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Industrial Water Week 2025: Wastewater Thursday
Episode 444
Wastewater isn't an endpoint—it's a decision point. On Wastewater Thursday, host Trace Blackmore, CWT sharpens the operator's toolkit with field-tested lessons: dose by mechanism, verify by sampling discipline, and use wastewater's fast feedback to protect quality, cost, and permits.
Sampling discipline protects credibility
Trace recounts an early-career moment when an inspector sampled the wrong location, triggering alarms. Immediate, methodical resampling—guided by logs and a clear process map—proved the system was in spec. The leadership takeaway: embed verification before escalation. Clear sampling points, time-stamped logs, and a rapid "reproduce the reading" drill turn uncertainty into clarity.
Mechanism over myth: coagulant control
In a new Detective H2O case, James McDonald explains why overfeeding coagulant collapses floc. When particles swing past neutral, like charges repel again and settling stalls. The fix is not "more chemistry," but right-sizing dose to production and confirming with jar tests at the correct take-off point.
From discharge to resource
Greetings from past guests reinforce the shift under way. Arnaud Valleteau de Moulliac (Veolia Water Technology) frames wastewater as a local, decarbonized resource—with energy-positive plants and reuse as standard practice. Steve Russell (Kiewit) notes supply pressure will push even deeper recycling. Mark Lewis, CWT (Southeastern Laboratories) underscores wastewater's advantage: "If you treat it, you see it."
Make wastewater a reliable, fast-feedback control loop—rooted in charge balance, sampling rigor, and reuse thinking.
Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!
Timestamps:
02:17 — Welcome to Wastewater Thursday and the IWW25 theme: "From foundations to futures."
03:03 — Why wastewater is "the restart": cleaning for reuse and sustainability.
04:24 — "Every drop counts from influent to effluent" — defining the professional mandate.
05:12 — Field story setup: jar testing with Trace's father; early lessons.
06:05 — Crisis call: bad regulatory number traced to wrong sampling location.
08:54 — Guest greeting: Arnaud Valleteau de Moulliac (Veolia) on energy-positive, reuse-driven futures.
10:25 — Guest greeting: Steve Russell (Kiewit) on permits, mass balances, and supply-driven recycling.
12:09 — Guest greeting: Mark Lewis, CWT (Southeastern Laboratories) on jar tests and product selection.
14:40 — Detective H2O: The case of too much of a good thing
20:17 — Mechanism lesson: charge neutralization window; like-charge repulsion returns when overdosed.
21:36 — Action: reduce dose; account for residence time; restore performance.
24:29 — IWW25 community prompt: post a safety-approved photo with wastewater equipment; use tags.
Connect with Mark Lewis
Phone: 704.322.5406
Email: MLewis@SELaboratories.com
Website: https://www.selaboratories.com/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mark-lewis-01a3b56
Connect with Steve Russell
Phone: 913.689.4533