{"podcast":{"title":"Scaling UP! H2O","slug":"scaling-up-h2o-7746","podcast_index_feed_id":7746,"rss_url":"https://scalingup.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"http://scalinguph2o.com","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/b/0/0/f/b00f6cb167c1837a/ScalingUP-Logo-Color-2019-square.jpg","author":"R. Trace Blackmore, CWT, LEED AP: Water Treatment Enthusiast, Trainer and Consultant","episode_count":491,"summary":"The podcast where we scale up on knowledge so we don't scale up our systems. Find out why working in Industrial Water Treatment is the best job in the world. Hear industry experts share their knowledge and stories. Learn about technologies, methods, and career journeys. Join podcast host Trace Blackmore, former AWT President, LEED, and CWT every Friday for a new episode.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/scaling-up-h2o-7746"},"episode":{"title":"473 From Oil to Water: How the Water Midstream Sector Was Born with John Durand","slug":"473-from-oil-to-water-how-the-water-midstream-sector-was-born-with-john-durand","published_at":"2026-04-25T18:14:52+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/scaling-up-h2o-7746/473-from-oil-to-water-how-the-water-midstream-sector-was-born-with-john-durand","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/scaling-up-h2o-7746","url":"https://scalinguph2o.com/2026/04/25/473-the-water-midstream-sector-was-born-with-john-durand/","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/scalingup/Scaling_Up_H2O_-_473_-_John_Durand_v2.mp3?dest-id=797464","summary":"Industrial water professionals often think about water in terms of treatment, compliance, reuse, and operational risk. John Durand brings a different but closely connected view: water as infrastructure, water as a managed resource, and water as a strategic part of energy development. John Durand , one of the early pioneers of the water midstream sector and CEO of Magnificent Desolation, LLC , joins Trace Blackmore to explain how produced water moved from a disposal challenge to a large-scale infrastructure opportunity. From Disposal Model to Managed Resource John describes how the growth of horizontal drilling changed the scale of water management in the Permian Basin. A vertical well once used a fraction of the water required for today's horizontal wells, creating a need for pipelines, reuse systems, recycling strategies, and long-term infrastructure planning. He explains that the water midstream sector emerged because the old approach—trucking water or simply sending it to disposal—could not keep pace with the volume. Today, the conversation has shifted toward produced water reuse, recycling, and the search for beneficial uses outside of oil and gas. Produced Water, Salinity, and Future Use John notes that produced water can carry very high salinity, sometimes many times higher than seawater. That creates treatment challenges, especially when thinking beyond oilfield reuse and toward broader industrial applications. He also points to future opportunities for produced water in data centers, electric generation, cooling applications, and possibly other beneficial reuse pathways. The key message is clear: water once treated as waste may become an important resource if the industry continues to innovate responsibly. Infrastructure, Trust, and Public-Private Partnerships…","meta_description":"Industrial water professionals often think about water in terms of treatment, compliance, reuse, and operational risk. John Durand brings a different but…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4019,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/scaling-up-h2o-7746/episodes/473-from-oil-to-water-how-the-water-midstream-sector-was-born-with-john-durand/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/scaling-up-h2o-7746/473-from-oil-to-water-how-the-water-midstream-sector-was-born-with-john-durand.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}