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 AI-Driven Leader: Harnessing AI to Make Faster, Smarter Decisions by Geoff Woods, AI Thought Leadership

The Accidental Superpower: Ten Years On by Peter Zeihan (Narrator, Author)

The Shattering Peace: Old Man's War, Book 7 by John Scalzi (Author), Tavia Gilbert (Narrator), Audible Studios (Publisher)

Education Offerings – AWT

Become Certified – AWT

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

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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.