I moderated and participated in teaching the Problem Water session today, along with Tate Burkhardt, Matt Palmersten, and Marianne Metzger.
Tate A. Burckhardt is Vice President of Better Water Industries Incorporated, which is an OEM of water conditioning equipment and chlorination devices. A second‐generation water professional, Tate started working in the residential water treatment in his youth and now helps tackle some of the worst drinking water problems across the nation.
Matt Palmersten is the mid‐West sales manager for VIQUA, a UV disinfection systems manufacturer. Matt has been in water treatment since 1999 and with VIQUA since 2006. He is a Certified Water Specialist through the Water Quality Association. Matt’s experience in water treatment ranges from application to technical sales.
Marianne Metzger is the General Products Business Manager for National Testing Laboratories, Ltd. She has held a number of different positions with the company over the years, including technical support which has exposed her to varied aspects of residential water testing procedures and protocols.
The thrust of our discussion was to present 3 unique “problem water” issues that would motivate the dealers to think outside the box while working with water test data to collaboratively size and select an appropriate treatment solution. I was very pleased with the tone and outcome of the discussion – my group was energetic and open to learning about new/different ways of addressing the same issues.
My afternoon moderation session was with Robert Slovak of Next filtration, who discussed Alkaline water machines, Alkaline water and related issues. This was an extension of his presentation at Aquatech 2012 and was generally well received, with a grandstanding audience member, and more spirited debate afterwards between proponents of various water treatment technologies. Quite entertaining.