Who We Are
The Operations department at the Wastewater Reclamation Authority controls and operates the facility ensuring a high quality effluent makes it to the Des Moines River as efficiently as possible. In operations there are three shifts, with a total of 30 employees. The operations department is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Each operator is certified by the state and is trained so they can run the facility at peak efficiency.
Apprenticeship
The WRA has had a Department of Labor Apprenticeship program, and since 2009 every new operator has started their career with the WRA by going through this program. To complete the program the new employees have three years to; Receive 6000 hours of on the job training, attend several Wastewater based classes at DMACC (Des Moines Area Community College) and acquire both a Iowa Class A Commercial Divers Licence (CDL) and a Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Grade 2 Certification.
Certification
To become certified an operator must show that they have had on the job experience, any formal or informal related education and pass the state exam. At the WRA we are very proud of the work put in by our employees to get their certifications. The table that follows shows how many employees have which level of certification (Grade 1 being the lowest and Grade 4 the highest).
| Certification Level | Employees with Certification (as of 8/31/2021) |
| Grade 1 | 5 |
| Grade 2 | 19 |
| Grade 3 | 20 |
| Grade 4 | 4 |
