Scaling UP! H2O

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?

Wastewater isn't an endpoint—it's a decision point. On Wastewater Thursday, host Trace Blackmore, CWT sharpens the operator's toolkit with field-tested lessons: dose by mechanism, verify by sampling discipline, and use wastewater's fast feedback to protect quality, cost, and permits.

Sampling discipline protects credibility

Trace recounts an early-career moment when an inspector sampled the wrong location, triggering alarms. Immediate, methodical resampling—guided by logs and a clear process map—proved the system was in spec. The leadership takeaway: embed verification before escalation. Clear sampling points, time-stamped logs, and a rapid "reproduce the reading" drill turn uncertainty into clarity.

Mechanism over myth: coagulant control

In a new Detective H2O case, James McDonald explains why overfeeding coagulant collapses floc. When particles swing past neutral, like charges repel again and settling stalls. The fix is not "more chemistry," but right-sizing dose to production and confirming with jar tests at the correct take-off point.

From discharge to resource

Greetings from past guests reinforce the shift under way. Arnaud Valleteau de Moulliac (Veolia Water Technology) frames wastewater as a local, decarbonized resource—with energy-positive plants and reuse as standard practice. Steve Russell (Kiewit) notes supply pressure will push even deeper recycling. Mark Lewis, CWT (Southeastern Laboratories) underscores wastewater's advantage: "If you treat it, you see it."

Make wastewater a reliable, fast-feedback control loop—rooted in charge balance, sampling rigor, and reuse thinking.

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

Timestamps:

02:17 — Welcome to Wastewater Thursday and the IWW25 theme: "From foundations to futures."

03:03 — Why wastewater is "the restart": cleaning for reuse and sustainability.

04:24 — "Every drop counts from influent to effluent" — defining the professional mandate.

05:12 — Field story setup: jar testing with Trace's father; early lessons.

06:05 — Crisis call: bad regulatory number traced to wrong sampling location.

08:54 — Guest greeting: Arnaud Valleteau de Moulliac (Veolia) on energy-positive, reuse-driven futures.

10:25 — Guest greeting: Steve Russell (Kiewit) on permits, mass balances, and supply-driven recycling.

12:09 — Guest greeting: Mark Lewis, CWT (Southeastern Laboratories) on jar tests and product selection.

14:40 — Detective H2O: The case of too much of a good thing

20:17 — Mechanism lesson: charge neutralization window; like-charge repulsion returns when overdosed.

21:36 — Action: reduce dose; account for residence time; restore performance.

24:29 — IWW25 community prompt: post a safety-approved photo with wastewater equipment; use tags.

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 Steve Russell

Phone: 913.689.4533

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.kiewit.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-russell-2b0a7960/

Connect with Arnaud Valleteau de Moulliac

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.veoliawatertechnologies.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/arnaud-valleteau-de-moulliac-9b85353a/

www.linkedin.com/company/veolia-water-technologies/

Links Mentioned

AWT (Association of Water Technologies)

Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses

Submit a Show Idea

The Rising Tide Mastermind

031 The One with Mark Lewis

034 The Other One With Mark Lewis, CWT

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

382 Leading with Safety: How Veolia Embeds Health into Global Culture

396 Navigating Carbon Capture: Water Demands and Wastewater Solutions with Steve Russell

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

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

Cooling Wednesday is about performance, protection, and proof. Trace Blackmore invites the Nation to get hands-on with cooling equipment and share field photos while offering a practical reminder: learn to navigate the chiller's user interface—because it's your fastest route to actionable diagnostics, documentation, and energy impact.

Reading the Chiller UI—From Intimidation to Insight

Modern microprocessor interfaces reveal real-time and historical data that matter to heat transfer: temperatures, loading, and power trends. If you've avoided the panel out of fear of "shutting something down," ask a chiller tech to walk you through the specific unit on site. Once comfortable, log key parameters on every visit and use the trend history to spot changes before they become outages.

Proving Value with Clean Heat Transfer and Measured Energy

For new or troubled accounts, record energy use during dirty conditions, then maintain the same measurements as the system is cleaned and stabilized. Month-over-month comparisons at similar loads become hard proof that treatment quality translates to lower operating costs—and that contract value aligns with measurable savings.

Cooling Wisdom from the Field

Guest greetings highlight real-world lessons: avoid shipping sample bottles in flimsy packaging (they're heavier full than empty), respect the complexity of cooling treatment by breaking it into critical actions, and remember that underfeeding biocides invites biofilm—and problems like foaming—while proper dosing and verification (e.g., dip slides) restores stability.

