For:
Service techs
Sales Reps
System Designers
Dealers
Course Format:
Live-Online
This 23-week course is WQA’s Introductory Instructor-led course on POU/POE Water Treatment and is required for the CWS/CWR/CST/CTD certification titles. It walks the learner through identifying aesthetic problems, onsite testing, interpreting water analyses for aesthetic contaminants, and drinking water regulations.
Instructor-Led Training
Ready to sign up?
23-week course
2 hours/week (includes time for homework)
Offered at two different times for East Coast/West Coast convenience
Winter Classes
Jan 20, 2026
Tuesdays
8–9am ET/5-6am PT
Thursdays
12-1pm ET/9-10am PT
This course addresses the following:
- Identifying potential contaminants in a water sample based on the characteristics of the water source, known contaminants of concern in the area, and aesthetic symptoms
- Interpreting lab test results for regulated contaminants
- Determining which water tests are needed both on-site and by certified laboratories
- Accurately performing appropriate water tests on-site and collecting water samples for laboratory analyses
- Correctly interpreting the results of water tests
- Explaining the benefits of certified products and which standards are needed for which treatment claims
- Explaining the marketing guidelines in the WQA Code of Ethics for the Water Quality Improvement Industry
- Collecting all relevant data needed to size treatment technologies, including information on:
- Premise plumbing
- Space limitations
- Drainage considerations
- Customer water usage patterns
- Determining and applying treatment technologies to address identified aesthetic contaminants and customer concerns while adhering to local code requirements for materials, product certification, and waste management
- Accurately explaining the need for treatment, treatment options, and maintenance requirements to the customer while adhering to the guidelines in the WQA Code of Ethics and following local consumer protection laws and regulations in all sales transactions.
- Recognizing the limitations of personal expertise and appropriately seeking assistance from more knowledgeable personnel.
Peter Cartwright, MWS, PE
Peter Cartwright, MWS, PE, entered the water purification and wastewater treatment industry in 1974 and has had his own consulting engineering firm since 1980. He has a degree in Chemical Engineering and is a registered Professional Engineer in Minnesota.
Peter has authored over 300 articles, written several book chapters, presented more than 300 lectures around the world and holds several patents in the water/wastewater industry. He served as the Technical Consultant to the Canadian Water Quality Association from 2007 to 2018.
Peter is a recipient of the Award of Merit, Lifetime Member Award and Hall of Fame Award from the Water Quality Association.
Paul Friot, MWS, CI, CWR
Paul Friot, MWS, CI, CWR, has 45 years of experience in water treatment as an independent dealer in Massachusetts.
He is a WQA Master Water Specialist, Certified Installer, Certified Water-Treatment Representative, and holds a U.S. patent for an arsenic removal process.
He recently started a new business, Get Water Answers, which provides consumers and water treatment dealers with help understanding water test results or water problems they find challenging.
- Hardness test kit (not strips)
- TDS meter
- pH meter or pH test kit (not strips)
- Chlorine test kit (not strips)
- Iron test kit
- A copy of a drinking water analysis from a certified lab
Offered at two different times for East Coast/West Coast convenience
Winter
Start Date: Jan 20, 2026 OR Jan 23, 2026 | 23-week course
Tuesdays 8-9 am ET/5-6 am PT OR Thursdays 12-1 pm ET/9-10 am PT
Spring
Start Date: May 19, 2026 OR May 20, 2026 | 23-week course
Tuesdays 11 am-12 pm ET/8 -9 am PT OR Wednesdays 8-9 am ET/5-6 am PT
Certification Pathways
Make Professional Certification your goal!
This course is in four different certification training pathways:
