Field notes
What we find in plants, and what it is worth.
Notes from audits, measurement and the arithmetic behind the numbers. No vendor theatre — where something is an estimate, it says so.
California now asks data centers what they actually use, under penalty of perjury
Two bills signed on 21 September split a data center's water into total and direct use, by source, on every business license renewal. A third requirement lands in 2028. Most sites cannot currently answer either.
ReadWhat 25 days of historian data actually shows about a treatment plant
A membrane-bioreactor reuse plant sent us 1,001 tags and 7.2 million values, and nothing else. Here is the method, the findings, and what each one was worth a year.
ReadWhy parallel equipment drifts apart, and what the gap costs
Twin basins, duty and standby pumps, two membrane trains. Equipment built to do the same job should behave the same way. The moment it stops is the most useful signal most plants never look at.
ReadSpectral change analysis versus calibrated parameters
Most online analysers sell you a parameter list. A spectrum is a different kind of instrument, and pretending otherwise is how vendors end up over-promising. Here is the distinction and why it matters.
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Insights
Technical guides
Longer reference pieces on matching signals to decisions, by sector.
Spectral Sensing and AI for Industrial Water
How UV/Vis optical signals and SCADA data work together to diagnose losses, test interventions and validate measurements.
Metal Finishing Rinse Control Decisions
How metal finishers can use conductivity, flow and production context to judge rinse performance before adding another sensor.
Industrial Water Reuse Monitoring Guide
A practical guide to matching flow, turbidity, ATP, lab tests and targeted sensing to the operating decisions in an industrial water reuse line.
Liquid Cooling Water Quality Decisions
A practical way to separate facility water and technology cooling loops, interpret existing water quality signals, and define an operator response.