The Montana Water Center advances water research, information, education and problem-solving partnerships for water professionals nationwide. It is one of 54 centers in the nation collectively known as the Water Resources Research Institute.

While the center's computer-based training tools have been developed for water system operators, they can also provide valuable training for water system owners, board members, elected officials and regulatory officials. The training tools may be accessed from their Web site and are also available on CD-ROM. Following is a description of a few of their featured products.

Contamination Explorer
Intended for operators and regulatory officials, this tutorial focuses on biological sources of contamination in public drinking water systems and ways to avoid them. Realistic 3D animation allows the user to fully understand complex microscopic issues relating to system contamination. Released April 2007.

Small Utility Board Training
This tutorial is designed to help water board members and elected officials understand the basic principles of public water system regulation, operation, planning, budgeting and communication through videos, animations and interactive documents. This course contains over three hours of total training time. Released February 2007.

Virtual System Explorer
Virtual System Explorer is an immersive exploration of three small public drinking water systems in DVD format. This tool can be used for continuing education purposes as it is tracked and scored when used on a computer. It also works well for workshops and at-home use on a standard DVD player. Full-screen presentation of video and animation with attention to font sizes makes this tool useful for projected presentations or TV viewing. Users can begin with a narrated two-hour overview of system operations in the "Exploration Basics" course and then progress to a half-hour interactive tour of each system. The tutorial explores operational problems in a ground-water system with no treatment, a ground-water system with treatment and a small surface water treatment system. Each activity lasts about 10 minutes. Released April 2006. 

Operator Basics Training Series
This 2005 multimedia training tool for small public ground water and surface water systems includes the following courses:

• Ground Water Systems (10 hours)
• Surface Water Systems (12 hours) 
• Waste Water Lagoon Systems (8 hours)
• Water Explorations Showcase (1.5 hours)  

Extra features include:

• Math Practice (500 problems)
• Exam Prep (500 questions)
• Resources
• Glossary Games

Microbial Risk Assessment Tool
This user-friendly computational tool helps small water systems assess (by component) their vulnerability to microbial contamination. The project goal is to foster technical and managerial capacity in small water systems drawing from springs, wells, surface waters or any combination of sources. Released July 2005.

Source Water Protection Training Interactive Guide
These guides were produced for Montana, Pennsylvania, and three EPA Region 5 states that include Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. They guides are useful for operator training and for producing protection plans using a template-based approach. The courses vary in duration and complexity, but all provide multimedia training on basic concepts and detailed guidance on source water protection planning. The most recent guide is the Ohio version, which incorporates surface water protection training along with ground water concepts. Released June 2004.

Sanitary Survey Fundamentals Prep Course
The Sanitary Survey Fundamentals Prep Course is targeted toward inspection and evaluation of small water systems for sanitary risks and compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act.  Released September 2003.

TACNet Web Site 
Technical Assistance Center Network (TACNet) is a Web portal for eight EPA grant-funded institutions. From here you can find free resources available to small public water system operations and see training tools from any of the Technical Assistance Centers nationwide. 

Online Lending Library
The Montana Water Center library collection consists of more than 900 books, reference guides, maps, treatises, videos, CD-ROMs, reports and learning guides on numerous water-resource topics.  Anyone with an interest in water issues, water treatment or public drinking water systems may borrow any of these publications. Be sure to read the library policies for information on check-out procedures, loan periods and borrower's responsibilities.

These are just a few of the programs and resources available from the Montana Water Center.  Visit the Montana Water Center home page for additional products and training projects in development.