Celebrate—and Document

Share your favorite cooling tower or chiller photo with #IWW25 and #ScalingUPH2O. Then, turn celebration into discipline: capture UI data, maintain trend logs, and use the numbers to defend decisions, budgets, and results.

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

Timestamps

02:01 — Kicking off Cooling Wednesday and the #IWW25 photo invite (show your cooling towers/chillers). Why it matters: community learning and pride in craft.

03:22 — Why cooling matters: performance, protection, livability. Why it matters: framing the operational stakes of heat transfer.

03:46 — Willis Carrier's 1902 humidity control origin story. Why it matters: cooling began as a manufacturing quality solution.

09:54 — Guest greeting: Juan Menezes (Nalco Water, an Ecolab company) on a low-pH excursion and recovery. Why it matters: pH control and response discipline.

11:13 — Guest greeting: Michael Lowenstein (QLabs) PSA on shipping Legionella samples securely. Why it matters: sample integrity = valid data.

12:22 — Guest greeting: Mike Standish (Radical Polymers/MFG) on complexity, simplifying actions, and predictive AI. Why it matters: clarity first; analytics next.

17: 11 – Detective H2O: The Case of Unwanted Foam Party

29:20 — Wrap: keep celebrating; post your cooling equipment; Wastewater Thursday is next. Why it matters: momentum through the week.

Connect with Juan Meneses

Phone: 337.309.9619

Email: [email protected]

Website: Reinventing the Way Water is Managed | Nalco Water

LinkedIn: Juan A. Meneses | LinkedIn

Connect with Michael Loewenstein

Phone: +1 513 207 4943

Email: [email protected]

Website: Scientific Consulting for Q Labs LLC

LinkedIn: Michael Loewenstein | LinkedIn

Connect with Mike Standish

Phone: 423.316.9877

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.radicalpolymers.com

mfgchemical.com

LinkedIn: in/mike-standish-7890627

Links Mentioned

AWT (Association of Water Technologies)

Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses

Submit a Show Idea

The Rising Tide Mastermind

014 The One with Mike Standish

176 The One About Tagged Polymer Technologies

350 Polymer Perspectives: Understanding Copolymer Innovations in Water Treatment

377 Future of Legionella Monitoring: Strategies for Employing qPCR in a WMP

405 Cooling Water Innovation: Harnessing Wastewater for Sustainability

418 Maleic Acid-Based Corrosion Inhibitors: Expanding the Water Treatment Toolbox with Mike Standish

Boiler rooms reward clarity: how many BTUs from the flame actually arrive in steam—and stay there to do useful work? For Boiler Tuesday, Trace Blackmore, CWT, treats boiler care as heat-transfer management across the full train, from feedwater and deaeration to distribution and condensate return, with dry steam as the operational benchmark.

Heat Transfer Is a Leadership Metric

Dry steam isn't a detail; it's throughput. Steam on its worst day carries ~1,150 BTUs while hot water on its best day carries ~180 BTUs. When carryover creates wet steam, production loses energy at the point of use. Treating "BTUs-in-steam" as a shared KPI aligns maintenance, operations, and finance around the same outcome: efficient work.

The Steam Train: Protect the Interfaces

Trace maps the sequence—pretreatment → feedwater/DA → boiler → steam lines → condensate return—and explains where heat transfer is taxed when fouling or poor practices creep in. Recover condensate BTUs, verify deaerator performance, keep tube interfaces clean, and protect dryness at end users. Each interface preserved is energy returned to work.

Field Perspectives & Safety

Concise greetings from global practitioners reinforce fundamentals and vigilance. Barry Higgins underscores soft, high-quality water for "fluffy steam." Ivan Morales contrasts OTSGs with conventional boilers and the implications for steam quality. Ben Frieders offers a memorable safety reminder: disciplined restarts and gasket integrity are non-negotiable in steam environments.

Boiler Tuesday is a call to manage heat-transfer efficiency, not just chemistry. Protect interfaces, speak in BTUs, and make dryness measurable where the work happens.

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

Timestamps

02:20 — Welcome and IWW25 context; Boiler Tuesday focus (why: frame the professional lens for the week).

03:46 — "Heat transfer efficiency managers": defining the water treater's job (why: reframes role beyond chemistry)

08:13 — Technology parity; execution and knowledge as differentiators (why: invest in people and practice).

09:59 — The train: feedwater/DA, boiler, lines, condensate return (why: systems thinking prevents local optimization)

12:52 — Guest greetings begin: international and cross-industry viewpoints (why: broaden operating context).

14:04 — Barry Higgins: soft water for "fluffy steam" (why: pretreatment quality → steam quality).

