484 Risk, Resilience, and Water Security with Dr. Newsha Ajami
Release Date: 07/10/2026
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....
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475 Inside the Boiler: Inspection, Failure Analysis, and Photography with Cheryl Heiser
Scaling UP! H2O
A boiler failure can create pressure quickly: production is down, emotions are high, and the water treater may be the first person blamed. of . joins Trace Blackmore, CWT, to walk through a more disciplined way to evaluate boiler issues by looking beyond chemistry alone. Why Boiler Failures Need a Broader Lens Cheryl brings field experience from the OEM boiler side, conventional water treatment, and purified tannin boiler treatment. Her perspective is rooted in the idea that no two boilers are the same. Design, operating conditions, fuel, history, circulation, steam...
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Industrial operations depend on water of a predictable quantity and quality, yet many organizations still treat that reliability as a given. Dr. Newsha Ajami 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 more than the water source itself. Treatment systems require energy, critical processes need backup plans, and organizations must understand what happens when one part of the system becomes unavailable.
Dr. Newsha connects risk assessment directly to resilience planning. Organizations can reduce exposure by developing portfolios of water sources and solutions, building redundancy, preparing for power disruptions, and allocating resources before a crisis occurs. Recovery should also create an opportunity to reconsider infrastructure, governance, and institutional structures rather than automatically rebuilding the same system in the same way.
Investing Before the System Fails
Proactive water decisions often require leadership willing to invest before the immediate need becomes visible. Dr. Newsha highlights Arizona’s decision to store Colorado River allocations underground, Yuba Water Agency’s collaboration with Blue Forest to support watershed and infrastructure resilience, and San Francisco’s on-site water reuse requirements for qualifying buildings.
These examples demonstrate that resilience can be strengthened through policy, financial models, external partnerships, water reuse, supply planning, and business model innovation. They also show why public agencies and private businesses may approach risk differently—and why each can learn from the other.
Data Centers as a Water Challenge and Opportunity
Data center development places new attention on water availability, cooling demand, energy use, and community infrastructure. Rather than treating these facilities only as a threat to local resources, Dr. Newsha encourages water professionals to examine where they are built, how they are cooled, and what innovations could reduce their water and energy requirements.
Potential strategies include more efficient computing models, chip-level cooling, heat-absorbing materials, recovered-heat applications, water recycling, and co-location with facilities that can use excess heat. Collaboration between data center developers and host communities could also direct new investment toward aging or inadequate water infrastructure.
Making Water a National Priority
The Aspen national water strategy initiative brought together participants from agriculture, industry, energy, transportation, engineering, technology, rural and urban communities, Native American communities, and different political backgrounds. The goal was to identify shared principles and actions that could guide water decisions across national, state, and local levels.
Dr. Newsha argues that water must be managed as a national security issue. That requires investment not only in technology, but also in institutions, policies, business models, research, natural infrastructure, and the governance structures that shape decision-making.
Industrial water professionals can contribute by helping clients identify vulnerabilities, challenge assumptions, and make reliability investments before an interruption forces the decision.
Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!
Timestamps
01:19 — Trace Blackmore shares highlights from the previous week, including the Fourth of July, the daytime edition of The Hang with AWT Young Professionals, and the Scaling Up Nation’s role in raising the bar across industrial water treatment.
03:05 — Trace recognizes several July 10 observances before turning the spotlight toward the water treatment industry’s own annual celebration.
04:36 — Industrial Water Week 2026 returns October 5–9 with dedicated episodes covering pretreatment, boilers, cooling, wastewater, and careers in industrial water.
06:38 — Words of Water with James
09:15 — Upcoming Events for Water Treatment Professionals
11:01 — Interview with Dr. Newsha Ajami, founding director of the Risk Resilience and Recovery Program at Stanford University, about water security, resilient infrastructure, risk planning, recovery, and the policies and financial systems that shape water decisions
12:17 — Dr. Newsha explains how her engineering and hydrology background expanded into water policy, regulation, and infrastructure finance.
13:50 — Water’s everyday invisibility can create a false sense that reliable access will always continue without deliberate planning or investment.
15:35 — Water security for industrial users means maintaining the quantity and quality required to operate reliably and avoid business interruptions.
16:23 — Resilience requires systems that can tolerate pressure, maintain operations through redundancy, and recover quickly after failure.
17:45 — Risk, resilience, and recovery connect through better vulnerability assessment, diversified water sources, backup plans, and improved rebuilding decisions.
21:26 — Utilities, insurers, financial institutions, nonprofits, and government agencies all influence how resilient water systems become.
22:09 — Reactive business models and inflexible funding structures often delay resilience investments until after a disaster has occurred.
25:51 — Arizona’s groundwater storage, Yuba Water Agency’s watershed investments, and Moulton Niguel Water District’s operational changes demonstrate different approaches to long-term resilience.
29:45 — San Francisco’s onsite water reuse requirements show how policy can support development while reducing pressure on centralized water supplies.
38:32 — The Aspen National Water Strategy seeks to create a nonpartisan roadmap shaped by diverse regions, sectors, communities, and political perspectives.
41:13 — Dr. Newsha explains why water should be treated as a national security issue and why innovation must extend beyond technology to policies, institutions, and business models.
43:44 — Stanford’s Risk Resilience and Recovery Program examines how governance, insurance, finance, and legislation affect preparation for natural hazards and disaster recovery.
45:46 — Dr. Newsha invites listeners to connect through Stanford and LinkedIn to follow the program’s research, partnerships, and future events.
47:51 — Trace summarizes the conversation, emphasizing risk awareness, system redundancy, improved recovery planning, and collaboration among all stakeholders.
51:00 — Trace encourages professionals to apply past operational data, involve every relevant stakeholder, and help more water treaters discover the Scaling UP! H2O podcast.
Quotes
“And even when they break, be able to bounce back quickly.”
“Data centers, a challenge and an opportunity.”
“But we use we have to use this opportunity to, we have to use this as an opportunity to change, to do better, to build our infrastructure.”
“Water is an invisible connector across everything we have, we do, we depend on.”
“We do talk about water, but we do not manage water as a national security issue. And water is a national security issue.”
Connect with Dr. Newsha Ajami 
Email: newsha@stanford.edu
Website: Stanford University
LinkedIn: Newsha Ajami, PhD | LinkedIn
Guest Resources Mentioned
ASPEN – National Water Strategy
Governance for Risk, Resilience, and Recovery (GR3)
Aspen National Water Strategy Initiative
Arizona Water Banking Authority — Water Storage
Blue Forest — Yuba I Forest Resilience Bond
Dr. Newsha Ajami — Stanford Profile
Article 12C of the San Francisco Health Code
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission — Onsite Water Reuse
Yuba Water Agency — Forest Resilience Bond
Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned
AWT (Association of Water Technologies)
Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses
Words of Water with James McDonald
Today's definition is water lost from a cooling tower as liquid droplets entrained in the exhaust air. It is independent of water lost by evaporation.
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.
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