Episode
461 Corrosion, Lead, and Algae: New Tools for Old Water Problems
- Podcast
- Scaling UP! H2O
- Published
- Jan 30, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3273
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://scalinguph2o.com/?p=59707
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Summary
Corrosion rarely announces itself as a "big water problem." It shows up as leaching at the tap, residual loss in the field, premature equipment replacement, and the slow, expensive erosion of decision-quality. Pat Rosenstiel (CEO) and Wolf Merker (chemist/Chief Science Officer) of Great Water Tech lay out a system-wide view of corrosion control—starting with what changed in Flint from a technical standpoint and moving into why many utilities still struggle to meet expectations when standards and risk assumptions shift. System-wide corrosion control starts with chemistry and consequences A source-water change can shift corrosivity fast. If corrosion control does not adjust proactively, the downstream effects show in metal release and public exposure. Wolf stresses the distinction between the technical problem and the political challenges, then points to corrosion control as a solvable technical matter when it is treated as a system condition—not a single asset issue. Why "phosphate-only" isn't the end of the story Trace frames what most operators recognize: many municipalities use phosphate inhibitors to form a tenacious film and reduce corrosion. Wolf argues phosphates are "a little bit of old news" in practice and explains the approach Great Water Tech discusses with their German partners—using phosphates and silicates together in the right amounts to create a tighter separation between water and metal. Barriers, biology, and the disinfection tradeoff Wolf breaks corrosion drivers into three sources: chemical, biological, and electrochemical (dissimilar metal corrosion). He also ties corrosion to cascading operational decisions—especially disinfectant strategy. If residual loss pushes a system from chlorine to chloramine, Wolf warns that corrosivity can increase drama…