16:18 — Ivan Morales: OTSG vs conventional cycles and steam quality differences (why: choose tech with eyes open).

17:36 — Ben Frieders: post-inspection restart incident and safety lesson (why: operational discipline in steam).

20:19 — Detective H2O: The Case of Having The Blues

25:07 — Boiler Tuesday call to action: share photos, use IWW25 hashtag (why: community and practice sharing).

Connect with Barry Higgins

Phone: +353 87 987 8606

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.aquachem.ie

LinkedIn: in/barry-higgins-bagrsc-59030225

Connect with Ivan Morales

Website: www.ecolab.com/nalco-water/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ivan-morales-mba-06793b5/

linkedin.com/company/nalco/

Connect with Ben Frieders

Phone: (317) 719-1452

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.getchemready.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminfrieders/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/getchemready/

Links Mentioned

AWT (Association of Water Technologies)

Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses

Submit a Show Idea

The Rising Tide Mastermind

Industrial Water Week

Industrial Water Week Scaling UP H2O Resource Page

353 Steam Boilers: Essential Checks, Part 1

354 Steam Boilers: Essential Checks, Part 2

366 Produced Water: Expert Perspectives and Practical Tips

420 Tapping Into Tech: How Ben Frieders Uses AI to Elevate Water Treatment Marketing

Industrial Water Week is here—and Day 1 is Pretreatment Monday. This special episode sets the tone for the week with specific ways to celebrate as a team, sharpen field practices, and share what you do with the people who matter most.

Celebrate with purpose

Host Trace Blackmore outlines simple, high-signal actions: take a field photo with your pretreatment gear, tag it #IWW25, #IndustrialWaterWeek, and #ScalingUPH2O, and post it today! Inside your company chat (Slack, group text, etc.), mark each day's theme so momentum builds across Boiler Tuesday, Cooling Wednesday, Wastewater Thursday, and Careers Friday.

Foundations to futures

This year's theme—Water's Industrial Journey: From Foundations to Futures—is a prompt to audit your own growth. Trace describes the shift from "knowing" to "understanding" when fundamentals interlock, and challenges veterans and newcomers to keep learning in an ever-changing field.

You'll hear a Pretreatment Monday greeting from Tessa Nge of HOH Water Technology, plus the debut of a new Detective H2O case, The Case of the Singing Canary. Follow along on LinkedIn and guess the guest voices—Trace reveals them on Friday.

Whether you bake a cake for your crew or host a brief daily stand-up, make the week visible. The work you do improves reliability, energy use, and water stewardship—worth celebrating and worth doing well.

Want to learn more about Industrial Water Week? Visit the free Resources dropdown at www.ScalingUpH2O.com to explore all things Pretreatment, Boilers, Cooling, Wastewater, and Careers in water.

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

Timestamps

01:53 - Trace Blackmore welcome everyone to the Industrial Water Week: Scaling UP H2O as official place to celebrate

05:55 – Field Photo Prompt: Post Pretreatment Equipment Shots; tag #IWW25, #IndustrialWaterWeek, and #ScalingUPH2O

19:29 – Guest Greeting: Tessa Nge (HOH Water Technology)

25:33 – Detective H2O: The Case of the Singing Canary

Connect with Tessa Nge

Phone: +1 224-545-7870

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessaskilton/

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

Chloride Elution Study Procedure and Data Interpretation

Industrial Water Week Resources Page

Ep 392 Breaking Barriers: How Diversity and Confidence Drive Growth in Water Treatment

The best leaders are the ones that can hold space for both—care personally and challenge directly.

Work never happens in a vacuum. Field calls, customer pressure, travel, and deadlines compound the very real mental load carried by water professionals. In this conversation, Dr. Andy Melton, a professional counselor and executive coach at www.andymelton.com—shares clear, practical ways leaders and teams can recognize mental health warning signs, set the right boundaries, and respond with care without stepping outside their role.

Care Personally, Challenge Directly—Inside Clear Boundaries

Managers aren't neutral parties, and that matters. Andy explains the built-in conflict of interest when a supervisor probes too deeply into an employee's personal struggles. You still need to check in—but do it in role: use open-ended, performance-anchored questions ("What's been challenging for you lately?"), document observations, and offer resources instead of diagnoses. He also highlights Kim Scott's "Radical Candor" frame—care personally and challenge directly—as a durable leadership posture for tough conversations.

Spotting Decline Early—Behavioral, Cognitive, Physical

Before missed KPIs and callbacks spike, there are tells: sudden drops in productivity, withdrawal, irritability, rising absence/tardiness, markedly negative self-talk, and physical complaints (fatigue, headaches, stomach issues). Andy shares a simple "dashboard" self-check—sleep and eating patterns—plus trackable 1–10 scales for stress, energy, engagement, and mood stability to catch trends early.

