Scaling UP! H2O
by scalinguph2o.com
The podcast where we scale up on knowledge so we don't scale up our systems.Find out why working in Industrial Water Treatment is the best job in the world.Hear industry experts share their knowledge and stories.Learn about technologies, methods, and career journeys.Join podcast host Trace Blackmore, former AWT President, LEED, and CWT every Friday for a new episode.
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Episodes
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506 The Blueprint of Water: Understanding the Why with Connor Hanrahan, Part 2
Water treatment expertise matters most when a convincing answer conflicts with field conditions. Connor Hanrahan, Technical Director of Industrial Water Engineering and author of The Blueprint of Water, returns with Trace Blackmore, CWT, to examine how AI, technical writing, and accountability...
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505 The Blueprint of Water: Understanding the Why with Connor Hanrahan, Part 1
Why does water behave the way it does, and how do you explain that clearly to someone else? Connor Hanrahan, Technical Director of Industrial Water Engineering and author of The Blueprint of Water, joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to connect technical understanding with teaching, professional...
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504 Intelligent Water Management: Catching Leaks Before the Next Bill with David Benaiges
Intelligent water management starts with a question a utility bill cannot answer: what is happening inside the building right now? David Benaiges, Vice President of Intelligent Water Solutions at Watts Water Technologies, joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to explain how flow, leak, temperature, and...
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503 Pinks and Blues: Beyond Industrial Water Week 2026
Industrial Water Week 2026 has ended, and Trace Blackmore, CWT, challenges listeners to carry its focus on learning and mentorship into the rest of the year. This Pinks and Blues episode combines reflections on IWW26 and the AWT convention with listener questions about AI and professional...
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502 Industrial Water Week 2026: Careers Friday
Experienced water treaters carry knowledge that the next generation needs. For Careers Friday, Trace Blackmore, CWT asks them to pass it on. The Industrial Water Week 2026 finale connects industrial water treatment careers with mentorship, practical training, and curiosity. Pass on the reasoning...
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501 Industrial Water Week 2026: Wastewater Thursday
A wastewater inspection appeared to expose a failed treatment program—until Trace checked where the sample had been collected. For Industrial Water Week 2026: Wastewater Thursday, Trace Blackmore, CWT, connects correct sampling, water reuse, and careful troubleshooting with the decisions water...
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500 Industrial Water Week 2026: Cooling Wednesday
Cooling Wednesday brings a practical reminder: correcting a treatment problem requires understanding what caused it. For Industrial Water Week 2026, Trace Blackmore, CWT, celebrates Episode 500 with lessons on cooling tower foam, biocide feed verification, Legionella risk, and unexplained chilled...
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499 Industrial Water Week 2026: Boiler Tuesday
Boiler Tuesday is a reminder that industrial water treatment exists to protect heat transfer efficiency. For day two of Industrial Water Week 2026, Trace Blackmore, CWT, connects feedwater preparation, condensate quality, and treatment distribution to the everyday decisions that keep steam…
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498 Industrial Water Week 2026: Pretreatment Monday
Industrial Water Week is here—and Day 1 is Pretreatment Monday. In Episode 498, Trace Blackmore, CWT, opens the 2026 celebration with troubleshooting stories, returning guest greetings, and a new Detective H2O case that brings pretreatment performance into focus. Celebrate with purpose Take a…
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497 Pinks & Blues: From Sample to Solution
A controller and a handheld meter give you different readings. Before you adjust blowdown or chemical feed, how do you determine which result deserves your confidence? Reliable water treatment testing starts with understanding the sample, the system, and the equipment behind the number. In…
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496 Growing Through Change in Water Treatment with Mark Lewis, Part 2
When a water treater can run a test but cannot yet diagnose a failing system, the next training decision matters. In Growing Through Change with Mark Lewis, Part 2, Mark Lewis of CRB Water joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to connect training choices with work in the field. Match Training to Experience...
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495 Growing Through Change in Water Treatment with Mark Lewis, Part 1
Change is unavoidable, but uncertainty does not have to control how water treatment professionals respond to it. Mark Lewis returns to share what he learned when Southeastern Laboratories was acquired by CRB Water—and how employees can remain valuable, informed, and open to opportunity during a...
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494 Preparing for AWT 2026: Leadership, Change, and CWT Growth with Matt Coffindaffer, Part 2
A strong convention outcome starts before the first session and continues long after the exhibit hall closes. Association of Water Technologies Executive Director Matt Coffindaffer explains how deliberate preparation, wider professional relationships, and volunteer service can turn AWT 2026 into...
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493 Preparing for AWT 2026: Leadership, Change, and CWT Growth with Matt Coffindaffer, Part 1
Strong professional associations do more than provide programs and credentials. They create an environment where members can exchange knowledge, build trusted relationships, and prepare their businesses for what comes next. As the Association of Water Technologies enters a new operational…
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491 Environmental Microbiology and Legionella: Managing Building Water Risks with Dr. Rajiv Sahay
Reliable Legionella results begin long before a sample reaches the laboratory. Dr. Rajiv Sahay of Sahay Scientific Services explains how building conditions, field collection practices, and laboratory methods influence the quality—and usefulness—of the data water professionals receive. Building...
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490 From Plans to Prevention: Water Management Insights with Dr. Abe Cullom
A water management plan protects people only when the facility uses it to guide decisions. Dr. Abe Cullom, Director of Water Safety & Management at Pace Analytical, joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to examine why Legionella programs break down—and how testing, communication, and consistent...
