Who can sit the AWT3 exam?

Currently hold a Grade 3 (or higher) water treatment or wastewater treatment operator certificate in California or Nevada.

AWT3 Advanced Water Treatment Operator Practice Test

Administered by California-Nevada American Water Works Association (CA-NV AWWA) and California Water Environment Association (CWEA) — Advanced Water Treatment Operator (AWTO) program

An AWT3 operator operates, monitors and maintains advanced processes such as membranes and advanced oxidation, and understands how feed water quality drives production and finished water quality.

For operators at advanced treatment facilities — reverse osmosis, advanced oxidation, and the potable reuse plants California is building out.

Start studying AWT3

Official formula sheet

Conversion Aid (listed on the AWTO Apply page) (opens in a new tab)CA-NV AWWA and CWEA AWTO program · A formula aid is also provided at the testing center.

AWT3 eligibility

To sit the AWT3 exam

Currently hold a Grade 3 (or higher) water treatment or wastewater treatment operator certificate in California or Nevada.

AWT3 exam format

Questions and time allowed: not confirmed from a current public source, so no figure is printed here
Pass score: not printed here; see the program's public pages on awtoperator.org

AWT3 sample question

Reverse osmosis: recovery · an original practice item written only from publicly available sources, not a real exam question

A reverse osmosis (RO) train's meters read 2.1 million gallons per day (MGD) of permeate and 0.7 MGD of concentrate. What is its recovery?

25%
33.3%
75%
300%

Answer and working

C. 75%

Feed = permeate + concentrate = 2.1 + 0.7 = 2.8 MGD. Recovery = permeate ÷ feed × 100 = 2.1 ÷ 2.8 × 100 = 75%. 25% is the concentrate share of the feed, 33.3% divides concentrate by permeate, and 300% divides permeate by concentrate; neither of the last two uses the feed.

AWT3 questions answered

Who can sit the AWT3 exam?: Currently hold a Grade 3 (or higher) water treatment or wastewater treatment operator certificate in California or Nevada.
What does the AWT3 level involve?: An AWT3 operator operates, monitors and maintains advanced processes such as membranes and advanced oxidation, and understands how feed water quality drives production and finished water quality.
Who administers the AWT3 certification?: The California-Nevada Section, American Water Works Association (CA-NV AWWA) and California Water Environment Association (CWEA), through the joint AWTO program.

What this exam covers

Membrane Processes (MF/UF/RO)
UV & Advanced Oxidation
Potable Reuse (IPR / DPR)
Process Monitoring & Integrity
Chemistry of Reuse
Regulations (DDW / Title 22)
Operations & Safety
Laboratory

How to study for it here

Practice quizzes — filter to any topic above and work through it with explanations.
Flashcards — spaced repetition over terms, formulas and regulations.
Mock exam — a timed run at this grade.
Official formula sheet — a link to the sheet the certifying body publishes for this exam, where it publishes one, so you study from the real thing.

Free, no account, and progress stays in your browser.

Other grades in this track

AWT Grade 4 · AWT Grade 5 · All Advanced Water Treatment grades

Related exams

Water Treatment · Wastewater Treatment

Sources

Apply Now, AWT Operator Certification (CA-NV AWWA and CWEA) (live page)
FAQ, AWT Operator Certification (CA-NV AWWA and CWEA) (live page)

Topic coverage follows Example AWTO Exam Topics (CA-NV American Water Works Association + California Water Environment Association). Practice questions are written only from publicly available sources (that outline and the regulations and references it cites); they are not real exam questions, which are confidential. Check current application requirements, fees and exam dates on the certifying body's own page: official certification page.

Questions, flashcards, and explanations are AI-written from publicly available sources only: the exam content outlines and candidate materials each certifying body publishes without restriction, and the regulations and technical references they cite. No confidential material is used, including actual exam questions, recollections of any exam sat by the author, or any handbook or document released under a confidentiality agreement. Content is then put through repeated review — regulatory values checked against primary sources, every calculation recomputed, and errors corrected — plus spot checks by the author, who holds California water operator certifications and a California civil engineering licence. Those spot checks are sampling, not a professional review: nothing here is stamped, sealed, or offered as engineering advice, and not every item has been individually verified, so mistakes can still slip through.