When It's Serious—Safe Paths and Resources

Anonymous surveys can surface urgent risks—including suicidality. Andy outlines responsible next steps: widen communication, invite follow-ups, and immediately involve a mental health professional or crisis resources. Know the number 988 and your local mobile crisis team information; publish those options prominently so help is never far away.

Grounding Under Load—3 Techniques You Can Use Anywhere

For anxiety (mind racing ahead) and depression (mind stuck in the past), uniting mind and body in the present increases bandwidth. Andy teaches three job-friendly tools: the four-second "box" breath, a five-senses "sensory scan," and a head-to-toe "progressive muscle relaxation." Each can be done discreetly at a desk, in a service truck, or before a customer meeting.

Strong operations require strong people. Build a culture that normalizes check-ins, provides resources, and keeps performance expectations clear. That's how teams protect each other and maintain reliability in the field.

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

Timestamps

02:20 - Trace welcome Industrial Water Week is next week and why it's our "Super Bowl"

11:38 — Water You Know with James McDonald

13: 11 - Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals

15:14 - Introduction for Dr. Andy Melton

15:35 - Andy's background

19:06 - Why mental health is hard to discuss at work; stigma and judgment

21:40 - Cognitive/physical signs: negative self-talk, fatigue, headaches, stomach issues

23:33 — Why self-awareness is hard; "mirror" idea of counseling/coaching

24:21 — Self "dashboard": sleep and eating as early indicators

26:22 — Employer question: caring without crossing the line

31:44 — Impact on teammates and operations; why the talk still must happen

32:06 — Culture: build trust so care is believed

36:12 — Psychological safety: education via outside counselors/coaches; offer EAPs

42:07 — 988 explained; local mobile crisis teams and how they respond

45:06 — Awareness first: listen to body; define "stress" simply

48:27 — Grounding overview: techniques to reunite mind and body

Quotes

Struggles in mental health still have stigma… but I do think there are ways to handle this sensitive subject in the workplace.

It is really challenging as an employer to be a neutral sort of resource in someone's life.

Connect with Dr. Andy Melton

Phone: 615-669-4105

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.andymelton.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andymeltonphd

Guest Resources Mentioned

The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth by Amy C. Edmondson

Crucial Conversations (Third Edition): Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Joseph Grenny (Author, Narrator), Kerry Patterson (Author), Ron McMillan (Author), Al Switzler (Author), Emily Gregory (Author, Narrator), McGraw Hill-Ascent Audio (Publisher)

Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler Downloadable materials for workplace mental health presentations

Radical Candor: Fully Revised & Updated Edition: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott

Radical Candor | Feedback Training, Coaching & Consulting

Mental Health America (MHA)

Melton Counseling

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned

AWT (Association of Water Technologies)

Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses

Submit a Show Idea

The Rising Tide Mastermind

The Analyst (Summer 2025) - Ways to Improve Mental Health in Workplace by R Trace Blackmore, CWT, LEED AP

Water Cake Recipe

Industrial Water Week

Water You Know with James

Question: What do you call the waste stream coming out of a reverse osmosis unit?

2025 Events for Water Professionals

Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we've listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.

What happens when cities become "networked"—and water systems start telling us what they need in real time? In this episode, Trace Blackmore speaks with Christine McHugh (CEO, White Strand Development) about practical smart-city strategies for water: real-time monitoring, digital twins, and IoT/AI approaches that turn Legionella control from periodic testing into continuous risk management. Christine frames smart water not as gadgets, but as a disciplined, data-driven process that improves human health, operational efficiency, and insurability.

Building the "Networked" City: A Practical Definition

Christine defines a smart city as a networked one—linking health, energy, waste, and water through technology that measures and correlates across systems. The aim isn't novelty; it's safer drinking water and safer water environments via better data and faster decisions. Digital twins, decentralized treatment, and AI-enabled pattern recognition help teams move from "single point-in-time readings" to persistent trends they can act on.

Legionella Risk, Reframed as Strategy

Most water programs still sample periodically, waiting days for results. Christine argues the future is pattern-based, proactive control: track temperature, stagnation/flow, and disinfectant continuously; intervene when pattern thresholds indicate elevated risk. This lens aligns water quality, human wellness, and insurance risk reduction, encouraging property insurers and building owners to incentivize water science as part of smart-building operations.

