Scaling UP! H2O
The podcast where we scale up on knowledge so we don't scale up our systems. Find out why working in Industrial Water Treatment is the best job in the world. Hear industry experts share their knowledge and stories. Learn about technologies, methods, and career journeys. Join podcast host Trace Blackmore, former AWT President, LEED, and CWT every Friday for a new episode.
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Mentors, Mindset, and the CWT: Owning Your Water Career with Nella Fergusson
<p> "So one thing I never do is try to start giving remediation or advice before I truly have understood and diagnosed the problem." </p> <p>Mentorship and certifications don't replace experience—but they can accelerate it when paired with the right mindset and a disciplined approach to learning. Nella Fergusson, CWT (District Manager, Southern California, Garratt-Callahan), 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. </p> <p><b> Learning that keeps you employable</b> </p> <p>Water treatment ev...
Water Recycling, Innovation, and Industry Wisdom with Dr. Kelle Zeiher
<p> 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 <b>Dr. Kelle Zeiher</b> (Project Manager at <b>Garratt Callahan</b>) breaks down what water reuse looks like when you move past slogans and into the realities of pretreatment, concentrate management, footprint, and cost. </p> <p><b> Cooling water reuse: the scale of the opportunity</b> </p> <p>Dr. Zeiher reframes "drought" beyond rainfall, emphasizing aquifer recharge and the limits of focusing only on household restrictions. She co...
Water Risk, Governance, and Community Engagement with Dr. Annette Davison
<p>Industrial water professionals sit at the intersection of risk, regulation, and community trust. In this episode, Dr. Annette Davison ("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. </p> <p><b> Water risk from source to customer</b> </p> <p>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, distribution, and customers—then layers governance on top. Who...
UV Innovation and Whole-Building Water Safety with Ron Blutrich
<p> 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. </p> <p><b> When One Bad Cup of Water Redefines a Career</b> </p> <p>In the middle of his PhD in molecular genetics, Ron drank from an under-sink reverse osmosis tap at an Airbnb and contracted Entamoeba histolytica. The...
Building a Culture of Innovation and Customer Service with Frank Lecrone
<p>What happens when you build a company around one niche, listen obsessively to customers, and never stop improving?</p> <p>In this episode, host <b>Trace Blackmore</b> finally sits down for a full-length conversation with <b>Frank Lecrone</b>, Founder, President, and CEO of <b>AquaPhoenix Scientific</b>. 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. </p> <p> Frank shares how AquaPhoenix became "the booth everyone wants to be next to"...
Wastewater Advocacy and Innovation with Robin Deal
<p> "The More You Know" - Robin Deal</p> <p>A million-gallon-a-day perspective, distilled into actionable steps. Robin Deal, AquaPure Product Manager at Hubbard-Hall unpacks how seasoned pros can squeeze more performance—and less sludge—out of industrial wastewater systems without compromising compliance or plant uptime. </p> <p> </p> <p><b>From "clear water in a jar" to stable discharge in the field</b> </p> <p>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), and validate against metals/COD/BOD/phosphorus befo...
Michael Bourgeois on AWT Partnerships and Professional Growth
<p> Get stuck in – Michael Bourgeois, CWT</p> <p><b>How do standards get written in ways that working water treaters can actually meet?</b> In this conversation, AWT Past President, current Related Trade Organization (RTO) Committee Chair, and Chemco Products Company Operations Manager, <b>Michael Bourgeois CWT</b><b>,</b> explains how AWT's liaisons collaborate with peer organizations, so guidance reflects field reality—operations, risk, and achievable compliance. </p> <p> <b>From Field Bags to Board Rooms: Why RTOs Matter</b> </p> <p>Bourgeois outlines the purpose of AWT's RTO structure: volunteer liaisons track and influence work at groups whos...
2025 Halloween Special
<p>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.</p> <p> </p> <p><b >Boiler Rooms, Myths, and Real Risks</b> </p> <p>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 observation. He urges listeners to...
Unlocking Team Potential with Culture Index with Randi Fargen
<p> Hiring in industrial water is slow, specialized, and expensive to get wrong. In this conversation, executive advisor <b>Randi Fargen </b>explains how a <b>two-question, 5–7 minute Culture Index survey</b> becomes an ongoing <b>management and coaching system</b>—not just a hiring screen—so owners cut turnover risk, speed onboarding, and improve day-to-day communication. </p> <p> </p> <p><b>From "assessment fatigue" to a usable language</b> </p> <p>Most teams dread long assessments. This survey takes minutes and measures <b>four primary traits</b>—autonomy, sociability, pace/patience, conformity—plus <b>three sub-traits</b> (logic, ingenuity, mental sta...
Leveraging the Culture Index for Business Success with Danielle Scimeca and Conor Parrish
<p>How do you make "right person, right seat" a repeatable system—not a hope? </p> <p>Fact Water Co's Danielle Scimeca (President) and returning guest Conor Parrish (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.</p> <p><b> From intuition to instrumentation</b> </p> <p>Trace opens with the origin story and quickly moves to wh...
