468 Born into Water Treatment: Tom Brandvold on AWT’s Origin Story and a Life in the Industry
Scaling UP! H2O
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 . The result is not just a career story. It is a useful look at how credibility, collaboration, and standards are built over time in this industry. How Association of Water Technologies (AWT) was formed One of the most valuable parts of this discussion is Tom’s explanation of how Association of Water Technologies (AWT) began. The...
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467 From PhD to Pump Rooms: Jake Elliott on Wastewater, Efficiency, and Saying “Yes” Wisely
Scaling UP! H2O
What happens when a water chemist leaves the lab and heads to the pump room? knows firsthand. A former PhD researcher who studied resource recovery from trade‑waste customers, Jake now manages accounts at in Melbourne, working with cooling towers, boilers, chemical dosing rigs and wastewater treatment systems. He joins host Trace Blackmore to discuss how rigorous research, regulatory compliance and process automation translate into practical field work for industrial water treatment professionals. From PhD Research to Industrial Practice Jake’s academic background informs the way he...
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466 Stories, Math, and “Never Again” Moments: Inside AWT Technical Training with Dan Merritt (Part 2)
Scaling UP! H2O
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 —National Sales Manager at and head of AWT’s education committee—Trace Blackmore uncovers how stories, math, and memorable mistakes turn theory into intuition. Why training keeps evolving Dan explains that the rewrites courses every year. Instructors refine content, delivery and demonstrations, not for novelty’s sake, but because...
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465 From Classroom to Cooling Towers: Teaching Water Treatment with Dan Merritt (Part 1)
Scaling UP! H2O
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. , Sales Manager at , brings a rare perspective to that problem. He started as a teacher (chemistry, calculus, physics), entered industrial water treatment on February 5, 2002, and later became part of the AWT training team. This conversation follows the path from classroom instruction to boiler rooms and cooling towers, then uses that journey to examine what makes technical training...
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464 Corrosion Coupons, Brand Building, and Having Fun at Trade Shows with Will Ritter
Scaling UP! H2O
"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 consistency. Respect the coupon, protect the data Trace breaks down why coupons became non-negotiable in his systems: they turn guesswork into usable...
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463 Mapping the Future of Water Innovation with Paul O’Callaghan
Scaling UP! H2O
“If you say something over and over often and enough, it becomes true because perception is reality.” 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, Paul explains how his team helps decision-makers put capital to work more efficiently in water by reducing uncertainty and separating signal from noise. He describes patterns he’s watched repeat across water entrepreneurs, pilots, and...
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462 From Lab Chemist to Field Mentor: Water, Culture, and Representation
Scaling UP! H2O
Industrial water work rewards people who can move between precision and practicality. brings both. She started as a lab chemist, then transitioned into field service with , 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 work: a central plant is “very dirty,” and the job demands good technique without chasing lab-level perfection. She shares a couple of simple practices that prevent expensive problems. Use proper lab wipes on...
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461 Corrosion, Lead, and Algae: New Tools for Old Water Problems
Scaling UP! H2O
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. (CEO) and (chemist/Chief Science Officer) of lay out a system-wide view of corrosion control—starting with what changed in Flint from a technical standpoint and moving into why many utilities still struggle to meet expectations when standards and risk assumptions shift. System-wide corrosion control starts with chemistry...
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460 Building Boiler Talent: Fundamentals, Online Training, and Better Partnerships with Eric Johnson
Scaling UP! H2O
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 , Founder and CEO of , explains why boiler expertise is becoming harder to replace. He points to the shrinking pipeline of boiler-trained technicians—historically strengthened by Navy steam...
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459 From Wastewater to Resource: Water Reuse with Dr. Veronika Zhiteneva
Scaling UP! H2O
Industrial water professionals are increasingly pulled into conversations about scarcity, resilience, and “where the next gallon comes from.” , CEO and Co-founder of frames water reuse as an implementation challenge more than a technology gap—and explains where the practical starting points are when the scope feels overwhelming. Moving reuse forward when the technology already exists Waterloop Solutions was founded to accelerate implementation: clarifying end-use quality, identifying post-treatment needs on the back end of...
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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 MetricDry 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: bhiggins@aquachem.ie
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/
Connect with Ben Frieders
Phone: (317) 719-1452
Email: bfrieders@zinkan.com
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
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