From Sensors to Sense-Making: Hierarchy, Data Lakes, and Reporting

Adding devices isn't enough. Christine stresses a hierarchy of sensors and data governance so operations, engineering, and ESG teams aren't running conflicting reports from siloed sources (BMS vs. cloud dashboards). Her model: create a data lake with agreed-upon sources of truth and standardized outputs so every stakeholder "sees the same movie."

Case Studies & What "Good" Looks Like

Christine highlights programs that combined water management plans, continuous disinfectant monitoring, and campus-scale digital twins—reducing manual tests, achieving compliance, and cutting consumption. European hospitals using IoT on hot-water systems report faster compliance and fewer manual interventions. The pattern: real-time insight + trained people + maintenance and reporting contracts = measurable risk reduction.

Cybersecurity: Close the Back Doors

Smart water raises legitimate cyber concerns. Christine's guidance: encrypt all sensor communications, hire experts to penetration-test your own systems, and watch for unexpected bridges (e.g., HVAC or even "non-critical" devices) into critical networks. OT/IT segmentation, alert transparency, and a culture of continuous testing matter as much as the sensors themselves.

Public–Private Partnerships (with Academia)

The fastest path to adoption pairs public oversight and access to infrastructure with private-sector technology and capital—and an academic partner for research and validation. Clear performance metrics and maintained as-builts keep pilots honest and scalable.

Resilience: Droughts, Floods, and Stormwater

Smart networks matter beyond Legionella. Real-time consumption, leak detection, and pressure management minimize waste during droughts; stormwater and wastewater sensors prevent overflows that contaminate receiving waters during floods. Long-running sensor programs abroad show how a single resort area eliminated contamination events by instrumenting the system and responding to alerts.

Emerging Tech to Watch

From self-healing pipes and biosensors to drone inspections and AI-orchestrated networks, Christine sees water systems becoming more like natural ecosystems—self-regulating, adaptive, and resilient—while humans supervise exceptions and validate performance.

For industrial water professionals, the takeaway is clear: treat smart water as an integrated risk-management system, not a pile of devices. Invest in sensor hierarchy, unified data, and team training, and align the work with safety and insurance outcomes. That's how you protect people, performance, and the balance sheet.

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

Timestamps

02:37 - Trace Blackmore kicks off the episode by reminiscing about the TV show Leave It to Beaver and how families used to watch together in the 1950s.

08:40 - Water You Know with James McDonald

09:48 - Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals

12:20 - Interview with Christine McHugh, CEO of White Strand Development

13:03 - What Is a Smart City?

15:13 - Risk Reduction as Strategy

16:23 – Real-Time Monitoring: Core Controls

17:06 - Smart Fixtures & "Only When Needed" Flushing

19:28 — Duplication, BMS vs Cloud, Data Governance

25:03 — Case Studies: VT & Copenhagen University Hospital

31:59— Cybersecurity: Water Systems at Risk

40:21— City Resilience: Drought & Flooding

41:59 — Emerging Tech to Watch

Quotes

"Technology will give us real-time patterns, and… by just having that pattern recognition, we have power to be more proactive."

"We really should be trying to break into our own system or hiring people to break into our own system… the bad guys will find it as well."

"Creating a water system that's more like a natural ecosystem… self-regulating, adaptive, and maximizes both efficiency and resiliency."

Connect with Christine McHugh

Phone: 9179409383

Email: [email protected]

Website: White Strand Development

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-a-mchugh/

Guest Resources Mentioned

Practitioners' Perspective on the Prevalent Water Quality Management Practices for Legionella Control in Large Buildings in the United States

Tenets of a holistic approach to drinking water-associated pathogen research, management, and communication

Smart Cities, Copenhagen and the Power of Data

Chlorine Disinfection of Legionella spp., L. pneumophila, and Acanthamoeba under Warm Water Premise Plumbing Conditions

NLM's Water heater temperature set point and water use patterns influence Legionella pneumophila and associated microorganisms at the tap

Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned

AWT (Association of Water Technologies)

Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses

Submit a Show Idea

The Rising Tide Mastermind

Industrial Water Week

Water You Know with James McDonald Question: What type of resin is primarily used in a sodium zeolite water softener?

2025 Events for Water Professionals

Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we've listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.

Can a carbon-negative, bio-based molecule replace legacy phosphonates and help you use less azole—without sacrificing corrosion performance? In this episode, host Trace Blackmore, CWT, welcomes Matheus Paschoalino, PhD Senior Business Development Manager and Microbial Control SME of Solugen, to unpack polyhydroxycarboxylic acids (PHCs) and how they're changing cooling-water programs from the field up. We cover HEDP replacement in light-duty systems, azole enhancement in copper-challenged waters, a second-generation cut for heavy-duty heat flux, and PHC behavior with oxidizers and non-oxidizer biocides.

