Median Pay by Area
- New Orleans-Metairie
- $49,930 a year
- Baton Rouge
- $47,290 a year
- Lake Charles
- $47,270 a year
- Lafayette
- $45,080 a year
- Shreveport-Bossier City
- $37,120 a year
Louisiana wastewater operators
The steps from no certificate to a Louisiana Class 1 wastewater treatment or wastewater collection certificate, how to earn the points, register for and pass the exam, keep your certificate active and what operators earn. Every requirement links to the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) Operator Certification Program, its rule (LAC 48:V, Chapter 73) or the state law behind it.
LDH makes the final eligibility determination. Check with LDH before you apply.
Why it matters
Louisiana law makes it unlawful to run a water supply or sewerage system unless the operator is certified by the state health officer, and unlawful for anyone to do an operator's duties without being certified.
An operator is the person on site at a water supply or sewerage system whose performance, judgment and direction affect the safety, sanitary quality or quantity of the water or sewage treated or delivered.
The operator of any community sewerage system must hold current certificates in the required categories, at or above the level of the system. When not on site, the operator must be able to get there within one hour of being called. Systems that run multiple shifts need at least one certified operator on each shift.
Certificates are issued by the state health officer on the recommendation of the Committee of Certification, created by Act 538 of 1972, and the program is run by LDH's Office of Public Health. You must work for, or be seeking work with, a water or wastewater utility.
Louisiana has two wastewater categories. Wastewater treatment certificates cover facilities that treat wastewater and handle the sludge removed from it. Wastewater collection certificates cover every part of a sewerage system except the treatment plant. Water production, water distribution and water treatment are separate categories.
Each category has Class 1 to Class 4, set by the population the system serves: Class 1 under 1,000, Class 2 from 1,001 to 5,000, Class 3 from 5,001 to 25,000 and Class 4 over 25,000.
There is also an Operator-in-Training certificate for new hires who do not yet qualify, and a provisional certificate for people who pass an exam before meeting the education and experience requirement. Neither lets you serve as a system's operator.
Step 1
Every class, including Operator-in-Training, needs a high school diploma or GED. On top of that, LDH counts education and experience as points: Class 1 needs 1 point.
One year of work in the water or wastewater field earns the 1 point. So do 9 months of work plus 8 college credit hours, or 9 months plus 100 hours of water or wastewater training classes.
Experience must be in actual water or sewerage system operation, in the field of the certificate you want. Purely clerical work does not count. Narrow technical jobs, such as laboratory technician or meter reader, may get partial credit.
Step 2
If you are newly hired and have never been certified (or not for more than two years), you can apply for a wastewater Operator-in-Training certificate. LDH then keeps a record of the training, education and experience you build up.
An Operator-in-Training certificate lasts 24 months and can be renewed. You cannot be designated as the operator of a system while you hold only this certificate.
Step 3
New operators must use LDH's paper Operator Certification Exam Application. Online exam registration is only for existing operators. Send the paper form by email to opcert@la.gov, by fax or by mail.
Your application must reach LDH at least 30 days before the exam date. Describe each water or wastewater job in detail, and send copies of your diplomas and transcripts to get education points.
LDH charges no fee to process an application. Applications are processed after registration closes, and LDH does not send individual confirmations.
Under Act 486 (effective August 1, 2022), a criminal conviction cannot be the only reason for denial. If you have a conviction, you can ask LDH for a pre-application eligibility determination.
Step 4
LDH has two kinds of exam sessions. An open exam needs no course. A closed exam requires you to complete a 32-hour exam prep course first. LDH's 2026 schedule lists nine exam dates around the state, three of them open.
The course must match the class you test for: a Class 1–2 course counts toward your training hours but does not let you take a Class 3–4 exam.
Step 5
LDH publishes a Need to Know list for each category and class. Wastewater Treatment Class 1 covers sewage characteristics, safety, ponds, activated sludge and biofiltration, disinfection, sludge handling, basic control tests (pH, DO, MLSS and chlorine residual), pumps, aeration, grit removal and basic math.
Wastewater Collection Class 1 covers sewage sources and safety, collection system hydraulics, pumps and lift stations, cross connections, maintenance, pipe materials, safe underground repair and simple math.
