Operators

Operators are the backbone of the public drinking water system and a critical part of all our water systems, delivering water safely and responsibly to both customers and the environment. We are excited to welcome all operators to ACE26.

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Continue Your Career in Water

Attending ACE is a key investment in your operator career! Explore the exhibit hall, network with experts, and attend educational sessions tailored to your career path. The ACE educational program includes practical sessions focusing on high-priority issues that water operators face on the job. The ACE Exhibit Hall is the top place where operators can explore new products and innovation showcases, right alongside tried-and-true solutions for the water community.

ACE is the perfect place to network with peers and industry leaders from all around the world. The ACE competitions, such as Pipe Tapping, the AWWA Meter Challenge, and Top Ops, are opportunities to showcase your skills or watch and enjoy the camaraderie. All competitions require an AWWA membership, and only teams winning in Sections are eligible to participate.

AWWA offers Certificates of Completion for attending educational sessions. Check back here to see if your state or provincial agency has been approved for ACE26.

AWWA Provides Certificates of Completion

Operators can earn continuing education hours while at ACE! By scanning in and out of educational sessions, all eligible attendees can earn AWWA Certificates of Completion, which can be downloaded from your AWWA account in following the conference.

Be sure to read the important disclaimer and scan in and out of each session you attend to earn AWWA certificates. Final approvals are at the discretion of your licensing agency, and every state/province is different. ACE is an excellent learning opportunity for all our attendees, no matter your water profession. Continue your journey while supporting a brighter future for you and our water resources.

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Calculate or Convert Credit Hours

States and Provinces use all sorts of abbreviations and nomenclature to address continuing education for water sector professionals. The unit will vary for each state, each profession, and every agency. Operators should become familiar with your unique agency, and can see the status of your state here.

Here are some of the most common ways to represent “1 Hour”:

ONE HOUR =
1 PDH	Professional Development Hour	0.1 TU	Training Unit
0.1 CEU	Continuing Education Unit	1 TCH	Training Contact Hour
1 CEH	Continuing Education Hour	1 TC	Training Credit
1 CEC	Continuing Education Credit	1 TH	Training Hour

Make the Case to Attend ACE

ACE enables operators to sit in on professional development sessions, educational sessions, workshops, and more. AWWA provides a thorough justification toolkit for operators who wish to attend ACE to help you plan and budget for your trip to the conference. Our toolkit will guide you through selecting workshops, exhibitors, and other programming you would like to attend and how to justify the expenses to your employer or manager.

Download Toolkit

What Attendees Are Saying

“This was my first ACE, and I am happy that I could experience it. I learned through the educational sessions. I was able to network with people to build working relationships that will help me in the future. The ideas and information gathered from vendors in the expo will help me to make future operation decisions.”

“Attending the conference with a scholarship was a dream come true for me.”

“ACE24 was great, there was a plethora of information, and there are so many vendors with different products, you are sure to discover something that you never knew you needed. Great times.”