From Bioforge to Basin: How PHCs Are Made and Why It Matters

Paschoalino explains Solugen's chemo-enzymatic "Bioforge" approach that oxidizes sugars (corn-syrup feedstock) into PHCs with very high yield and no practical byproducts—a pathway validated as carbon-negative. He outlines how different "cuts" (monoacid-rich vs. diacid-rich) map to different use cases, and notes current manufacturing capacity and adoption across hundreds of towers.

Replacing HEDP in Light-Duty Programs

For hospitals, HVAC, and other light-duty systems, PHCs have fully replaced HEDP as the anodic corrosion inhibitor while keeping PBTC for scale, enabling lower total phosphorus formulations with equal or better performance compared to status-quo organics.

Azole Enhancement, Free Copper, and Real-World Cost

Field work showed PHCs chelate metals quickly, protecting azole demand when free copper is present (e.g., after oxidizer flushing) and reducing expensive azole overdosing. One university case dropped an adjunct 8-ppm azole feed by pairing the base 3–4 ppm azole with PHC, yielding both corrosion control and lower discharge costs.

Second-Generation PHCs for Heavy-Duty Heat Flux (Toward "Neutral Phosphorus")

At higher heat flux and stabilized-phosphate conditions, a diacid-rich second-generation PHC proved more stable, enabling orthophosphate reduction and opening a path toward "neutral phosphorus" programs that leverage background phosphate in municipal make-up. Bench data also show synergy with trace metals (e.g., zinc).

Biocide Potentiation and Where It Works Best

PHCs remain stable with oxidizers like chlorine dioxide and bleach. Their most compelling synergy shows up with non-oxidizers and peracetic acid (PAA): as a biocide potentiator, PHCs can reduce the need to overdose actives such as THPS, glutaraldehyde, quats, and DBNPA by first complexing interfering metals (e.g., Fe/FeS), letting the biocide perform as intended.

Not "Bug Food": Pilot Cooling Towers and Oxidizer Demand

To address the industry's biggest concern with bio-based chemistries, Solugen ran side-by-side outdoor pilot cooling towers under identical bleach control. Result: comparable oxidizer usage and consistently low counts versus HEDP—evidence that PHCs don't fuel biofilm.

Chelation Mechanics, Polymer Savings, and White Rust

PHCs chelate beyond acid-group stoichiometry thanks to multiple hydroxyls and conformational effects—critical for controlling dissolved metals and protecting films. In stressed heat-flux/chlorine conditions, PHCs reduced calcium-phosphate fouling versus HEDP, often allowing polymer dosage cuts. Early data also show promise for white-rust mitigation on galvanized systems, with the diacid-rich cut delivering the strongest reductions.

For practitioners, the message is pragmatic: PHCs aren't "lab curiosities." They're fielded at scale, enabling lower-phosphorus programs, protecting costly azole inventories, widening the operational window under oxidizer stress, and potentiating select biocides—while staying compatible with common metals. If you manage cooling assets under cost, compliance, and performance pressure, this episode gives you a clear technical playbook to evaluate.

Listen now, review the papers in the show notes, and test a pilot where it counts—on your heat exchangers.

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

Timestamps

02:15 - Trace Blackmore shares a quick personal open: spotting the Goodyear Blimp (100th anniversary), using memories as fuel rather than limits, and a mindset reset around the word "can't."

06:42 - Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals

09:23 - Water You Know with James McDonald

11:41 - Interview with Matheus Paschoalino, Senior Business Development Manager and Microbial Control SME of Solugen

12:02 - HEDP replacement in light-duty programs; lower total phosphorus without losing performance

19:13 - Heavy-duty heat flux: second-generation (diacid-rich) PHCs and reducing orthophosphate

20:39 - "Neutral phosphorus" approach

27:42 - Biocide potentiation: synergy with PAA; strongest effects with non-oxidizers (e.g., THPS)

33:03 - "Bug food?" Pilot side-by-side cooling towers (Houston)

37:39 - HEDP systems fouled with calcium phosphate while PHC system showed only minor patching (CTI paper)

41:44 - Early evidence: white-rust mitigation on galvanized systems (seeking field partners)

Quotes

"Use your past as history, not as a limiter." - Trace Blackmore

"Plan where you'll be; you never know what you'll learn or who you'll meet." - Trace Blackmore

"First-gen PHCs let us replace HEDP in light-duty programs and keep performance with lower total phosphorus." - Matheus Paschoalino

"Non-oxidizing biocides work best with PHCs—we target the metals first so you stop over-dosing the biocide." - Matheus Paschoalino

"We like to be very conservative… we start with the laboratory; we start with light duty. Now we are going to heavy duty."

