Evan Thomas, an environmental engineering professor at the University of Colorado – Boulder, details the fascinating story of Virridy and how Virridy promotes water security through remote sensing. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for the final Bluefield on Tap of 2022. In this session, you’ll learn about: How a bioastronautics Ph.D. became an environmental engineering professor Why Evan founded Virridy to facilitate water security in drought prone regions in Africa How Evan identified the date gap ...
Dec 06, 2022•41 min
Manny Teodoro returns to discuss his new co-authored book, The Profits of Distrust . Manny lends his keen insights and explains the tenets of the book in a clear and concise manner. His findings, all backed by substantial evidence, will definitely surprise you and should cause utility leaders to sit up and take notice. In this session, you’ll learn about: Manny’s COVID experience moving during the pandemic and starting a new job Why Manny and his co-authors wrote The Profits of Distrust The rela...
Nov 15, 2022•46 min
Austin Alexander, Vice President of Sustainability and Social Impact at Xylem, lays out key features of Xylem’s new report, Net Zero: The Race We All Win . Austin delves into simple ways to start on the path to net zero and enhancers to achieve net zero in the water industry. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for another Bluefield on Tap segment talking desalination. In this session, you’ll learn about: Austin’s journey to the water sector (it started in middle school!) Austin’s work on decarbonizing...
Nov 01, 2022•43 min
MentorAPM Co-founder & CEO, Tacoma Zach, takes us on a fantastic ride covering asset management and how it helps utilities manage their most important assets. In this session, you’ll learn about: Tacoma’s work history domestically and internationally, including interesting perspectives on the impact of different governments and financial systems on project success What asset management is High level overview of ISO 55000 Why making risk-based decision is so important to asset management Why ...
Oct 18, 2022•44 min
Melissa Kelly, Staff Director and Attorney for the Center for Land, Environment, and Natural Resources at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, and Caroline Koch, Water Policy Director for WaterNow Alliance, provide an enlightening discussion on localized water infrastructure. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for another Bluefield on Tap segment. In this session, you’ll learn about: Melissa’s work with the Center for Land, Environment, and Natural Resources (CLEANR) Caroline’s work wit...
Oct 04, 2022•43 min
374Water’s Marc Deshusses provides unique insights on supercritical water oxidation and its ability to destroy PFAS. Marc also discusses his early efforts to harness the power of supercritical water oxidation, overcoming technological obstacles, and the path towards commercialization. In this session, you’ll learn about: What supercritical water oxidation is What supercritical water oxidation does (hint: it will not only remove stains from your laundry, it will eviscerate your laundry) How Marc ...
Sep 20, 2022•38 min
The AWWA’s Barb Martin (Director of Engineering and Technical Services) discusses the fantastic opportunity to participate in the inaugural Transformative Water Leadership Academy. Reese Tisdale also appears for a Bluefield on Tap segment discussing the Jackson, MS, crisis and the SouthWest Water-Corix tie up. In this session, you’ll learn about: What the Transformative Water Leadership Academy (TWLA) is Why it’s necessary The details of the program – what is required, time commitment (it’s not ...
Sep 06, 2022•38 min
Mae Stevens, Chair of the Water Practice at Banner Public Affairs, delivers a terrific interview discussing some of the ins and outs of Capitol Hill, unpacking the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and providing tips to ensure the water sector gets its due from Congress. In this session, you’ll learn about: Mae’s background on The Hill and in water policy The Congressional aide program and quick tips on how to get a job on The Hill The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (i.e., IIJA, th...
Aug 16, 2022•41 min
Alexander Loucopoulos, a partner with Sciens Water, provides an overview of Sciens Water’s well-thought out market and investment strategy. Alexander also makes the case that water is a great investment and that we need more people investing in water. In this session, you’ll learn about: The story of how Alexander and Sciens Water landed in the water sector Why Alex chose to approach water investments in the mid-market private equity space with a focus on real assets How water offers the ability...
Aug 02, 2022•46 min
Dr. Stephanie Smith, Product Segment Manager for Xylem’s Laboratory Solutions for North America, presents a great opportunity for water in solving the climate crisis. Stephanie explores practical methods for the water sector to address its climate impacts and also provides her position to get water higher on the policy agenda. In this session, you’ll learn about: Stephanie’s awesome story of how she came to the water sector How Stephanie views the climate crisis as a huge opportunity How the Int...
