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Information
The Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws outlines the objectives and purposes of the Washington Wastewater Collection Personnel ASSOCIATION (WWCPA). Please be well aware of the fact that this ASSOCIATION is not intended to replace or compete with other professional or vocational associations such as the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association (PNCWA), The Water Environment Federation (WEF), The American Public Works Association (APWA), the American Water Works Association (AWWA) or other similar organizations. The ASSOCIATION (WWCPA) does indeed encourage its members to affiliate themselves with, and to support, such other organizations who also have many objectives in common with this ASSOCIATION. Whenever and wherever possible, this ASSOCIATION will cooperate with other organizations in a common effort to develop and recognize the capabilities of all individuals involved in the construction, operation, maintenance and management of wastewater collection facilities.

The ASSOCIATION also recognizes that many individuals who have construction, operation, maintenance or management responsibilities for wastewater collection systems or facilities will also have duties relating to wastewater treatment plants or to water supply facilities. The ASSOCIATION strongly encourages such individuals to obtain and/or retain certified status under provisions of the Washington Water Pollution Control Plant Operators Certification Program or the Washington Water Works Operators Certification Program in addition to member-ship in this ASSOCIATION.

The ASSOCIATION provides for three types of membership; Certified Members, Associate Members and Corporate/Institutional Members as described in the ASSOCIATION By-Laws. The major objective of the ASSOCIATION is to provide a system in which the special skills and qualifications of wastewater collection personnel can be evaluated and certified. The evaluation of applicants for Certified Membership will be based upon education, experience and examination scores of such applicants. The education and experience requirements for the levels of classification of Certified Members are presented in Section 7 of the By-Laws.

Table 1
Percentage Distribution of Effort by Subject Area
Test I II III IV
Certification Level SIT+WWC-I WWC-II WWC-III WWC-IV
Subject Matter Module *
Basic Knowledge (Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology) 35 20 10 0
Hydraulics 30 30 15 0
Wastewater Collection Technical-Operation 35 40 40 0
Supervision-Management 0 10 35 100

(*Questions relating to personnel and public safety may be interspersed throughout all modules of all tests.)

Table 2
Table II indicates the tests that are required (cumulative) for each level of certification and the minimum scores required for each module of such tests.

Required Tests & Minimum Grades - vs - Certification Level
(Minimum grades apply to each module of the tests)
Test I II III IV
Certified Level Applied for
Specialist in Training (SIT) 70 N.R. N.R. N.R.
Wastewater Collection Specialist I (WWC-I) 70 N.R. N.R. N.R.
Wastewater Collection Specialist I (WWC-II) 70 70 N.R. N.R.
Wastewater Collection Specialist I (WWC-III) 70 70 70 N.R.
Wastewater Collection Specialist I (WWC-IV) 70 70 70 70

N.R. in a column means that the test of that column is not required for the level of certification for that horizontal row of the table.

During the examination, you will be provided with scratch paper and a page of commonly used formulas and conversion factors. You may bring a non-programmable calculator for use during the examination. No books, manuals or notes are to be present or used during the examination. Cell phone calculators and cell phones are no allowed during examinations.


