463 Mapping the Future of Water Innovation with Paul O’Callaghan
Release Date: 02/13/2026
485 Questions from the Nation Around the World with Trace Blackmore, CWT
Scaling UP! H2O
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 teams, and continue growing professionally. Evaluate the Entire System A proposed treatment change should be evaluated by more than its purchase price. When comparing chlorine dioxide with traditional chlorine, Trace recommends examining biocide consumption, chemical storage,...
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484 Risk, Resilience, and Water Security with Dr. Newsha Ajami
Scaling UP! H2O
Industrial operations depend on water of a predictable quantity and quality, yet many organizations still treat that reliability as a given. joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to examine water security as a business continuity issue and resilience as the ability to withstand pressure, maintain operations, and recover quickly when systems fail. Connecting Risk, Resilience, and Recovery For industrial water users, water security means maintaining access to the quantity and quality required to operate without interruption. That reliability depends on...
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483 From Process Engineer to Process Architect: Alicia Butler‑Pierre on Making Work Flow
Scaling UP! H2O
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, CEO of Equilibria, joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to connect process engineering, operations management, Lean Six Sigma, dashboards, professional training, and business infrastructure. Her message is clear: whether you are moving water through a pipeline or work through a company, the question remains the...
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482 Preserving Our Industry’s Story – Paul Petersen and the Industrial Water Exhibit
Scaling UP! H2O
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, former president and CEO of Trident Technologies and current leader of the Industrial Water Task Group, joins Trace Blackmore to explain why preserving the industry’s history matters. His vision is not simply a static display of old equipment. Instead, the goal is to...
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481 From Waterfalls to SOPs: Building Better Utilities with Kalpna Solanki
Scaling UP! H2O
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 , President and CEO at , for a practical conversation on building stronger utilities through standard operating procedures, competencies, and performance evaluations. Kalpna shares how outdated SOPs, disconnected training tools, and top-down documentation can create risk, confusion, and missed...
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480 From Engineering Numbers to People, Power, and Policy with Sherine El‑Wattar
Scaling UP! H2O
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 are designed. , a science network officer supporting the Working Group II Technical Support Unit, brings an engineering foundation and a human-centered perspective to those questions. Her work focuses on climate impacts, adaptation, vulnerability, and risk while helping...
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479 Water Treatment: The Next Generation - Hustle Culture Meets Emotional Literacy with Tiffany Wentz‑Root
Scaling UP! H2O
In today’s episode of Scaling UP! H2O, host Trace Blackmore sits down with workplace resilience expert and U.S. Marine veteran to decode how different generations show up in the industrial water treatment industry. From the Silent Generation’s post‑war loyalties through Baby Boomers’ commitment to long hours, Gen X’s distrust of corporate loyalty, Millennials’ desire for purpose and feedback, and Gen Z’s demand for emotional literacy, the conversation illustrates how each cohort was shaped by historical and technological upheaval. The discussion reframes “hustle...
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478 Rethinking Power Plant Water and Steam Chemistry with Brad Buecker (Part 2)
Scaling UP! H2O
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 of and Buecker Associates, Trace Blackmore continues a practical discussion on the details that shape industrial water decisions. Brad shares field stories from combined cycle plants, package boilers, wastewater permitting, membrane systems, and decades of technical writing. When Small Errors Become Expensive...
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477 Rethinking Power Plant Water and Steam Chemistry with Brad Buecker (Part 1)
Scaling UP! H2O
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 examine what happens when familiar assumptions go unchallenged. Safety Comes First in High-Energy Systems Bradley begins with the lesson that has shaped decades of his work: safety. Power and industrial systems involve heat, flow, moving equipment, chemicals, confined spaces, lockout/tagout...
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476 Positive Communication, Temperaments, and the WOW Effect with Paule Genest
Scaling UP! H2O
Communication shapes how teams learn, respond, correct, and build trust. Trace Blackmore, CWT welcomes returning guest Director, Sales and ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) Water and Energy TGWT / The Tannin Guys for a conversation on positive communication, temperaments, the WOW Effect, and how water professionals can use words with more clarity and care. Communication With a Positive Impact Paule reframes positive communication as communication with a positive impact. The goal is not fake positivity or polished language....
info_outline“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 innovation from idea to adoption.
As Founder and CEO of BlueTech Research, 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 product market fit, and why “innovation” often breaks down simply because utilities, investors, and founders are using the same word to mean different things.
