Colorado Soil and Site Evaluation Course

This course is designed to meet the requirements of the Section 43.5.I.2.b of Regulation #43 for a Competent Technician.  Passing the course examination will demonstrate competency in the visual and tactile evaluation of soil.  Certificates of Competency will be provided to participants that pass this exam. The CPOW Soils Course is a prerequisite for the CPOW OWTS Design Course.

Below is the description of the course as it has been presented in the past. Changes to the schedule for our upcoming 2026 courses are likely.

Day one of the course is primarily classroom instruction on the items noted below, along with a “hands-on” exercise where participants hand texture pre-determined samples of all soil types.  Day 2 includes a field component, where participants will learn to apply the site evaluation principles learned from day one.

Day One includes:

1. Basic Principles of On-Site Wastewater Treatment (OWTS) siting and design
2. Regulation specific requirements for conducting preliminary and field site investigations with “real world” examples
3. Basic geology and soil formation processes
4. Percolation test methods
5. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) soils classification system
6. Relationship between soil types and movement & treatment of effluent
7. Basics of how to identify limiting layers and high rock content (Type R soils)
8. Hands-on soil texturing

Day Two includes:

1. Preview of field site
2. Site visit and test pit evaluation
3. Re-cap of site visit
4. Review and Q&A
5. Exam

Upon successful completion of the course, you will gain competency in the following activities:

• Principles of OWTS siting and design
• Identification of:
  • soil types by hand texturing and observation
  • Soil structure
  • Limiting layers
• Determining the most promising location for the soil treatment area infiltrative surface

Certificates of Competency will be provided to participants that pass the exam.
The CPOW Soils Course is a prerequisite for the CPOW OWTS Design Course 

Instructors:

• Roy Laws – Retired, Jefferson County Public Health
• Diana Rashash – Arapaho County Public Health

Course Dates:

• July 30-31 , 2026

Course Location:

• Elbert County Road & Bridge Meeting Room
  • 11330 State Highway 86, Kiowa, CO 80117

COURSE PRICING:

CPOW Member 1-day Attendance: $350 / NON-Member 1-Day Attendance: $450
Course Attendance on Thursday, July 30th for 8 CEU hours
Includes one (1) NAWT or CPOW Certificate Renewal
Additional requested Certificate Renewals will be invoiced at $100/ea after the class

CPOW Member 2-day Attendance: $425 / Non-Member 2-day Attendance: $525
Includes one (1) CPOW Soils Certificate
Additional requested Certificate Renewals will be invoiced at $100/ea after the class

PRINTED PRESENTATION SLIDES: $15 option at the time of registration

Registration is now available for the course. Please click HERE to access the Course Registration.
*REGISTRATION FOR THE COURSE WILL CLOSE AT 5:00PM MDT ON MONDAY, JULY 27TH OR
WHEN THE COURSE REACHES CAPACITY, WHICHEVER OCCURS FIRST*

You must have a 2026 CPOW membership to receive member pricing.
2026 Memberships can be purchased/renewed at the time of registration.
Please note that CPOW Memberships are valid until Dec 31 of the calendar year for which they are purchased and need to be
renewed annually to take advantage of Member Pricing on CPOW Courses and Events.

You can also email Lisa Nicoll at cpow@nullcpow.net and include the registrant(s) Name, any applicable Company Name, Mailing Address, and Phone Number.

CPOW EXAM POLICY:

• If the exam is not passed during the first attempt, a second attempt will be allowed, and will be scheduled after the first attempt. If the second attempt does not result in a passing score, or if the rescheduled exam date is missed with no notification, the participant will need to re-take the full course again, but at a discounted rate due to the certification being paid for with the first registration. The registration for the next class will provide for two additional attempts to take the exam to obtain a passing grade. Exam retakes must be scheduled and taken within 90 days of the end of the course before the exam retake option is void.