Connect with Matheus Paschoalino, PhD

Phone: 14847193979

Email: [email protected]

Website: Home - New - Solugen | Solugen

LinkedIn: Matheus P. Paschoalino, PhD | LinkedIn

Solugen: Overview | LinkedIn

Guest Resources Mentioned

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

Blog entitled "Achieving Phosphorus-Neutral Cooling Treatment Using Carbon-Negative Additives" by Solugen

Verza360® Enables Cost Savings with Effective Biocide Potentiation in Produced Water - Oil & Gas Solutions Case Study by Solugen

2025 Winter Issue of CTI Journal paper TP24-16, "Toward Phosphorus-Neutral Cooling Tower Treatment Using Carbon-Negative Environmentally Friendly Additive"

Presentation at AMPP entitled "Novel Biobased Carbon-Negative Corrosion Inhibitors Enabling Environmentally Friendliness"

Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned

AWT (Association of Water Technologies)

Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses

Submit a Show Idea

The Rising Tide Mastermind

Water You Know with James McDonald

Question: Back in the day, what was the treatment used for corrosion inhibition in cooling water systems that was banned around 1985 in the United States from widespread use due to its toxicological impact?

2025 Events for Water Professionals

Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we've listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.

What if HR wasn't the department you dreaded — but the partner that helped your team thrive?

In this episode of Scaling UP! H2O, host Trace Blackmore welcomes Tia Amundson, HR Director at HOH Water Technology, to explore how human resources can be a strategic driver of talent, culture, and profitability in the water treatment industry.

Redefining HR's Role

Tia shares her journey into water treatment and how she built HOH's HR department from the ground up. Instead of treating HR as a compliance function, she reframed it as a leadership partner—focused on employee connections, transparent communication, and culture building. From structured check-ins at 30, 60, and 90 days to coaching managers and bridging communication gaps, her approach ensures employees feel supported, heard, and connected.

Culture as Competitive Advantage

HOH's success story demonstrates how culture directly shapes business outcomes. Tia explains how open-book management, employee engagement surveys, and intentional recognition programs have increased retention, profitability, and trust across the organization. By aligning HR strategies with EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System), HOH has cultivated an environment where employees thrive and deliver exceptional service.

Talent, Retention, and the Future of HR

Finding and retaining the right people remains one of the industry's biggest challenges. Tia outlines the importance of a clear employee value proposition, authentic recruiting practices, and a commitment to work-life balance. She also discusses how HR will evolve over the next decade, balancing automation with the irreplaceable human element of caring for people.

Dream Management and Employee Growth

As a Certified Dream Manager, Tia integrates personal growth with professional development. By helping employees pursue their own dreams, HOH has fostered deeper engagement, loyalty, and breakthroughs that extend far beyond the workplace.

Conclusion

For leaders in the water treatment industry, this episode challenges you to view HR not as a cost center, but as a powerful lever for long-term success. Strategic HR practices can reduce turnover, build culture, and give your organization a competitive edge.

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

Timestamps

02:28 - Trace Blackmore welcomes listeners, shares personal "sharpen the saw" growth theme

04:53 - Sharpen-the-saw story

08:10 - Water You Know with James McDonald

10:05 - Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals

13:15 - Interview with a friend and Rising Tide Mastermind member Tia Amundson, HR Director, HOH Water Technology

13:30 - HR as employee connection + leadership alignment, not a "principal's office"

16:32 - From hiring to long-term care

19:14 - Coaching managers

23:49 - Turnover → P&L

33:12 – Recruitment Realities

44:03 – Dream Manager Program

48:11 – Overcoming Skepticism

50:02 – The Future of HR

51:13 – Start/Stop for HR

52:50 – Foundational operating system (EOS) first

Quotes

"HR isn't about punishment—it's about building trust, culture, and strategic advantage."

"Pour into your employees, and they will pour into their work. That discretionary effort is what differentiates great companies."

"Open communication and transparency aren't soft skills—they're the foundation of an intentional culture."

"We started this interview saying we'd shatter how people think about HR—and I think we've shattered about a dozen things already."

"When you engage employees in their personal dreams, you directly impact workplace engagement."

