Our Virtual Operator Conference is Back!

Register for the 2027 Virtual Operator Conference, a free, three-day online training for drinking water operators. The conference will take place February 2-4, 2027 from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM Central Time each day​. ​Attendees can earn up to 12 hours of CEU credit.

The conference is designed for operators of small and rural systems who may not have the time or budget to travel for training. Every session is taught by a technical assistance provider from the RCAP network: people who work alongside operators every day. 

Current CEU approval information is available on the event registration page.

Each day of the conference has its own focus:

Tuesday, Feb 2: Foundations. 

The Safe Drinking Water Act, chemistry for operators, and two sessions of water math.

Wednesday, Feb 3: Distribution and assets. 

Chlorine residuals and coliform sampling, pumps and motors, asset management, and hydrant assessments.

Thursday, Feb 4: Source water and preparedness. 

Groundwater, PFAS, emergency response planning, and using data and GIS during emergencies.

Registration for VirCon 2026 is Open!

Our team at WaterOperator.org is excited to announce next year's Virtual Operator Conference! Over three days (February 3-5, 2026) participants can earn up to 12 continuing education hours applicable to their drinking water operator license renewal. We are seeking approval in all relevant operator certification jurisdictions, with the most current updates listed on the event registration page.

This free, virtual training conference offers drinking water operators a chance to learn more about timely topics, improve fundamental skills, and get support for specific challenges while earning up to 12 hours of CEU credit. Below is a list of each course that will be offered to participants of VirCon 2026:

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

• The History of Water Regulations
• Small System Water Treatment
• Fundamentals of Drinking Water Distribution
• Disinfection Byproducts

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

• Asset Management Plans
• Asset Management Framework: Five Core Questions
• Asset Management that Water Operators Use
• Hydrant Assessments for Asset Management

Thursday, February 5, 2026

• GIS and Water System Maintenance
• Digital Transformation for Operations & Maintenance Task using GIS
• Corrosion Control and Cathodic Protection
• Drones

How to Find Free Webinars on WaterOperator.org

Our staff at WaterOperator.org work hard to make sure operators can easily find all potential training opportunities for their water or wastewater operator certification using our national training calendar. This calendar currently links to over 11,000 events each year, all of which are pre-approved for operator continuing education credits and many which are free. Whether it’s a training hosted by your primacy agency, the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, a subsection of the American Water Works Association, or another local training provider, we strive to list them all.

Given the increased demand for virtual training opportunities, we’ve recently created a tutorial to help you optimize your search for live, online training. We hope that this video will help you to more easily meet the training requirements under your certification.

Please note, that these opportunities all have a time and date associated with their registration. We do not list on-demand training in our calendar. If you require assistance searching for pre-approved, on-demand training opportunities, please email us at info@wateroperator.org.