pay operatorswhat they can make at a large system

- contract operations becoming commonplace, manyoperators are in charge of multiple systems


So We Had An Idea…….

What if we develop an intern program to expose young operators to business/planning practices that seem to be missing for small systems?

We talk about asset management and emergency response planning as being key responsibilities that systems need to practice, so why not focus on that?


And We Came Up With A Planto Pilot Our Idea….

1.Find a recent graduate of a certificate programwho has yet to find an operator position interested in our internship.

2. Work with the school, TA providers, and the stateto identify several nearby small communitiesinterested in developing an ERP, assetmanagement plan, long-range plan.

3. Work with the intern to understand what is expected of them, provide examples, have them read the study guides, etc.


And We Came Up With A Planto Pilot Our Idea (cont)….

4. Have the intern work with the communities todevelop those tools, providing free labor todevelop inventories, find costs, organize their information.

5. Evaluate the program and determine if it haspotential as a future effort on a larger scale

– benefits, drawbacks, changes needed, costs,community opinion, interns observations, whatintern learned, etc.


- Expose intern to ERP’s, asset management, andplanning as preparation for career

- Expose intern to a variety of small water systemsto better understand the issues facing them

- Assist several small communities by providinglabor and assistance to develop thesetools

- Determine if this program would be a successfulapproach to instilling the value of businesspractices in both the intern and thecommunities served

Goals


- 1 year operator school for water and wastewater,2 semesters of hands on instruction and 10weeks of internship the following summer

- Facility houses a 30K gallon/day water andwastewater plant in which the stream can bechanged to utilize numerous treatmentprocesses

- 2 wet labs, alternative energy development (windand solar) and confined space training

- At completion, students ready for Class C DWand Class 4 WW in Illinois and Missouri

ERTC at SIUE


- Worked with ERTC and found an intern, wastaking classes at Community College.

- Two weeks before classes ended, he found anoperator job, so we had to find someone else

- Began talking to TA providers and State in March,but they didn’t find any communities. Putnotice in SWSO newsletter, got a response

- IL-RCAP contacted us about a 2nd communitythey were working with, in need of support

- Started near end of June 2011

Initial Issues


- The two communities we found were not nearERTC or where our intern lived. This meant

incurring travel costs not planned.

- IACAA (IL-RCAP parent agency) offered to payhotel near Community B but our grant wouldnot allow it, considered cost sharing.

- Realized costs were going to be $4-5K more thanplanned because of travel, per diem, etc.

Initial Issues (continued)


- Progressive, well ran, long-term operator andVillage President that was very involved.

- 850 residents

- Village President was subscribed to SWSOnewsletter and saw the article about usingan intern to assist them.

- He had ordered CUPSS but could not find thetime to input information needed, so heasked for intern to develop it for them.

Community A


- They follow good management practices.

- Investigated paint types to get most durable, longlasting type to use in bids for tower painting.

- Have an Emergency Response Plan (with assistance from ILRWA)

- Planning Rate Study this fall.

- Operator and Village President plan to retirewithin next 3-5 years and want to leavecommunity in great shape.

Community A


- Best described as lost. New mayor, board andvillage officers. Want to learn, truly care, butno understanding of DW or WW system

- Past grants have built impressive infrastructurebut no management, supervision orunderstanding of responsibilities.

- Past grants have had money missing, vendorswon’t work with them unless paid up front

- Contract operators – inconsistent service

- Wastewater operator would not return calls, somereal problems with this part of their system.

Community B


- Our job was to develop Vulnerability Assessmentand Emergency Response Plan for them(initially asked for several other things too)

- Nate spent nearly two months working with them

- He assisted IL-RCAP in Saturday board training

- Got to know system inside and out and spentsignificant time working with/teaching mayor

- We agreed to provide recommendations on howthey should move forward, what changesthey need to make, and what manpowerissues they need to address

Community B


- Wastewater contract does not meet requirementsfor the state

- Wastewater system not being maintained

- No money for personnel

- Political issues with township and contractors

- Town officials are overwhelmed, trying to learn and understand their responsibilities

Community B – Biggest Issues


- Nate found 4 things wrong at the water plant, none were critical to operation or public safety and are being addressed.

- Distribution is another issue, especially meters, but IL-RCAP and engineer working on it

- He found 45 things wrong with the Wastewater operation that encompass nearly every aspect of the system and are just beginning to be addressed

Community B


- Interview players and find out their perspectivesfor a video put on SmallWaterSupply.org

- Waiting on Community B to provide DW operatorcontract, NPDES permit, and ERP info

- Finish ERP, send them lengthy letter describingtheir options and providing recommendationson the level of operator/staff effort needed toproperly run their system

- Meet with Community A to provide completedCUPSS files and provide followup

Still To Do


- Community B forced us to choose to dig in to helpor move on to “easier” systems, we decidedto help so only 2 systems were involved

- Very successful, regardless, on both the internlevel and the community level. Nate exposedto two very different systems.

- He suggested to ERTC that they try andincorporate CUPSS into their program

- Communities were grateful for the help, andluckily we can continue to work with them.This could be an issue on a larger scale in multiple states.

Pilot Program Findings


- Expectations very different. (We were advised toleave operator alone, already too busy, workas independently as possible)

- Community A (VP) wanted more interactionwith Nate and felt he “belonged” to them.

Butlittle interaction with operator.

- Community B gave Nate run of the system,contract operators not interested, Mayor

wasextremely happy with Nate

- Logistics were difficult to manage. Required muchmore of my time than I had imagined.

Pilot Program Findings


- Nate was excellent in operations, knew a lot for being so young, but lacked some of the skills we needed for completing the project

- Not a good writer- Not very organized- Too passive to dig in and get answers

- Consequently, still working to complete program,utilizing a UI student on SWSO project.

- Partly our fault, we expected him to be able todevelop skills somewhat on his own, as anyoperator would have to do, and it took longerbecause of that

Intern Issues


- Plan and prepare well in advance:- Talk to state and TA providers to find both intern and communities interested/with need.- Develop examples of the tools you want the interns to use and walk through a formal training process to be clear whats expected.- Be involved with communities early and determine exactly what they expect and need from intern.- Have interview process, list skills needed to be an intern in this program, plan to provide regular support during internship

Recommendations


- Very worthwhile program, consider developing a similar program in your state or ask TA providers to consider.

- Nate has new appreciation for well managed systems he will carry with him.

- Communities had a need we are helping to fulfill, moving them in better direction.

- Personal attention is the way to make a difference, even if its one system at a time

Final Thoughts


Questions?

Check out www.smallwatersupply.org later this fall for more information on this intern program under the Careers tab

http://www.smallwatersupply.org/


An Internship Program to Develop Small System Sustainability

Career

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