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489 Copper-Silver Ionization Technology and Legionella Control with Tory Schira
Copper-silver ionization offers building operators a persistent approach to Legionella control—one designed to carry an active disinfectant residual throughout complex plumbing infrastructure. LiquiTech CEO Tory Schira explains how the technology works, what operating data matters, and why...
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488 Managing Legionella with confidence: A Conversation with Patsy Root
"Our goal is not zero Legionella pneumophila bacteria. Our goal is zero cases." – Patsy Root Legionella risk becomes harder to manage when building teams treat every detection as equivalent—or collect samples without first deciding what a positive result will trigger. Patsy Root, Senior Manager…
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487 The 60‑Minute CFO: Tracy Bech on Making Business Finance Less Scary
"Our gross profit margin is truly the battle we have to win in order to win all of the downstream wars." - Tracy Bech Financial statements become useful when leaders can translate the numbers into decisions. Tracy Bech, founder and author of 60 Minute CFO, explains how business owners, managers,...
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486 Meter Optimization: Air in the water with Anthony Giudice
Water meters register the volume passing through them, but what happens when that volume contains both water and entrained air? Anthony Giudice, president of AquaFlow, explains how turbulent flow can influence meter readings and how AquaFlow's calibrated valve is designed to help meters reflect...
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485 Questions from the Nation Around the World with Trace Blackmore, CWT
Ten questions from water professionals around the world become a practical decision-making session with Trace Blackmore, CWT. Drawing on earlier Scaling UP! H2O conversations, Trace explains how to evaluate treatment changes, use emerging tools responsibly, begin water reuse projects, strengthen...
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484 Risk, Resilience, and Water Security with Dr. Newsha Ajami
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,...
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483 From Process Engineer to Process Architect: Alicia Butler‑Pierre on Making Work Flow
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,...
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482 Preserving Our Industry's Story – Paul Petersen and the Industrial Water Exhibit
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,...
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481 From Waterfalls to SOPs: Building Better Utilities with Kalpna Solanki
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...
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480 From Engineering Numbers to People, Power, and Policy with Sherine El‑Wattar
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…
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479 Water Treatment: The Next Generation - Hustle Culture Meets Emotional Literacy with Tiffany Wentz‑Root
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...
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478 Rethinking Power Plant Water and Steam Chemistry with Brad Buecker (Part 2)
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…
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477 Rethinking Power Plant Water and Steam Chemistry with Brad Buecker (Part 1)
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 to...
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476 Positive Communication, Temperaments, and the WOW Effect with Paule Genest
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...
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475 Inside the Boiler: Inspection, Failure Analysis, and Photography with Cheryl Heiser
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...
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474 Questions from the Scaling UP! Nation about Trace
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…
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473 From Oil to Water: How the Water Midstream Sector Was Born with John Durand
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,...
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472 Finding and Fixing the Invisible: Chris MacDonald on Pressure Pipe Inspection and Rehab
"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…
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471 Biofilms, Biocides, and TTPC: A Deep Dive with Dr. Jeff Kramer
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...
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470 Wastewater Enthusiast: Training the Next Generation Online
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…
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469 ABMA: The Oldest Association Meets Today's Challenges
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...
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468 Born into Water Treatment: Tom Brandvold on AWT's Origin Story and a Life in the Industry
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...
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467 From PhD to Pump Rooms: Jake Elliott on Wastewater, Efficiency, and Saying "Yes" Wisely
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...
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466 Stories, Math, and "Never Again" Moments: Inside AWT Technical Training with Dan Merritt (Part 2)
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...
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465 From Classroom to Cooling Towers: Teaching Water Treatment with Dan Merritt (Part 1)
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...
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464 Corrosion Coupons, Brand Building, and Having Fun at Trade Shows with Will Ritter
"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...
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463 Mapping the Future of Water Innovation with Paul O'Callaghan
"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...
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462 From Lab Chemist to Field Mentor: Water, Culture, and Representation
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....
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461 Corrosion, Lead, and Algae: New Tools for Old Water Problems
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…
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460 Building Boiler Talent: Fundamentals, Online Training, and Better Partnerships with Eric Johnson
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...
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459 From Wastewater to Resource: Water Reuse with Dr. Veronika Zhiteneva
Industrial water professionals are increasingly pulled into conversations about scarcity, resilience, and "where the next gallon comes from." Dr. Veronika Zhiteneva, CEO and Co-founder of Waterloop Solutions frames water reuse as an implementation challenge more than a technology gap—and explains...
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458 Hiring Olympics and High-Performance Culture with J.D. Roth
"Stay curious. And you only have one reputation. Guard it with your life." Hiring for judgment, not just rehearsed confidence Industrial water treatment is full of decisions made with incomplete data—on sites, with customers, and inside the business. JD Roth (Managing Director and Co-owner of...
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457 2026: A New Year with New Intentions
Trace Blackmore opens 2026 with a practical reset: how to plan with urgency, sharpen the fundamentals that make troubleshooting easier, and use the tools around this podcast to keep your development moving all year. The 12-Week Year: urgency you can use Annual goals often feel "far away" until...
About this show
The podcast where we scale up on knowledge so we don't scale up our systems.Find out why working in Industrial Water Treatment is the best job in the world.Hear industry experts share their knowledge and stories.Learn about technologies, methods, and career journeys.Join podcast host Trace Blackmore, former AWT President, LEED, and CWT every Friday for a new episode.
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scalinguph2o.com