Connect with Tia Amundson

Phone: +12247721377

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.hohwatertechnology.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tia-amundson-shrm-cp/

Guest Resources Mentioned

HOH Water Technology

EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System)

Gallup Q12 Engagement Survey

The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly

How to Be a Great Boss: Gino Wickman, René Boer

Traction by Gino Wickman

Three Signs of a Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni

Wellbeing at Work: How to Build Resilient and Thriving Teams by Jim Clifton (Author) & Jim Harter

People: Dare to Build an Intentional Culture (The EOS Mastery Series) by Mark O'Donnell (Author), Kelly Knight (Author), CJ DuBe' (Author)

Beyond High Performance by Jason Jaggard

Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned

AWT (Association of Water Technologies)

Industrial Water Week

Scaling UP! H2O's Industrial Water Week Resources

Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses

Submit a Show Idea

The Rising Tide Mastermind

Water You Know with James McDonald

Question: What are some reasons for softener resin beads to crack?

2025 Events for Water Professionals

Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we've listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.

With those words, Jemma Tennant highlights one of the most profound differences between Legionella management in Europe and the United States. In this episode of Scaling UP! H2O, host Trace Blackmore welcomes Jemma Tennant, Chair of the Water Management Society (WMSoc), to explore how legislation, enforcement, and professional training shape the fight against Legionella.

Proactive Regulation and Duty of Care

The UK treats Legionella as a foreseeable and preventable risk. Jemma explains how laws like the Health and Safety at Work Act and COSHH Regulations require mandatory Legionella risk assessments, temperature monitoring, and written control schemes—even when no cases have occurred. This contrasts with the U.S., where ASHRAE 188 serves as guidance rather than enforceable law, often triggering enforcement only after outbreaks.

Jemma shares a case study where a housing association was fined £1.2 million despite no recorded illness, underscoring the UK's proactive stance on protecting public health.

Hospitals, Design, and Emerging Challenges

From hospital plumbing layouts to new "waterless" intensive care units, Jemma details how design choices can either mitigate or magnify waterborne risk. Scotland's model of involving water safety groups at the design stage provides a proactive example for healthcare worldwide. She also outlines how climate change, net-zero initiatives, and rising ambient temperatures are complicating control strategies across Europe.

Raising Standards Through Collaboration

As Chair of WMSoc, Jemma is leading efforts to raise industry standards and reverse what she calls a "race to the bottom." She describes partnerships with AWT in the U.S. and LMAG in Australia to share expertise across borders. The episode also explores her pursuit of the Certified Water Technologist (CWT) credential and her vision for adapting the certification for UK professionals.

Conclusion

This conversation is a call to action for water treatment professionals everywhere: regulations, standards, and collaboration matter. Whether in cooling towers, hospitals, or housing estates, Legionella management requires vigilance, shared knowledge, and a commitment to raising the bar. Listen to the full episode and discover how global collaboration can shape safer water management practices.

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

Timestamps

01:55 - Trace Blackmore introduces the final installment of Legionella Awareness Month 2025

05:30 - Water You Know with James McDonald

07:30 - Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals

14:50 - Interview with Jemma Tennant, SMS Environmental, Chair of the Water Management Society (WMSoc)

15:24 - Jemma's background: growing up in the U.S. and UK, science upbringing, rotifers, and wastewater treatment career.

32:25 - The Water Management Society: structure, training, collaboration with AWT and LMAG

43:00 - Raising industry standards: combating the "race to the bottom" in UK water treatment.

Quotes

"In the UK, we're prosecuted for the potential for harm, not just actual harm. Legionella is treated as a foreseeable and preventable risk."

"It's the transition between just doing the task to understanding the why behind the task."

"We're seeing a serious drop in industry standards—a race to the bottom—and that's why raising the bar is so important."

"At the end of it, the CWT covers everything. You end up being a complete water treater."

"Always be honest when you don't know the answer, then go and learn. That's how you grow."

Connect with Jemma Tennant

Phone: 447828315336

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jemma-tennant-mwmsoc-2636985b/

Guest Resources Mentioned

Water Management Society (WMSoc)

LMAG - Legionella Management Advisory Group - LMAG

The Women by Kristin Hannah (Author)

HTM 04-01 – UK healthcare water safety standards

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH Regulations 2002)

Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974

UKAS Accreditation

ANAB (US Laboratory Accreditation)

Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned

AWT (Association of Water Technologies)

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2021 for Legionnaires' Disease Risk Management

ASHRAE Standard-188-2021, Building Water Management Plans – Summary

Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses

Submit a Show Idea

The Rising Tide Mastermind

Ep 101 The One with Colin Frayne, CWT

Ep 203 The One With Our Across The Pond Legionella Expert, John Sandford

Ep 370 Unlocking Legionella Solutions: Perspectives on Regulations and Best Practices

Water You Know with James McDonald Question: Does Hydroxide Alkalinity in a steam boiler water ALWAYS equal 2P-M?

2025 Events for Water Professionals

Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we've listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.