466 Stories, Math, and “Never Again” Moments: Inside AWT Technical Training with Dan Merritt (Part 2)
Release Date: 03/06/2026
494 Preparing for AWT 2026: Leadership, Change, and CWT Growth with Matt Coffindaffer, Part 2
Scaling UP! H2O
A strong convention outcome starts before the first session and continues long after the exhibit hall closes. Association of Water Technologies Executive Director Matt Coffindaffer explains how deliberate preparation, wider professional relationships, and volunteer service can turn AWT 2026 into practical value for an industrial water treatment career or business. Find the Right Place to Volunteer AWT offers yearlong committee service, shorter task-force assignments, and opportunities across technical research, marketing, membership, regulatory affairs, business resources, young...
info_outline
493 Preparing for AWT 2026: Leadership, Change, and CWT Growth with Matt Coffindaffer, Part 1
Scaling UP! H2O
Strong professional associations do more than provide programs and credentials. They create an environment where members can exchange knowledge, build trusted relationships, and prepare their businesses for what comes next. As the Association of Water Technologies enters a new operational chapter, Executive Director explains how AWT is strengthening that environment without losing the culture that makes it distinctive. From the Arts to Association Leadership Before entering association management, Matt built a career behind the scenes in theater. His...
info_outline
492 AI for Water Treaters: A Thought Partner, Not a Replacement
Scaling UP! H2O
info_outline
491 Environmental Microbiology and Legionella: Managing Building Water Risks with Dr. Rajiv Sahay
Scaling UP! H2O
Reliable Legionella results begin long before a sample reaches the laboratory. of explains how building conditions, field collection practices, and laboratory methods influence the quality—and usefulness—of the data water professionals receive. Building Water Conditions Shape the Risk Modern buildings rely heavily on controlled mechanical systems, yet water can remain an overlooked part of the indoor environment. Stagnation, low flow, dead legs, temperature, pH, disinfectant residuals, corrosion, and accumulated organic material can all influence biofilm development and microbial...
info_outline
490 From Plans to Prevention: Water Management Insights with Dr. Abe Cullom
Scaling UP! H2O
A water management plan protects people only when the facility uses it to guide decisions. Dr. Abe Cullom, Director of Water Safety & Management at Pace Analytical, joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to examine why Legionella programs break down—and how testing, communication, and consistent implementation can strengthen them. Implementation Is the Bottleneck Five decades after Legionella was identified, researchers understand much more about the organism, its ecology, the conditions that support its growth, and the interventions available to control it. However, Dr....
info_outline
489 Copper-Silver Ionization Technology and Legionella Control with Tory Schira
Scaling UP! H2O
Copper-silver ionization offers building operators a persistent approach to Legionella control—one designed to carry an active disinfectant residual throughout complex plumbing infrastructure. LiquiTech CEO Tory Schira explains how the technology works, what operating data matters, and why successful implementation requires more than installing equipment. How Copper-Silver Ionization Works Copper and silver ions are introduced through a flow chamber containing sacrificial electrodes. A controlled electrical charge releases the positively...
info_outline
488 Managing Legionella with confidence: A Conversation with Patsy Root
Scaling UP! H2O
“Our goal is not zero Legionella pneumophila bacteria. Our goal is zero cases.” – Patsy Root Legionella risk becomes harder to manage when building teams treat every detection as equivalent—or collect samples without first deciding what a positive result will trigger. , Senior Manager of Government Affairs at , explains how a clear water management program can replace uncertainty with defined responsibilities, routine monitoring, and proportionate action. Focus Testing on the Organism of Concern Patsy distinguishes between the broader...
info_outline
487 The 60‑Minute CFO: Tracy Bech on Making Business Finance Less Scary
Scaling UP! H2O
“Our gross profit margin is truly the battle we have to win in order to win all of the downstream wars.” - Tracy Bech Financial statements become useful when leaders can translate the numbers into decisions. , founder and author of , explains how business owners, managers, salespeople, and field professionals can develop financial fluency without becoming accountants. Turn Financial Data into a Meaningful Scorecard Tracy teaches finance through stories and relationships rather than isolated numbers. Revenue alone does not reveal whether a company is...
