The Grade V exam runs 4 h with 70 items worth 140 points, and passing needs both 70% overall and at least half of the math points.
The certificate for operating a wastewater treatment plant in California, issued through the State Water Resources Control Board's Wastewater Operator Certification Program.
Start studying Grade V| Education | Qualifying experience |
|---|---|
| High school + 48 educational points | 10 years |
| Associate degree or 60 units incl. 15 science units | 6 years |
| Bachelor's or higher incl. 30 science units | 5 years |
| Registered chemical, civil or mechanical engineer | 4 years |
| Item type | Count and points |
|---|---|
| multiple choice | 25 items at 2 points each |
| multiple-choice essay | 29 items at 2 points each |
| math | 16 items at 2 points each |
32% of examinees passed (64 of 201) from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. Source: SWRCB Wastewater Operator Certification Program, Wastewater Treatment Exam Results (updated 8/12/2026). The agency updates these tables every six months.
Reclamation and reuse: deliveries · an original practice item written only from publicly available sources, not a real exam question
A plant produces 8 million gallons per day (MGD) of effluent and delivers 60% of it as recycled water every day of the year. How many acre-feet of recycled water is that per year? (1 acre-foot = 0.3259 million gallons (MG).)
D. 5,380 acre-feet
Recycled flow = 0.60 × 8 MGD = 4.8 MGD. Annual volume = 4.8 × 365 = 1,752 MG, and 1,752 ÷ 0.3259 = 5,376, about 5,380 acre-feet. 1,752 is the answer still in million gallons, 571 multiplies by 0.3259 instead of dividing, and 14.7 is one day's delivery in acre-feet.
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Topic coverage follows WWTP Operator Examination Information (SWRCB Wastewater Operator Certification Program — per-grade documents). 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.