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Instructions
1. The following is a brief review of the qualifications for the different levels of certification. If further detail is desired please refer to Sections 4.0, 6.0, all of 7.0 and 9.0 of the ASSOCIATION'S BY-LAWS, or to the September 23, 1977 and January 26, 1979 minutes of the Board of Directors Meetings for, the above dates.
  1. WWC-SIT
    1. 12 years general education or GED
    2. Three (3) months full time experience or 33 classroom hours or CEU’s in specialized training.
  2. WWC- 1
    1. 12 years general education or GED
    2. One year full time experience or six (6) months full time experience and 33 classroom hours or equivalent CEU’s in specialized training.
  3. WWC-II
    1. 12 years general education or GED
    2. Three years full time experience or equivalent education (Not more than one-half the required experience can be covered by education.)
    3. Must have successfully passed the WWC Group I test.
  4. WWC-III
    1. 14 years of education or equivalent (See Section 7.6 of the ASSOCIATION BY-LAWS for education-experience equivalencies).
    2. Four (4) years full time experience ( two years as a WWC-II or higher)
    3. Must have successfully passed the WWC Group II test.
  5. WWC-IV
    1. Sixteen (16) years of education or equivalent. (See Section 7.6 of the ASSOCIATION BY-LAWS for education-experience equivalencies)
    2. Four (4) years full time experience (two years shall include management or supervisory duties of wastewater collection systems).
    3. Must have achieved WWC-III level of certification.
    4. Must have successfully passed the WWC Group III test.
    5. Applicant's utility must have been visited by two (2) current Board members and be satisfied that the applicant is capable of, and does, provide all proper management and/or administrative functions for that utility including 0 & M budgets and public affairs as per section 7.5(d) under Articles of Incorporation. Provide copies showing that the applicant meets these requirements and the other listed capabilities covered under this section as listed in section 7.5(d) in your application binder.
    6. Applicant must appear before the Board of Directors at a regular meeting, as scheduled, to answer such questions as the Board may ask to determine to their satisfaction that the applicant is well qualified to manage a wastewater collection system.
    7. Following completion of the above steps, the Board shall determine by vote, in the applicant's absence, whether to grant or deny the granting of WWC-IV certification.

2. Complete all sections of the application that are applicable to your situation and desired type and certification level of membership. If you have no information that applies to a Section, write "None as of date" in the first such blank of that section. Applications for Corporate/Institutional Membership should skip Sections C, D AND E.

3. If additional space is needed, use numbered attachment pages. Put your name at the top of each such attachment page. On the application form, indicate that additional information is so attached if such attachment is necessary. On the attachment pages, indicate which Section of the application any attached material is intended to supplement.

4. When complete, sign as indicated in Section G.

5. Attach check or money order for the appropriate amount made payable to: Washington Wastewater Collection Personnel ASSOCIATION (WWCPA)

FEES:
*Application & Examination as New Certified Member $20.00
*Third retake of Examination for Certified Member $20.00
Advancement Examination for Certified Member $20.00
Application for Associate Membership $20.00
Application for Corporate/Institutional Membership $20.00

Fees listed are for each exam taken and are subject to change without prior notice.

The initial test application fee includes annual membership dues for the remaining calendar year. Fees for advanced certifications do not cover the annual membership dues.

*There is no fee required to retake a Certified Member exam a second time, but must notify the Secretary Treasurer of desire to retest before next test date; however, if the applicant fails the second retake, or fails to show up for the next scheduled exam, the applicant is required to submit a new application and fee.

DUES:
Annual Renewal of Certified Members $25.00
Annual Renewal of Associate Members $25.00
Annual Renewal of Corporate/Institutional Members $25.00
Annual Dues may be changed by Board of Directors without prior notice.

6. When application is complete, signed and money enclosed please send to:

Jason Robinson
16109 25th Ave E
Tacoma, WA 98445

Applications should be sent as early as possible but not later than one month before the exam schedule date.


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Testing Dates
7. Dates below are for future test dates with applications due one month ahead of test date.

TEST DATES

The dates listed below are the examination dates for the WWCPA certification exam for the year 2023. All applications must be received and post marked no later than ONE MONTH PRIOR to the date of the exam.
Applications that are not completely filled out, or that do not have the twenty dollar test fee will be returned. These dates indicate "The week of" for the dates shown. Due to scheduling of facilities in which to hold the test and the availability of Board Member Proctors, the actual dates will be sent with the notifications two weeks prior to the test date for the weeks as shown.

Testing dates are scheduled

DURING THE WEEK OF:

April 8th, 2024
August 12th, 2024
December 8th 2024

Application
Exam Application - Click HERE (Word - .doc)


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