500 Industrial Water Week 2026: Cooling Wednesday

Cooling Wednesday brings a practical reminder: correcting a treatment problem requires understanding what caused it. For Industrial Water Week 2026, Trace Blackmore, CWT, celebrates Episode 500 with lessons on cooling tower foam, biocide feed verification, Legionella risk, and unexplained chilled water loss.

Start with the feed history

When a cooling tower produces enough foam to spread across the property and trigger low water shutdowns, Trace begins with the biocide feed logs. He compares the chemical remaining in the tank with calculated consumption and finds evidence of earlier underfeeding, even though the pump operates correctly during his inspection.

Trace connects the foaming to accumulated biofilm and explains why a biological treatment program needs a clean system to maintain. The case highlights the value of checking historical chemical delivery alongside current equipment operation.

Find what interrupted treatment

After the tower is cleaned and the biocide program is restored, the problem returns. A plant engineer discovers that a contractor has unplugged the biocide pump from the controller output and connected a power tool instead.

The team labels both the pump plug and its connection at the controller, then adds a notice identifying the connection as something other than a general outlet. Their response addresses the cause and gives other people working around the equipment a clearer instruction.

Connect cooling data with risk management

Returning guests Jake (Jacob) Deak, Christine McHugh, and Matt Freije share Cooling Wednesday greetings. Jake discusses tracer monitoring technology, while Christine describes using water temperature, circulation, pH, makeup water, and environmental data to inform Legionella risk reduction.

Matt recalls a cooling tower worker's experience with Legionnaires' disease and emphasizes water management, maintenance, treatment, and testing. Their contributions connect cooling performance with the people working around these systems.

Investigate where the water is going

In the fictional Detective H2O: The Case of the Blues, a hospital's chilled water loop loses pressure and requires increasing makeup water, yet inspections reveal no visible leak. The investigation finds an ice machine connected to the chilled water loop instead of domestic cold water.