Jun 21, 2022•39 min
Emily Simonson, the Director of Strategic Partnerships of the US Water Alliance, shares findings, insights and strategies distilled from the US Water Alliance’s recent report entitled Catalyzing Community-Driven Utility Consolidations and Partnerships. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for another Bluefield on Tap segment discussing The Digital Water Revolution . In this session, you’ll learn about: Emily’s background and how she gravitated to the water sector Why the US Water Alliance chose to tackl...
Jun 07, 2022•39 min
Aaron Tartakovsky, CEO & Co-founder of Epic Cleantec, provides an outstanding overview of water reuse systems, their benefits and how centralized and decentralized components of a water system support and strengthen each other. In this session, you’ll learn about: Epic Cleantech’s origin story in the onsite water reuse space The policy background driving onsite reuse How onsite reuse supplements centralized treatment systems Why and how San Francisco implemented its requirement for onsite re...
May 17, 2022•37 min
Alan Tucker, Information Technology Program Manager with Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, provides a compelling case for collaboration in the utility technology space. In this session, you’ll learn about: Alan’s background and how he came to the water sector Alan’s thoughts on state of innovation and data usage in the water utility industry Alan’s work on Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District’s digital twin The paradox between speed of technological advancement and utility adoption Why Ala...
May 03, 2022•47 min
Mike Sumner, the Director of Information Technology for the Consolidated Utility District of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, provides cybersecurity basics and tips. Mike entertains with his description of the Oldsmar, Florida, water utility cyberattack and its context occurring during Super Bowl week. In this session, you’ll learn about: Mike’s background in cybersecurity in the auto and utility industries A comparison of cybersecurity issues in the auto and utility sectors Password/passphrase basics W...
Apr 19, 2022•38 min
Kendall Dix, National Policy Director for the Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy, comes on to discuss his recent article for the People’s Policy Center advocating for elimination of water rates. In this session, you’ll learn about: Kendall’s background Why Kendall wrote his article advocating for elimination of residential water rates Why residential water rates are typically regressive Why Kendall believes water usage is inelastic How Kendall proposes to replace water utility revenues How I...
Apr 05, 2022•40 min
Katrina Donaghy, founder of Civic Ledger and Water Ledger and blockchain leader, comes on to discuss blockchain and how it can benefit the water sector. In this session, you’ll learn about: Katrina’s background in Australian disaster response and how it transitioned her into the utility space Katrina’s work in the “utility of the future” space for a major utility A lay explanation of blockchain The connection between data and blockchain How blockchain helps interoperability of data across enterp...
Mar 15, 2022•51 min
Bryan Stubbs, the President and Executive Director of the Cleveland Water Alliance, provides a compelling case for the water tech model that embraces economic development while nestled along the shores of the Great Lakes where 21% of the world’s fresh surface water resided. In this session, you’ll learn about: Bryan’s entrepreneurial background in sustainable economic development How Cleveland Water Alliance promotes the water economy in the Cleveland area How the Cleveland Water Alliance has fo...
Mar 01, 2022•41 min
Iris Gonzales, Philippine Star reporter and columnist, provides an eye-opening discussion on water in the Philippines and the Manila water concessions. Iris also explains the impact of the recently enacted legislative franchises granted by the Filipino government. In this session, you’ll learn about: Iris’ coverage of water in the Philippines How the Philippines set up water utilities after achieving independence on July 4, 1946 Why President Ramos privatized the water utility industry in the Ph...
Feb 15, 2022•36 min
Robin Craig, the Robert C. Packard Trustee Chair in Law at USC Gould School of Law and long-time water law professor, joins us to discuss the background, arguments and holding in Mississippi v. Tennessee, and provides some insights on what the case might mean for State water policy moving forward. In this session, you’ll learn about: Robin’s extensive background in water law The factual background of Mississippi v. Tennessee The procedural history of Mississippi v. Tennessee Why Mississippi sued...
Feb 01, 2022•43 min
Christina Lundbäck provides a fascinating discussion of SurfCleaner and its applications to remove contaminants from water at wastewater treatment plants, industrial facilities, ports, harbors, and spills. In this session, you’ll learn about: What SurfCleaner is How the technology behind SurfCleaner was developed How SurfCleaner was developed based on the human heart How SurfCleaner works How SurfCleaner helps separate and capture floating solids How SurfCleaner helps remove oil and fuel from wa...
