Scaling UP! H2O

Industrial operations depend on water of a predictable quantity and quality, yet many organizations still treat that reliability as a given. Dr. Newsha Ajami joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to examine water security as a business continuity issue and resilience as the ability to withstand pressure, maintain operations, and recover quickly when systems fail.   Connecting Risk, Resilience, and Recovery...

Industrial water professionals understand flow, pressure, heat exchange, wastewater, boilers, condensers, and process control. Alicia Butler-Pierre brings that same engineering logic into business systems, showing how work, information, decisions, and people move through an organization. Alicia, CEO of Equilibria , joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to connect process engineering, operations management,...

Industrial water treatment has always supported industry, but much of that story remains invisible to the public. Paul Petersen wants to change that by helping establish an industrial water treatment presence at the National Museum of Industrial History in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.    Paul Petersen , former president and CEO of Trident Technologies and current leader of the Industrial Water Task Gr...

Water utility work depends on more than technical knowledge. It depends on clear procedures, current documents, practical training, and performance conversations that reflect what operators actually do in the field.   In Episode 481,   Trace Blackmore, CWT,  welcomes back  Kalpna Solanki ,  President and CEO at  GAMECHANGERS Inc. , for a practical conversation on building stronger utilities throug...

 Industrial water professionals work with chemistry, equipment, permits, and performance targets every day. Yet every gallon also moves through a framework of policy decisions: who can withdraw water, how it may be used, what quality must be returned, and whose needs are considered when systems are designed.   Sherine El-Wattar ,  a science network officer supporting the  IPCC   Working Group II T...

In today's episode of Scaling UP! H2O , host Trace Blackmore sits down with workplace resilience expert and U.S. Marine veteran Tiffany Wentz‑Root to decode how different generations show up in the industrial water treatment industry. From the Silent Generation's post‑war loyalties through Baby Boomers' commitment to long hours, Gen X's distrust of corporate loyalty, Millennials' desire for purpos...

Power plant water and steam chemistry does not fail in isolation. A mistaken unit, an unused analyzer, an overdesigned pretreatment system, or a misunderstood condensate return problem can ripple across equipment, permits, production, and safety. In this Part 2 conversation with Bradley Buecker of SAMCO Technologies and Buecker Associates , Trace Blackmore continues a practical discussion on the d...

Power plant water and steam chemistry is not a background task. It affects safety, reliability, metallurgy, production, and the decisions plant teams make under pressure. In Part 1 of this conversation, Trace Blackmore, CWT, welcomes   Bradley Buecker of SAMCO Technologies and Buecker Associates t o examine what happens when familiar assumptions go unchallenged. Safety Comes First in High-Energy S...

  Communication shapes how teams learn, respond, correct, and build trust. Trace Blackmore, CWT welcomes returning guest   Paule Genest ,  Director, Sales and ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) Water and Energy TGWT / The Tannin Guys for a conversation on positive communication, temperaments, the WOW Effect, and how water professionals can use words with more clarity and care.    Communicati...

A boiler failure can create pressure quickly: production is down, emotions are high, and the water treater may be the first person blamed. Cheryl Heiser of TGWT Clean Technologies Inc . joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to walk through a more disciplined way to evaluate boiler issues by looking beyond chemistry alone.      Why Boiler Failures Need a Broader Lens   Cheryl brings field experience from the...

  Every career in industrial water treatment is shaped by decisions, mentors, credentials, systems, and the willingness to keep learning. In this special mailbag-style episode, Trace Blackmore, CWT, answers questions from the Scaling UP! Nation about how he entered water treatment, why he started the podcast, what professional credentials have meant to him, and what he is still working to improve....

Industrial water professionals often think about water in terms of treatment, compliance, reuse, and operational risk. John Durand brings a different but closely connected view: water as infrastructure, water as a managed resource, and water as a strategic part of energy development.   John Durand , one of the early pioneers of the water midstream sector and CEO of Magnificent Desolation, LLC , jo...

"Document everything." Spring startup season exposes more than operational stress. It also reveals what happened months earlier when systems were laid up poorly, maintenance steps were skipped, or warning signs were documented but not acted on. In this episode, Trace Blackmore connects that reality to a broader infrastructure problem: hidden damage inside pressure piping systems that operators oft...

