Meet CJ Strain

Introducing our Product Manager for all of our Filtration technologies – we have CJ Strain! CJ has put in his years with us to help provide you the best service and technologies for managing your wastewater treatment plant and meeting your nutrient removal specifications.

Length of Time with Nexom: 8+ years; many hats, but I think titles were R&D Manager (for lack of anything better); Product Manager, Filtration 

Technologies: MITA Pile Cloth Filters, BluePro, BlueNite 

Q: How did you get to the position you are in now? You’ve worked for Nexom and in the industry as a whole for quite a while, so it’s safe to assume you’ve held other positions before this one.  

A: I was an officer for Blue Water Technologies, acquired 9/6/2016; I was with Blue Water for 10+ years (Chemical Engineer; Field Eng; Director of Applications Development; Chief Technical Officer) 

Q: What is your favorite part about filtration to talk about and why?  

A: Filtration has a lot of responsibility in a wastewater plant and can be technically challenging. Filtration is often seen as the barrier final treatment stage making sure that BOD, TSS and nutrient compliance is maintained, and it is also essential in many cases for optimizing disinfection while minimizing associated costs. I always like to be challenged and have many times while applying filtration in its varied forms and circumstances over the past 20+ years. 

Q: What do you wish others in the wastewater industry understood that isn’t talked about enough? 

A: 1) chemistry is not always a simple recipe; 2) properties of water are well modeled, but don’t forget solids concentration, size, and quality; 3) did I mention that chemistry is not always straightforward? 

Q: What project or technology have you worked on or completed recently that you’re most proud of and want mentioned here?  

A: There are many, but to name one that I am proud of was the supply of Nexom’s Mita cloth media filter in Black & Veatch’s treatment plant expansion for a Florida utility. It gave me the opportunity to build and strengthen my professional relationships while serving a need that I am passionate about – this is life fulfillment to me in a nutshell.