info_outline
486 Meter Optimization: Air in the water with Anthony Giudice
Scaling UP! H2O
Water meters register the volume passing through them, but what happens when that volume contains both water and entrained air? Anthony Giudice, president of AquaFlow, explains how turbulent flow can influence meter readings and how AquaFlow’s calibrated valve is designed to help meters reflect what he describes as true water consumption. Why Flow Conditions Matter at the Meter Anthony connects entrained air to the pressure required to move municipal water and the turbulence created as water travels through piping, changes...
info_outline
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,...
info_outline
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 Dan Merritt, CWT—National Sales Manager at CH2O Inc. 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 Association of Water Technologies rewrites courses every year. Instructors refine content, delivery and demonstrations, not for novelty’s sake, but because boilers and cooling towers rarely behave like textbook examples. Recognizing that multiple chemical reactions operate simultaneously helps prevent chasing the wrong problem. Updated program design and operations classes now bridge the gap between fundamentals and advanced topics. Specialized modules for sales, membrane/softener maintenance, ASSE 1280 compliance, and a two‑tier wastewater curriculum ensure that attendees can match coursework to their experience and role.
Lessons from experience: paperwork, PPE and people
Anecdotes ground the theory. Dan recounts losing his Certified Water Technologist status for five years after assuming an office manager filed his recertification paperwork. He re‑sat the exam in 2016 and now tells every candidate: verify your own paperwork. Another incident involved a sulfuric acid injection line that still held pressure; a line blew while he was replacing a fitting, covering his jeans in acid—his apron protected his torso, but he still had six‑inch holes in his pants. “Wear your PPE” is his first piece of advice to new technicians. Beyond safety, Dan highlights that water treatment careers demand communication and management skills. Technical strengths don’t automatically translate into leadership; becoming a mentor and training others brings lasting fulfillment.
Developing a growth mindset 
For new practitioners, Dan recommends learning from whoever will teach you and embracing the “nerdy” parts of the job—math, chemistry and calculations translate directly into customer value. After the first year it’s easy to plateau, so he urges veterans to intentionally take on new technologies such as wastewater treatment or chlorine dioxide and to share knowledge with younger colleagues. This industry can’t be automated or offshored; field troubleshooting will always require hands‑on expertise. Even in sales roles, success comes from offering solutions grounded in a deep technical foundation.
Looking ahead
The episode closes with a call to prepare for AWT’s upcoming training seminars (March 10–13 and November 11–14). Attendees should bring system data and be ready to teach one takeaway to their teams when they return. Scaling Up! H2O encourages listeners to invest in their careers, meet peers and instructors, and approach each technical challenge as an opportunity to raise the bar for the entire industry. Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!
Timestamps
01:35 - Trace Blackmore shares a reminder for listeners about the AWT Technical Training on March 10-13
04:12 – Words of Water with James
09:20 - Transition to Interview Recap
11:24 - Second part Interview with Dan Merritt, CWT
12:40 - Losing CWT Certification
20:49 - ASSE 12080 Training
22:49 - Wastewater Training Expansion
38:22 - Sulfuric Acid Incident
Quotes
“Failure is not the failure. Quitting is the failure.”
“The water treatment industry is not something that you can do remotely. There is always going to be the need for people to troubleshoot water systems.”
“Being a mentor is a great way to take that experience that we have and translate it—to give it away to those in our company.”
“Don’t worry about making mistakes. We all make mistakes, and that’s how you learn.”
“I swore up and down that I would never be a salesman. Now I’m the sales manager because I realized that selling solutions grounded in technical knowledge isn’t about pushing products—it’s about helping people.”
Connect with Dan Merritt, CWT
Email: dmerritt@ch2o.com
Website: .https://www.ch2o.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-merritt-cwt-18413819/.
Guest Resources Mentioned
Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't by Simon Sinek (Paperback)
The Accidental Superpower: Ten Years On by Peter Zeihan (Narrator, Author)
Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned
AWT (Association of Water Technologies)
AWT Technical Training - Registration
2026 AWT Technical Training Schedule
Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses
Words of Water with James McDonald
Today's definition is a quantitative chemical analysis method to find the unknown concentration of a substance by gradually adding a solution with a known concentration until the reaction is complete, often signaled by an indicator's color change. Can you guess the word?
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.
