Median Pay by Area
- Birmingham
- $56,130 a year
- Huntsville
- $61,550 a year
- Mobile
- $47,730 a year
- Montgomery
- $51,470 a year
- Tuscaloosa
- $51,870 a year
Alabama wastewater operators
The steps from no certificate to an Alabama wastewater operator certificate, how to apply for and pass the exam, how to keep your certificate active and what operators earn. Every requirement links to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) Operator Certification Program or its rule, ADEM Admin. Code Chapter 335-10-1.
ADEM makes the final eligibility determination. Check with ADEM before you apply.
Why it matters
Alabama's rule requires every wastewater treatment plant and public wastewater collection system to be operated by an operator holding a valid certificate of the same grade or higher. The rule does not apply to a plant or system that does not serve the public generally.
Someone without a valid certificate may work only under the direct supervision of a properly certified operator. Process control decisions must be made or supervised by a properly certified operator.
Larger plants have set staffing rules. For example, a Grade IV wastewater plant must have a Grade IV operator on site for at least one 8-hour daytime shift, and a Grade III plant must have a Grade III or higher operator on site for one 8-hour daytime shift five days a week.
Alabama classifies wastewater treatment plants as Grades I to IV. Grade I is a wastewater treatment lagoon of any size. Grade II covers trickling filter, biological contactor and activated sludge plants under 1 million gallons a day (MGD). Grade III covers trickling filter and biological contactor plants of 1 to 15 MGD and activated sludge plants of 1 to 5 MGD. Grade IV covers anything larger.
Public wastewater collection systems of every size are Grade I (C). A plant with processes in different grades is classified by the higher grade.
An operator can hold only one water and one wastewater certificate, and a certified operator may operate only plants or systems at or below the grade of their certificate.
Step 1
Operator certification in Alabama is handled online through OpCert Online. First set up an ADEM Web Portal account (you need your own email address), then request access to OpCert Online from inside the portal.
If you already have an ADEM Web Portal account for AEPACS, eDWRS or eMORS, you can go straight to requesting OpCert Online access. Portal passwords expire after 90 days.
Step 2
You need a high school diploma or a GED to apply for the exam.
Register and pay for the exam in OpCert Online. ADEM's fee rule sets the exam fee at $325. Once ADEM approves you, it forwards your request to PSI, the testing company.
New applicants are given a number by ADEM. PSI uses this number, and it becomes your Operator Number if you go on to become certified.
Certificate issuance, renewal and reciprocal certification also have fees. ADEM has adopted new amounts that take effect October 15, 2026, so check ADEM's Application Fees page for the amount that applies to you.
Step 3
After ADEM approves you, PSI sends a registration email to the address on your OpCert Online account. Its link takes you to a page where you choose the test center, date and time. You can also call PSI at 833-256-1420.
Exams are given by appointment, Monday through Saturday, at PSI test centers across the country. You may take the Alabama exam at any PSI center that lists it, even one outside Alabama.
You may reschedule once at no charge if you contact PSI at least two business days before your appointment. Arriving more than 15 minutes late, missing the appointment or rescheduling a second time forfeits the exam and its fees.
Bring two forms of ID. The main one must be current, government issued and show your name, signature and photo; the second must show your name and signature.
Step 4
Experience must be hands-on work at a publicly owned, permitted facility of the same or higher grade and classification as the certificate you want. Clerical and administrative work does not count.
You can gain experience before you take the exam. If you pass first, you become an operator intern and have 5 years to gain the experience; after that you must retake the exam.
For experience, 1,900 hours of work equals 12 months. ADEM-approved training can stand in for part of it: 15 hours for 3 months, 30 hours for 6 months, 45 hours for 9 months and 60 hours for 12 months, up to each grade's limit.
If you are a designated operator at a facility, OpCert Online keeps track of your experience, and of training used in place of experience.
Step 5
When you have passed the exam and have the required experience, OpCert Online notifies you that you are eligible to apply for certification. Apply and pay in OpCert Online.
Your experience must be verified in writing by your direct supervisor or another certified operator who knows your work.
ADEM evaluates your experience and contacts you through OpCert Online if it has questions. Once you are approved, ADEM emails you instructions to download your operator certificate and wallet cards.
Step 6
A certificate stays in effect for three years. Renew in OpCert Online; ADEM must receive a complete renewal application at least 30 days before your certificate expires.
With one wastewater certificate, you need 24 continuing education hours (CEH) of wastewater training in the three years before it expires. With both a water and a wastewater certificate, you need 15 CEH in the right field for each. Up to 10 CEH per certificate may carry over to the next period.
ADEM does not pre-approve training courses. It is your responsibility to choose valid courses for your grade. The rule lists accepted wastewater topics, limits some safety topics, and does not accept regular safety meetings or general management courses. One CEU equals 10 CEH.
Keep proof of attendance for at least three years after the certificate expires. A late renewal must reach ADEM within 180 days of expiration with a late fee, and you may not work as a certified operator until the new certificate is issued.
Exam day
All of Alabama's certification exams are standardized national exams given on computer at PSI test centers.
Questions are multiple choice (A to D), shown one at a time. You can skip or bookmark questions and come back, and you can take an unscored practice exam on the computer before the timed exam starts.
You pass with a score of 70 or higher, and you are told at the test center whether you passed.
PSI gives you pencils and ABC's standard formula sheet at check-in, plus one sheet of scratch paper at a time.
You may bring a silent, non-programmable calculator without letter keys or printing. Scientific calculators such as the TI-30X IIS are allowed; graphing calculators are not.
If you fail, submit a new exam request in OpCert Online to retake it. After a second failure, you must earn 8 CEH in the exam's field (wastewater for a wastewater exam) after your last attempt before you can apply a third time.
ADEM lists exam-prep providers familiar with Alabama's exams on its Exam Resources page, but it does not endorse or formally approve exam trainers.
Operator Master has free practice questions with an explanation after every answer, a timed full-length practice exam and step-by-step math help built on the WPI formula table. It is an independent study tool, not the official exam.
Pay
The median pay for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Alabama was $51,870 a year ($24.94 an hour) in 2025, compared with $60,020 nationally. One in ten earned $35,100 or less, and one in ten earned $79,950 or more.
These federal figures cover drinking water and wastewater operators together, at every grade. Pay for a new operator is usually nearer the low end.
Moving up
Every grade also needs a high school diploma or GED and a passing exam score of 70 or higher. ADEM-approved training can replace up to 6 months of experience for Grade I and Grade I (C), 9 months for Grade II and 12 months for Grades III and IV. ADEM's Exam Resources page says experience must be at a facility of the same or higher grade and classification, so ask ADEM how combined experience counts for you.
From another state
ADEM may issue a certificate in a comparable classification if you hold a current certificate earned by examination in another state, that state's requirements are comparable to or higher than Alabama's, and that state reciprocates with ADEM.
You apply with a copy of your current certificate, a nonrefundable fee and any other documents ADEM asks for. ADEM verifies the information with the agency that issued your certificate.