455 Mentors, Mindset, and the CWT: Owning Your Water Career with Nella Fergusson
Scaling UP! H2O
“So one thing I never do is try to start giving remediation or advice before I truly have understood and diagnosed the problem.” Mentorship and certifications don’t replace experience—but they can accelerate it when paired with the right mindset and a disciplined approach to learning. (District Manager, Southern California, ), lays out what “growing up” in industrial water treatment actually looks like: repeated exposure to real problems, strong diagnostic habits, and a willingness to keep learning long after year one. Learning that keeps...
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454 Water Recycling, Innovation, and Industry Wisdom with Dr. Kelle Zeiher
Scaling UP! H2O
Industrial cooling is one of the biggest levers industrial facilities can pull on water use—and it’s getting harder to ignore as data centers and other high-heat operations grow. Returning guest (Project Manager at ) breaks down what water reuse looks like when you move past slogans and into the realities of pretreatment, concentrate management, footprint, and cost. Cooling water reuse: the scale of the opportunity Dr. Zeiher reframes “drought” beyond rainfall, emphasizing aquifer recharge and the limits of focusing only on household restrictions. She...
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453 Water Risk, Governance, and Community Engagement with Dr. Annette Davison
Scaling UP! H2O
Industrial water professionals sit at the intersection of risk, regulation, and community trust. In this episode, (“the water risk doctor”) joins Trace Blackmore to show how disciplined governance, clear supply chain thinking, and community engagement can turn fragmented water systems into coherent, defensible risk management frameworks. Water risk from source to customer Annette starts with a simple question most customers never ask: “Where’s your water coming from?” She walks through a conceptual supply chain from source to end point—collection, transfer, treatment,...
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452 UV Innovation and Whole-Building Water Safety with Ron Blutrich
Scaling UP! H2O
Entamoeba histolytica nearly ended Ron Blutrich’s scientific career. Instead, it pushed him to rethink how we protect people in multi-family buildings, senior facilities, and dense urban centers from invisible microbiological risks in their drinking water. In this episode, he joins host Trace Blackmore to unpack what whole-building UV can (and can’t) do for Legionella, biofilm, and real-world water safety. When One Bad Cup of Water Redefines a Career In the middle of his PhD in molecular genetics, Ron drank from an under-sink reverse osmosis tap at an Airbnb and...
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451 Building a Culture of Innovation and Customer Service with Frank Lecrone
Scaling UP! H2O
What happens when you build a company around one niche, listen obsessively to customers, and never stop improving? In this episode, host Trace Blackmore finally sits down for a full-length conversation with , Founder, President, and CEO of . What started in a small 60' x 60' space in Hanover, Pennsylvania, with three employees, maxed-out credit cards, and endless Staples runs has grown into a 300+-person organization serving industrial water professionals around the world. Frank shares how AquaPhoenix became “the booth everyone wants to be next to” at...
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450 Wastewater Advocacy and Innovation with Robin Deal
Scaling UP! H2O
“The More You Know” - Robin Deal A million-gallon-a-day perspective, distilled into actionable steps. , AquaPure Product Manager at unpacks how seasoned pros can squeeze more performance—and less sludge—out of industrial wastewater systems without compromising compliance or plant uptime. From “clear water in a jar” to stable discharge in the field Robin details a practical jar-testing workflow: start from upstream processes, target pH using hydroxide/sulfide solubility curves, choose the right coagulant (aluminum, iron, calcium, lanthanum, or organics),...
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449 Michael Bourgeois on AWT Partnerships and Professional Growth
Scaling UP! H2O
Get stuck in – Michael Bourgeois, CWT How do standards get written in ways that working water treaters can actually meet? In this conversation, AWT Past President, current Related Trade Organization (RTO) Committee Chair, and Chemco Products Company Operations Manager, , explains how AWT’s liaisons collaborate with peer organizations, so guidance reflects field reality—operations, risk, and achievable compliance. From Field Bags to Board Rooms: Why RTOs Matter Bourgeois outlines the purpose of AWT’s RTO structure: volunteer liaisons track and influence work at groups...
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448 2025 Halloween Special
Scaling UP! H2O
Holidays don’t usually line up with release day—but this year they did. In this Halloween special, Trace uses the horror-movie trope of the “scary boiler room” to deliver practical, field-tested reminders for safer sampling, clearer thinking, and better decisions in high-heat, low-light spaces. Boiler Rooms, Myths, and Real Risks From Nightmare on Elm Street to Tower of Terror, pop culture loves dim steam, tight corridors, and clangy pipe-labyrinths. Trace contrasts that imagery with what matters to pros: light, ventilation, a stable work surface, and time for...
