Industrial Water Week 2025: Careers Friday brings the celebration back to first principles—mentors, disciplined training, and field diagnostics that go beyond the screen. Trace reflects on the people who invested in his craft, recognizes guest contributors across the week, and issues a practical challenge to invest in one new professional before the day ends.

Foundations that Compound

A candid mentorship story anchors today's episode. Trace recalls how early-career intimidation turned into decades of teaching fundamentals and math at AWT—proof that asking better questions grows better practitioners. Careers Friday becomes a prompt to text the person who built your foundation—and to be that person for someone else.

Fieldcraft Over Flash: A Detective H2O Lesson

The Detective H2O case distills high-value diagnostics for cooling systems: TTPC biocide can mask PTSA and fool controllers into overfeeding inhibitor; missing blowdown lockout during biocide feed wastes product; and stabilized bromine can become over-stabilized in long-HTI systems—driving ORP spikes, corrosion risk, and poor microbial control. Technology is essential, but interpretation is the craft.

Community Voices and a Career Pledge

Careers Friday features greetings from industry professionals and closes with Water You Know, a reminder that water often carries purchased energy (heat, cooling, pressure, flow, pre-treatment) that leaders must account for. The day ends with a clear ask: celebrate your mentors, share your origin story with #IWW25 and #ScalingUpH2O, and pledge to help one newcomer discover industrial water treatment.

Durable careers are built on shared knowledge, thoughtful diagnostics, and intentional mentorship. Use today to do all three.

Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!

Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!

Timestamps

02:20 — Opening: Industrial Water Week recap (Pretreatment, Boiler, Cooling, Wastewater) leading into Careers Friday.

03:15 — Community recognition: Scaling Up Nation "20,000+ members" and daily celebration via #IWW25 and #ScalingUpH2O.

05:20 — Careers Friday actions: take photos with equipment, mentors, or customers; share to celebrate the craft.

05:29 — Team traditions: the Industrial Water Week cake (including the infamous "water cake" anecdote).

09:16 — Mentorship story: meeting Bruce Ketrick Sr. and Jay Farmery; intimidation becomes investment.

13:12 — Writing the Fundamentals program with Mark Lewis to build durable entry-level foundations.

14:18 — Personal note: when Trace's father passed, how Bruce showed up—mentorship beyond the classroom.

16:15 — Careers greetings begin (Lee Bainbrigge, SMS Environmental): be open-minded, keep learning, focus on customer assurance.

18:07 — Episode reference: Lee's prior appearance (Ep. 370) for Legionella perspectives.

18:21 — Careers greeting (Kalpna Solanki): environmental operator roles as purposeful, global, and essential.

21:39 — Detective H2O — The Case of Knowing It All begins.

38:21 — CWT pathway: free prep resource and 100-question practice exam walkthrough .

42:46 — Water You Know with James McDonald

44:38 — Gratitude for James McDonald's ongoing community impact.

45:04 — Careers Friday challenge: thank your mentors; post your origin story with #IWW25 and #ScalingUpH2O.

46:15 — Final pledge: help one person discover industrial water treatment this week.

Connect with Mike Taraszki

Phone: 510.368.4549

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.wsp.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michaeltaraszki/

linkedin.com/company/wsp/

Connect with Kalpna Solanki

Phone: 778.688.9196

Email: [email protected]

Water Environment Federation (WEF)

LinkedIn: in/kalpnasolanki

Connect with Lee Bainbrigge

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://sms-environmental.co.uk/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lbainbrigge/

linkedin.com/company/sms-environmental-ltd/

Connect with James Courtney

Phone: +1 443 878 2407

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.csctech2o.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-courtney-cwt-leed-ap-379a6877/

Connect with Laith Charles

Phone: 941-301-1309

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMuigehZdcquaY14QtGm

Connect with Mark Lewis

Phone: 704.322.5406

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.selaboratories.com/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mark-lewis-01a3b56

Connect with James McDonald

Email: [email protected]

Website: chemaqua.com

Industrialwaterweek.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-mcdonald-pe/

Links Mentioned

AWT (Association of Water Technologies)

Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses

Submit a Show Idea

The Rising Tide Mastermind

Industrial Water Week

Water Cake Recipe

031 The One with Mark Lewis

034 The Other One With Mark Lewis, CWT

062 The One with the Pulsafeeder Guy

112 The One Where Trace Is Interviewed By Mark Lewis

141 The One About Neglected Accounts

149 The One About Some of the Lesser-Used Technologies

224 The One About The Internet Of Things (IoT) Augmented Industrial Water Treatment

355 Backflow Prevention: Safeguarding Water Quality

362 Navigating 97-005: Insights and Impacts on Potable Water

370 Unlocking Legionella Solutions: Perspectives on Regulations and Best Practices

394 Visibility and Value: Enhancing Sustainability in Water Treatment

404 Eight Tips for Business Management: Part 1 – Essential Strategies

406 Eight Tips for Business Management: Part 2 – Essential Strategies

Water You Know with James McDonald

Question: What forms of purchased energy may be present in water?