Other-Than-Municipal (OTM) and Nontransient Noncommunity (NTNC) small public water systems are now required to have a designated certified operator managing their system. Small public water systems must have their own certified operator or contracted certified operator by March 1, 2005.
The Department of Natural Resources maintains a list of businesses that provide contract certified operator services for small public water systems. Contract operators serve as the certified "operator in charge" for the water systems that hire them. Contract operators must be on-call to assist the system as needed. An "operator in charge" is the person designated by the system owner to be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the system, provide detailed technical direction of the operation of the system, and he or she must know the rules and regulations that govern water systems. Wisconsin Administrative Code, chapter NR 114 includes the certification requirements for water system operators.
The operator-in-charge and system owner can delegate water system operation activities to other personnel (i.e., sample collection). In effect, one does not need to be certified to collect water samples. However, the certified operator-in-charge and system owner are ultimately responsible to ensure the delegated activities are done on time and done correctly.
The Official Internet site for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources