The FW&PCOA has been providing training for water distribution system operators since 1981. The on-line Level 3 course is a self-paced course that meets the core subject area requirements of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Operator Knowledge Base Manual, providing the training required by rule for the Florida water distribution system operator level 3 licensing examination. Students must complete the course within 3 months of enrollment.

The FW&PCOA provides students taking this course with the course book.

The Level 3 online course examines the basic concepts of a water distribution system, including storage, system components, water quality, disinfection, operation and maintenance, safety, water math and regulations.

The course is self-paced, and each lesson provides a slide presentation that has been converted to HTML5. The device being used to access the course content must have the latest version of an internet browser installed. We recommend a display resolution of 1024 X 768.

The online course does not provide an audio narrative. The student visually observes the presentation and uses the course book as a reference to the material being presented. There is a brief test provided after each learning module for the student to assess his or her learning experience – to determine whether the lesson content has been understood.

The FW&PCOA provides the end of course exam in a live proctored setting after you successfully complete all course modules. Please complete the proctor request form provided in the last lesson of the course and send to the FW&PCOA Training Office - see the form for instructions. The FW&PCOA Training Office and/or proctor will arrange the exam session with you.

After you have successfully completed the proctored end of course exam with a score of 70% or better, the FW&PCOA will mail a certificate of completion to you. This certificate is used when applying to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the Water Distribution Level 3 licensing exam, to demonstrate completion of the requisite training course. If you do not pass the end of course exam on the first attempt, you will have two additional attempts to pass the exam. There is an $80 exam fee associated with each additional attempt and you must arrange an exam proctor through the FW&PCOA Training Office. If the student fails all three attempts at the exam, the course must be repeated for an additional fee.

For more information on the FDEP’s Operator Certification Program, regarding requirements and fees, please refer to the water distribution program handbook, accessible using the following link.

https://floridadep.gov/water/certification-restoration/documents/distribution-operator-handbook