In 1972, water and wastewater industry leaders began conversations that developed the groundwork for an association to foster operator certification throughout North America and reduce the diversity among certification programs. From those early discussions, WPI was born. Today, our Association includes almost 100 certifying authorities, representing more than 40 states, 10 Canadian provinces and territories, as well as several international and tribal programs. These programs have certified more than 350,000 water and wastewater operators, laboratory analysts, plant maintenance technologists, biosolids land appliers, and backflow prevention assembly testers. Our Vision Public Health and the Environment are Protected through Stewardship of Water Resources. Our Mission Competent Water & Wastewater Professionals in a Supportive Policy Environment Our Organizational Strategies Credentialing WPI believes that competent operators are essential to stewardship of water and wastewater resources and systems. We will: Increase the number of operators pursuing certification Increase the number of certified operators Increase the breadth of validated certifications across relevant water/wastewater disciplines Advocacy WPI is interested in developing and maintaining a competent workforce to support safe and effective water and wastewater systems. We will: Establish WPI PO certification as a partnered component of state/provincial licensure Expand reciprocity of operator licensure across states/provinces Increase public funding for operator workforce development, certification, and training