Capital, fit, and the language gap 
Paul unpacks what it takes to align an investor’s expectations with a technology’s true pathway to scale. He contrasts different “types” of innovation and why matching the right investor, entrepreneur, market, and timeline matters as much as the technology itself. The conversation also highlights why solving a problem someone has today is often a safer starting point than betting everything on a problem that might arrive tomorrow.
Regulations as a driver and a risk
Regulation matters in water and wastewater, but Paul cautions against building an entire business on the hope that rules will create a market on schedule. He walks through timing risk, enforcement uncertainty, and why tracking policy momentum matters as much as tracking the text of the regulation itself. He also notes a shift toward more “aspirational” regulation focused on reuse, regeneration, and systems-level outcomes.
Storytelling that changes adoption
From Brave Blue World to Our Blue World, Paul shares what he learned about making water personal and compelling without reducing it to doom-and-gloom narratives. The stories he tells connect to a core professional challenge: technologies enable outcomes, but adoption accelerates when people can see and want the “better” future those outcomes create.
Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!
Timestamps
02:33 - Trace’s message on finding “your next love” through learning
09:25 - Words of Water with James McDonald
11:25 - AWT connection and the importance of being challenged by community
13:06 - Industrial Water Week dates for “this year” (Oct 5–9)
14:02 - Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals
19:15 - Interview with Founder & CEO of BlueTech Research, author of The Dynamics of Water Innovation, Executive Producer of Brave Blue World and Our Blue World
22:20 - Pivot moment into water as a career (Malaysia, Edinburgh course, “living machines”)
25:15 - What BlueTech Research does (reducing uncertainty, helping capital work efficiently)
27:50 - How startups connect with BlueTech and why storytelling matters
30:09 - Matching investors, entrepreneurs, and markets (alignment and “different languages”)
33:00 - The role of regulations (timing risk and market realities)
35:15 - How BlueTech keeps up (themes, emerging areas, and using AI for tracking legislation)
36:30 - Paul’s book: The Dynamics of Water Innovation (why he wrote it and who it’s for)
40:49 - Documentary storytelling origin and Discovery Channel experience
44:22 - How celebrities got involved and why the outreach worked
45:30 - Why they made a second film and the goal of making water personal
48:03 - Viewer feedback, education impact, and grassroots screening stories
50:08 - “Water 2050” video game inspired by the films
51:21 - Additional ripple effects and “halo” projects (curriculum, photography competition, water walks)
53:06 - Where water innovation is going (desirability, storytelling, and “leaving water”)
56:07- Advice for people with ideas (talk to people, generosity of the sector, ikigai, long-term view)
58:08 - Ostara / Crystal Green story (finding the operator’s “today problem”)
59:54 - One point Paul wants to leave: “It’s a journey, enjoy it.”
Quotes
“We do our best to help people put capital to work more efficiently to solve water challenges.”
“Try and find a problem that someone has today, ideally.”
Connect with Paul O’Callaghan 
Email: paul.ocallaghan@bluetechresearch.com
Website: BlueTech Research – Actionable Water Technology Market Intelligence
braveblueworldstudios | Instagram | Linktree
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/o2environmental/
Guest Resources Mentioned
Watch Brave Blue World: Racing to Solve Our Water Crisis | Netflix
Braveblueworldstudios | Instagram | Linktree
“Wastewater Technology Fact Sheet: The Living Machine” – U.S. EPA
“Brave Blue World” film – Science on Screen synopsis
“Our Blue World: A Water Odyssey” – IMDb overview
“Water Reuse for Industrial Applications Resources” – U.S. EPA
“ANSI/AAMI ST108:2023—Water for the Processing of Medical Devices” – ANSI Blog
“Key EPA Actions to Address PFAS” – U.S. EPA
“The Philosophy of Ikigai: 3 Examples About Finding Purpose” – PositivePsychology.com
Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters Paperback by Brian Klaas
Rivers of Power: How a Natural Force Raised Kingdoms, Destroyed Civilizations, and Shapes Our World Paperback by Laurence C. Smith
Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned
AWT (Association of Water Technologies)
Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses
415 Green Building Updates: What You Need to Know
004 It’s Not Easy Being Green!
032.5 The One That Takes You to AWT’s 2018 Technical Training]
280 The One About Retaining Top Talent
368 Adapting to the New Workforce: Attracting Top Talent
413 Charting the Future: Mastering the Art of Strategic Planning
Words of Water with James McDonald
Today's definition is a single, reactive molecule, usually an organic compound, having the ability to join with a number of similarly defined molecules to form a polymer.
2026 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.
