502 Industrial Water Week 2026: Careers Friday

Experienced water treaters carry knowledge that the next generation needs. For Careers Friday, Trace Blackmore, CWT asks them to pass it on. The Industrial Water Week 2026 finale connects industrial water treatment careers with mentorship, practical training, and curiosity.

Pass on the reasoning behind the work

Trace describes a mentor as someone you can call when a system presents a problem you cannot explain. Learning from another professional’s challenges, mistakes, and experience helped him solve problems and later mentor others.

He also addresses professionals preparing to retire. Their water treatment legacy can continue through a colleague who learns from their experience.

Three routes into a water career

Brian Liotta of USALCO recounts a career that began in water treatment chemical manufacturing and expanded into commercial work and distribution. Jemma Tennant, chair of the Water Management Society and an SMS Environmental employee, shares how effluent-plant work and a conversation with Sir David Attenborough inspired her career.

Meanwhile, Dr. David Krause of HC3 describes entering the field through public health responses to waterborne disease. His message includes industrial hygiene resources and training in health and safety, confined-space entry, and combustible dust.

Detective H2O: The Case of Adolescent Curiosity

Detective H2O introduces two high school students to pretreatment, boiler water, data center cooling, and batch wastewater treatment. James McDonald brings the series to listeners, while Trace credits Mark Lewis with writing today’s case.

The tour connects ion exchange and softener regeneration with boiler protection, then explains deaeration, sulfite, and neutralizing amines. At the data center, corrosion coupons, bacteria dipslides, conductivity, operating trends, and chiller approach support a complete testing program.

The wastewater stop adds jar testing, coagulant and flocculant selection, clarification, and filter-press dewatering. The lesson links discharge requirements with the cost of hauling wet sludge.

Guest voices, peer support, and a next step

Trace thanks Pyxis Lab, the official sponsor of Industrial Water Week 2026, and reveals the guest voices behind all five Detective H2O cases. He also describes the Rising Tide Mastermind as a place for regular peer support, accountability, and shared knowledge.

His closing request gives listeners a practical next step: thank someone who helped build their knowledge, seek a mentor, or mentor another water professional. Keep that exchange active so the industry’s experience continues to reach the next generation.

Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!

Timestamp

01:10 — Trace opens Careers Friday and thanks Pyxis Lab for supporting Industrial Water Week 2026.

04:40 — Trace recognizes the community’s photos, stories, and mystery-voice guesses as ways to celebrate the profession.

07:40 — Trace connects career development with mentors who share experience and help newcomers understand unfamiliar systems.

10:00 — Trace asks professionals nearing retirement to mentor someone so their water treatment knowledge continues.

11:00 — Brian Liotta shares his route from chemical manufacturing into commercial work and distribution, illustrating the industry’s career range.

12:10 — Jemma Tennant describes her effluent-plant beginnings and encourages women to consider careers in water.

13:00 — Dr. David Krause connects public health work with water treatment and emphasizes training that helps professionals work safely.

16:10 — The Case of Adolescent Curiosity begins a student tour designed to make industrial water treatment visible as a career.

21:10 — The pretreatment stop explains ion exchange, hardness removal, and the importance of softener regeneration and monitoring.

23:30 — The boiler-room visit connects dissolved oxygen, deaeration, sulfite, and condensate treatment with corrosion control.

25:00 — The data center visit links cooling-water performance with heat transfer, reliability, and a complete testing program.

27:00 — The wastewater stop explains batch testing, chemical selection, clarification, and dewatering to manage discharge and disposal costs.

31:20 — Trace reveals the guest voices behind the week’s five Detective H2O cases and recalls their previous podcast appearances.

38:50 — Trace urges listeners to thank their mentors and keep sharing knowledge, then introduces the Rising Tide Mastermind’s peer support.

42:00 — Trace identifies October 4–8, 2027 as the next Industrial Water Week and invites final IWW26 celebration posts.

Connect with Brian Liotta

Phone: 15102747326