All Things Water

Drought is often viewed as a water supply problem. But for utilities, the reality is far more complex. Drought management can be a multi-year journey in which utilities need to consider not just supply and demand challenges, but also operational, financial, and customer impacts. 

 In this episode, Hazen's Sarah Dominick talks with Greg Fisher, Manager of Demand Planning for Denver Water in Colorado, about lessons learned for utilities as they prepare for, respond to, and recover from drought. 

 Drawing from Greg's experiences navigating three major droughts with Denver Water, he and Sarah discuss how every drought is unique and the growing prevalence of drought even in traditionally water-rich states across the country. They dig into the benefits of robust monitoring, preparation, and scenario planning, and how an emergency response structure can establish crucial collaborations across departments.  

 They also highlight the importance of communicating with customers over the course of a drought, including examples of Denver Water's humor-driven marketing campaigns (think snow-less snow cones and drunk flowers!).  

Guest: Greg Fisher (Denver Water) 

Hosts: Evan Bowles (Hazen), Stephanie Ishii (Hazen), and Sarah Dominick (Hazen) 

 Get more information about Denver Water here: https://www.denverwater.org/  

 Learn more about Hazen and Sawyer here: https://www.hazenandsawyer.com/  

Innovation doesn't just empower water and wastewater utilities to achieve compliance in an evolving regulatory landscape. It can also be the key to driving staggering economic, environmental, and resilience benefits for the communities they serve.  

In this episode, Hazen and Sawyer President Alan Stone talks with Jay Bernas, CEO and General Manager of Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) in Virginia, about the multitude of benefits utilities can realize when they adopt an innovation philosophy. 

Alan and Jay discuss HRSD's innovation journey from a risk-averse mindset to a culture built on trying new things and exploring what’s possible—and the multi-billion-dollar savings they unlocked in the process. They dig into HRSD’s cutting-edge projects, such as the Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT), an innovative managed aquifer recharge system in which highly treated water is put through additional rounds of advanced water treatment to meet drinking water quality standards and achieve multiple goals. Additional highlights include discussions on the importance of strategic alignment, collaboration, and communications when implementing major future-facing initiatives and what’s next for the organization (hint: it involves a robot dog!). 

Guest: Jay Bernas (Hampton Roads Sanitation District) 

Hosts: Evan Bowles (Hazen), Stephanie Ishii (Hazen), and Alan Stone (Hazen) 

Get more information about HRSD here: https://www.hrsd.com/  

Learn more about Hazen and Sawyer here: https://www.hazenandsawyer.com/