LDH also posts an Exam Math Sheet with conversions and area, volume, flow, detention time, dose and chlorine formulas.
Step 6
LDH posts exam authorization letters on its program page about a week before each exam. Print yours: you will not be let in without the printed letter, and digital copies are not accepted.
Each exam costs $5, paid at the exam site after you finish, by credit card, check, money order or cash.
Results are mailed to your address on record, and LDH posts a list of who passed each exam. A passing score is valid for two years.
Step 7
Passing the exam does not make you certified. Once you have passed and have the education and experience, apply and pay online or mail LDH's paper certificate application.
Your first wastewater certificate is $20 and each additional wastewater certificate is $10, so treatment and collection together are $30. Make checks payable to the Committee of Certification.
Complete and return LDH's Certification Law and Rules Examination before your certificate is issued.
If you pass but do not yet have the points, LDH tells you what you still need, and you can get a provisional certificate for the classes you passed.
Display your certificate prominently at the facility and carry your operator ID card while on duty.
Step 8
Certificates renew every two years. LDH runs two cycles by last name: A–J for 2026–2027 and K–Z for 2025–2026. All hours must be earned during your active cycle.
Wastewater operators need at least 16 contact hours of approved training each cycle, whether they hold one or both wastewater certificates. Courses must be approved by the Operator Certification Program.
You are responsible for getting your hours to LDH. LDH does not get hours automatically from online providers; send them to opcert@la.gov. The annual State Ethics Commission course is approved for credit.
Renewal fees are the same as the first certificate fees, paid every two years. LDH mails an invoice once you meet the hours. Paying more than 30 days late adds 10%, and more than 90 days late adds a charge equal to the renewal fee.
If your certificate has been expired for more than two years, you must reapply, pass the exam again and meet the education and experience requirement.
Exam day
Louisiana writes its own exams. Only exams prepared under LDH's program administrator and the Committee of Certification count, and the committee or its appointees validate every question. Exams are given in English.
You pass with 70% or higher. After a failed attempt, wait at least 90 days before retaking the same category and class. After three failed attempts at the same exam, you must complete a 40-hour training course before testing again.
Exams must be passed in order from Class 1 to Class 4 in each category, and you cannot take an exam more than one class above what you currently qualify for.
LDH grades the exams and keeps them for two years. They are not returned, but you can ask in writing to review yours at the program office in Baton Rouge within 30 days of receiving your result.
Louisiana's exams are prepared under LDH's Operator Certification Program and its Committee of Certification, and LDH publishes its own Need to Know lists and Exam Math Sheet. Operator Master's free practice questions, timed practice exam and math help are built on the WPI exam format and the WPI formula table, so they cover general wastewater knowledge and math, not Louisiana's exam questions, format or math sheet. Use LDH's Need to Know lists and Exam Math Sheet as your main guide. Operator Master is an independent study tool, not the official exam.
Pay
The median pay for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Louisiana was $46,210 a year ($22.22 an hour) in 2025, compared with $60,020 nationally. One in ten earned $31,440 or less, and one in ten earned $63,870 or more.
These federal figures cover drinking water and wastewater operators together, at every class. Pay for a new operator is usually nearer the low end.
Moving up
Every class also needs a high school diploma or GED. Each year of operator experience is 1 point, related experience 0.5 and supervisory experience 1.5. A year of college (30 semester hours) is 1 point, each college credit hour 0.033 and each hour of approved training 0.0025. Class 1 and 2 points can come from experience alone, with up to 25% from education; no more than 75% of the Class 3 or 4 points can come from education or experience alone. You take the exams in order, Class 1 to Class 4, and never more than one class above the one you qualify for.
From another state
The Committee of Certification may, at its discretion, certify operators who hold a comparable certificate from another state without an exam, if that certificate was earned by passing an exam at least equivalent to Louisiana's. State law also requires that the other state grant the same privilege to Louisiana operators.
A reciprocal certificate is not usually issued unless you work, or have accepted a job, at a Louisiana water or wastewater facility.
Email LDH's reciprocity application to opcert@la.gov (Attention: Reciprocity) and have your current state's certification officer return the Certification Verification form directly to LDH. If you qualify, LDH asks you to apply for the approved certificates and pay the fees.