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447 Unlocking Team Potential with Culture Index with Randi Fargen
Scaling UP! H2O
Hiring in industrial water is slow, specialized, and expensive to get wrong. In this conversation, executive advisor explains how a two-question, 5–7 minute Culture Index survey becomes an ongoing management and coaching system—not just a hiring screen—so owners cut turnover risk, speed onboarding, and improve day-to-day communication. From “assessment fatigue” to a usable language Most teams dread long assessments. This survey takes minutes and measures four primary traits—autonomy, sociability, pace/patience, conformity—plus three...
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446 Leveraging the Culture Index for Business Success with Danielle Scimeca and Conor Parrish
Scaling UP! H2O
How do you make “right person, right seat” a repeatable system—not a hope? ’s (President) and returning guest (Chief Growth Officer) share how the Culture Index became a decisive tool for coaching, hiring, and a company-wide restructure. If you lead field service, customer service, or operations in industrial water, this conversation offers practical patterns you can apply the next time a role feels misaligned or a 1:1 stall on surface-level updates. From intuition to instrumentation Trace opens with the origin story and quickly moves to why Danielle and Conor adopted...
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Are You Ready to Talk About Legionella?
Every August, we dedicate an entire month to a topic that touches public health, liability, and the core of what water treaters do — yet it’s still misunderstood by many: Legionella.
In this episode, Trace Blackmore kicks off Legionella Awareness Month by returning to the basics. Where did Legionella get its name? What makes it dangerous? And why is there still confusion between a water treatment program and a water management plan?
Tracing It Back: History, Misconceptions, and Missed Conversations
Trace opens with the 1976 American Legion outbreak in Philadelphia — the moment the medical and water treatment worlds collided. He explains how the bacteria was identified, how the term Legionella pneumophila came to be, and how Pontiac Fever and Legionnaires’ Disease represent two ends of the same pathogenic spectrum.
But more importantly, he challenges us to think critically about the language we use. Saying “Legionella” casually — without understanding whether we’re referring to the bacteria, the illness, or the implications of a test result — can lead to major breakdowns in communication between service providers and facility managers.
A Water Treatment Program Is Not a Legionella Plan
Many professionals know how to deliver great chemical treatment. But too often, when a Legionella test comes back positive, the customer assumes the water treater is responsible. This episode explains how that misunderstanding happens—and how to prevent it through proactive, well-framed conversations.
Trace walks through why seasonal testing is the bare minimum, what makes a good water management team, and why documentation and pre-approved action plans are essential for clarity and peace of mind when results come in.
He also introduces tools like the CDC Legionella Toolkit, ASHRAE 188, and ASSE 12080—resources every industrial water professional should know and use.
The Systems at Risk — And Why It’s Not Just Cooling Towers
Trace breaks down the environments where Legionella thrives cooling towers, stagnant pipes, dead legs, hot water systems with low temperatures, decorative fountains, humidifiers, and spas. He highlights why biofilm protection matters, why heat isn’t always enough, and how mixing valves and plumbing design can support both safety and scald prevention.
You’ll hear how real-world scenarios unfold—and how one positive test, without the right planning, can lead to panic, blame, and liability risk for everyone involved.
Legionella isn't just a technical issue — it's a human one. Whether you’re in the field, managing accounts, or advising clients, this episode offers practical tools and powerful reminders for having the conversations that count.
The professionals who lead these conversations are the ones building trust, avoiding risk, and elevating the industry.
Listen to the full episode and explore the Legionella Resource Library at Legionella Resources.
Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!
Timestamps
02: 12 – Trace opens the episode with an overview of Legionella Awareness Month
08:47 – Legionella vs. Legionellosis
15:51 – The Miscommunication That Hurts Trust
27:13 – Where Legionella Hides
28:14 – Key Resources
33:22 – Water You Know with James McDonald
34:47– Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals
Quotes
“Cooling towers are guilty until proven innocent — and that’s how the industry sees them.”
“Legionella is not your responsibility unless you've set the right expectations in writing.”
“Don’t wait until a test is positive to have the conversation. By then, emotions are already high.”
“ASHRAE 188 doesn’t prescribe. It describes it. It’s up to us to translate it for each system.”
“Education isn't just about reading guidelines. It’s about knowing how to guide your clients.”
Connect with Scaling UP! H2O
Submit a show idea: Submit a Show Idea
LinkedIn: in/traceblackmore/
YouTube: @ScalingUpH2O
Click HERE to Download Episode’s Discussion Guide
Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned
AWT (Association of Water Technologies)
Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses
CDC's "Toolkit: Developing a Legionella Water Management Program"
CDC's "Toolkit: Controlling Legionella in Common Sources of Exposure"
ASHRAE 188-2021 “Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems”
CMS Mandates Water Management Programs in Healthcare Facilities
ASSE/IAPMO/ANSI/CAN Series 12000-2024 (Download)
ASSE’s Infection Control and Water Quality
ANSI/AAMI ST108:2023 Water for the Processing of Medical Services
World Health Organization (WHO) 'Legionellosis'
Water You Know with James McDonald
Question: Why is barium chloride used in the standard Hydroxide Alkalinity test?
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.