Biofilm is not a fringe issue in cooling systems. As Dr. Jeff Kramer explains, it is a given. That matters because biofilm affects heat transfer, contributes to corrosion, and can serve as a reservoir for Legionella in treated systems. In this conversation, Trace Blackmore and Dr. Kramer examine what experienced water treaters should be looking for when choosing and evaluating a microbiological co...

  Shawn Powell has built a following by doing something wastewater operators have needed for a long time: making practical technical education easier to access. In Episode 470, he explains why that matters, how he built The Wastewater Enthusiast , and what the industry still gets wrong about training, certification, and knowledge transfer. From test prep to true understanding A major thread in thi...

Boiler performance rarely depends on a single decision. It depends on design, controls, maintenance, workforce capability, and, as this conversation makes clear, the quality of water treatment. Scott Lynch and Shaunica Jayson explain how American Boiler Manufacturers Association (ABMA) is addressing those realities by connecting manufacturers, representatives, suppliers, and field stakeholders aro...

Tom Brandvold, CWT , has lived industrial water treatment from the inside out. In this conversation, he traces that path from sweeping floors and running sample bottles as a kid to leading Premier Water and Energy Technology and serving as a former president of Association of Water Technologies ( AWT ) . The result is not just a career story. It is a useful look at how credibility, collaboration,...

What happens when a water chemist leaves the lab and heads to the pump room?   Dr. Jake Elliott knows firsthand. A former PhD researcher who studied resource recovery from trade‑waste customers, Jake now manages accounts at Hydro flow in Melbourne, working with cooling towers, boilers, chemical dosing rigs and wastewater treatment systems. He joins host Trace Blackmore to discuss how rigorous rese...

AWT's in‑person technical training is a keystone for developing competent water treaters. Yet classroom knowledge only matters when it survives the drive home and emerges later in the field. In this second conversation with Dan Merritt, CWT —National Sales Manager at CH2O Inc. and head of AWT's education committee—Trace Blackmore uncovers how stories, math, and memorable mistakes turn theory into...

Industrial water training only works when the knowledge transfers. That means the material lands with the audience, survives the drive home, and shows up later in the field when decisions get made.   Dan Merritt, CWT , Sales Manager at CH2O , brings a rare perspective to that problem. He started as a teacher (chemistry, calculus, physics), entered industrial water treatment on February 5, 2002, an...

"Don't be afraid to say I don't know. - Will Ritter"   Corrosion is expensive, relentless, and easy to underestimate—until a "lasagna battery" turns aluminum foil green and reminds you what electrochemistry can do in the real world. This conversation reframes corrosion coupons as what they actually are: a repeatable field test that can sharpen your decisions—if you treat the process with consisten...

"If you say something over and over often and enough, it becomes true because perception is reality."  Paul O'Callaghan has built a career at the intersection of water science, wastewater realities, and the practical question every operator and executive eventually faces; what actually moves innovation from idea to adoption.   As Founder and CEO of   BlueTech Research , Paul explains how his team...

Industrial water work rewards people who can move between precision and practicality.  Katie Holliday  brings both. She started as a lab chemist, then transitioned into field service with  Apex Water and Process , where much of her work supports healthcare facilities and high-accountability programs.   Lab habits that protect your tools and your data   Katie describes the first surprise of field w...

Corrosion rarely announces itself as a "big water problem." It shows up as leaching at the tap, residual loss in the field, premature equipment replacement, and the slow, expensive erosion of decision-quality.  Pat Rosenstiel   (CEO) and  Wolf Merker  (chemist/Chief Science Officer) of  Great Water Tech  lay out a system-wide view of corrosion control—starting with what changed in Flint from a tec...

Boilers can feel intimidating the first time you step into a boiler room—the heat, the noise, the pressure gauge, and the weight of knowing that mistakes can be costly. Trace Blackmore opens with a reminder that boilers deserve respect, not fear—and that learning fundamentals is how you replace mystique with clarity.  The talent gap behind the boiler room door Eric Johnson , Founder and CEO of  Bo...