Jan 18, 2022•33 min
Water industry veteran and Association of State Drinking Administrators (ASDWA) Executive Director Alan Roberson discusses the big issues facing the water sector from a state regulatory perspective. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for a Bluefield on Tap segment. In this session, you’ll learn about: What ASDWA is ASDWA’s membership The priorities in 2022 for state drinking water regulators Why the Lead and Copper Rule is the most complex regulation to administer How the Lead and Copper Rule interpla...
Jan 04, 2022•43 min
An all-star panel of water leaders participate in a roundtable discussion about what happened in the year that was 2021 and provide insights on what 2022 might hold for the water sector. In this session, you’ll learn about: Each panelist’s takeaways from 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding issues Why the IIJA needs to be a “down payment” on our infrastructure rather than a one-time investment Why our panelists are worried about small and medium sized utilities How larger u...
Dec 21, 2021•49 min
Christoph Gorder, Chief Global Water Officer, blows us away with a deep dive on charity: water and its work. In this session, you’ll learn about: How Christoph transitioned from disaster relief to charity: water charity: water’s mission How charity: water’s unique structure helps it achieve success How charity: water overcame one of the unique fundraising challenges Why clean water helps reduce infant mortality rates, increase literacy rates and increase income How much it costs charity: water t...
Dec 07, 2021•33 min
Alyson Watson, CEO of Woodard & Curran, delivers a tour de force performance explaining why the water industry needs a fresh approach to delivering services and advocating for an outcome based contracting approach focused on trust and empathy. In this session, you’ll learn about: Alyson’s background as a “water brat” Alyson’s perspective on the prevailing mode of project delivery Why shifting to an outcome based approach makes more sense How risk can be shifted to the private sector to facil...
Nov 16, 2021•33 min
Cameron was a civilian employee working on a U.S. Army base before moving to a military contractor. Cameron gives a terrific interview shining a light on water issues on military installations in this U.S. Army approved interview. In this session, you’ll learn about: Cameron’s background Why water is important to the armed forces Water needs and use on military bases Cameron’s role as a civilian working on water issues for the U.S. Army The collaboration on water issues between the military and ...
Nov 02, 2021•42 min
James Eklund returns to The Water Values Podcast for a third time to provide an argument for why demand management is critical to the future of the Colorado River. In this session, you’ll learn about: What James has been up to since his last podcast appearance A brief history of the Colorado River Compact How the Upper Basin and Lower Basin came to be How climate change has impacted the Colorado River Compact What demand management is How demand management and water banking worked in the Lower B...
Oct 19, 2021•42 min
Alison Adams, now Chief Technology Officer at INTERA, drove innovation at Tampa Bay Water when she helped pioneer Tampa Bay Water’s digital transformation. Alison provides firsthand knowledge about how to design a program for digital transformation, how to get employee buy in, and the benefits your utility will achieve along the way. Plus Reese Tisdale joins us for another Bluefield on Tap segment. In this session, you’ll learn about: How Alison’s upbringing on a farm helped form her appreciatio...
Oct 05, 2021•41 min
Claudia Toussaint, General Counsel of Xylem, provides a terrific discussion of ESG issues from the perspective of a publicly traded corporation’s general counsel. In a nutshell, Claudia describes how little acorns of ESG can grow into mighty oaks when corporate boards use ESG to guide their business strategies. In this session, you’ll learn about: Claudia’s unique background What ESG is from a publicly traded company’s perspective Why the water sector is so central to ESG issues How sustainabili...
Sep 21, 2021•34 min
Tom Ferguson of Imagine H2O fame and now captaining Burnt Island Ventures joins The Water Values Podcast for an engaging discussion on early stage and venture capital investing in the water sector and a big picture discussion about what the water sector needs to achieve greatness. In this session, you’ll learn about: Tom’s unique story for how he landed in the water sector Why Tom believes that deserving companies in water typically get funded, although their paths may be disparate Burnt Island ...
Sep 07, 2021•51 min
Brent Fewell of the Water Finance Exchange shares the story of why the Water Finance Exchange was established and how it aims to serve the significant need for water infrastructure funding in the market. In this session, you’ll learn about: What the Water Finance Exchange is Why the Water Finance Exchange was founded How the Water Finance Exchange is funded Brent’s view on why communities have not been proactive in seeking water infrastructure funding Brent’s thoughts on how the Water Finance Ex...
Aug 17, 2021•36 min
