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Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, talks with Robert Mace and Sharlene Leurig about a new study that is exploring the science behind Comanche Springs’ recent reawakening and the efforts that could help Fort Stockton reclaim its title as the Spring City of Texas. Once one of the five largest springs in Texas, Comanche Springs ceased flowing in the 1950s due to significant groundwater pumping upstream from the springs. Over the last decade, however, the once-quiet springs have begun flowing again in the late winter months. The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University and Texas Water Trade are conducting a feasibility assessment of a market-based restoration of Comanche Springs. The assessment will evaluate what it would take to restore perennial flows using voluntary, market-based cooperation of groundwater owners in the Comanche Springs’ contributing and recharge zones. Sharlene Leurig is the Chief Executive Officer of Texas Water Trade. She is a sustainable water finance expert with extensive experience in Texas on long-range water planning, infrastructure finance and water transactions. Formerly, she directed the Texas Environmental Flows Initiative, a collaboration of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, the Harte Research Institute, The Nature Conservancy, and several other groups, to purchase water for the bays and estuaries of the Texas Gulf Coast. She also chaired the Austin Water Forward Task Force, which developed a groundbreaking 100-year water plan approved unanimously by the Austin City Council in 2018. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Physics and English from Washington University in St. Louis and a Master in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was a fellow in the MIT-USGS Science Impact Collaborative, focusing on the role of science in multi-stakeholder resource planning and dispute resolution. Robert Mace is the Interim Executive Director and Chief Water Policy Officer at The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment and a Professor of Practice in the Department of Geography at Texas State University. He has over 30 years of experience in hydrology, hydrogeology, stakeholder processes and water policy, mostly in Texas. Before joining Texas State University in 2017, Mace worked at the Texas Water Development Board for 17 years ending his career there as the Deputy Executive Administrator for the Water Science & Conservation office. While at the Board, Robert worked on understanding groundwater and surface water resources in Texas; advancing water conservation and innovative water technologies such as desalination, aquifer storage and recovery, reuse, and rainwater harvesting; and protecting Texans from floods. Prior to joining the Texas Water Development Board, Robert worked nine years at the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin as a hydrologist and research scientist. Robert has a Bachelor of Science in Geophysics and a Master of Science in Hydrology from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and a doctorate in hydrogeology from The University of Texas at Austin.

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Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Dresden Farrand, Chief Executive Officer of the American Water Resources Association (AWRA). Prior to joining the AWRA team, Farrand was the vice president of membership and chapter development for the Independent Electrical Contractors Association (IEC), a national trade association, where she created strong new sources of revenue and organizational growth. Her other association successes include building programs and services, increasing membership and fostering high performing teams that put members at the center of their work. She is a certified association executive (CAE), and holds a masters degree in public administration/non-profit management from University of Missouri-Columbia and a masters degree in public policy from St. Louis University.

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Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Sarah Rountree Schlessinger, Executive Director of the Texas Water Foundation. Schlessinger previously worked in groundwater policy and regulation, and has experience with international non-profits with interest in water policy. She currently serves as an appointed member of the Water Conservation Advisory Council, and holds a Master of Science in Water Science, Policy and Management from the University of Oxford.

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Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Peter Lake, the Chairman of the Texas Water Development Board. Lake has served as a Board member of the Texas Water Development Board since December 15, 2015. Governor Greg Abbott designated him Chairman in February 2018.Lake has held a variety of financial roles across a number of industries. Previously, he acted as director of research and head of automated trading at Gambit Trading, a member firm of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In this capacity, he led the firm's market research initiatives and directed the development of its first automated trading programs. As one of the firm’s proprietary market makers he also traded interest rate derivatives, primarily focusing on U.S. Treasury bond futures.He has also served as director of business development for Lake Ronel Oil Company, where he focused on financial analysis of upstream oil and gas opportunities. In addition, he served as director of special operations for VantageCap Partners. In this position he played a key role in the due diligence, valuation, and transactional aspects of the successful divestment of the firm’s primary investment.

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Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Leah Martinsson, the Executive Director of the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts (TAGD). Leah joined TAGD as the executive director in March 2019. She recently relocated to Texas from Colorado, where she was a practicing water rights attorney for over 15 years. In her legal practice, she has represented the interests of a wide range of water users – from municipal water providers to agricultural well users.In addition to obtaining new water rights and protecting existing rights for her clients, Leah also participated in Colorado’s statewide water planning process and associated water-related legislation. She has been active in Colorado’s efforts to develop alternative methods to permanent transfers of agricultural water to meet growing municipal demands, including the development and implementation of a temporary land fallowing – water leasing program. Leah obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and her law degree from the University of Colorado-Boulder.

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Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, talks with Jennifer Bowles, the Executive Director of the Water Education Foundation. The Water Education Foundation is a Sacramento based nonprofit organization that works to create a better understanding of water resources and foster public understanding and resolution of water resource issues through facilitation, education and outreach. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2014, Jennifer was an award winning journalist covering western water issues. Jennifer received her bachelor’s degree in journalism and history from the University of Southern California.

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Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, talks with Clint Wolfe and Daniel Cunningham about saving water by landscaping with native plants, rainwatering harvesting, and other topics. Clint Wolfe is the Program Manager for the Water University. Clint facilitates a team of water resources professionals to assist with research and outreach programming in the areas of water quality, water use efficiency and watershed planning. He is charged to work with local governments, state and federal agencies and other entities to develop programs dealing with water quantity and quality issues. Wolfe specializes in program development, stakeholder facilitation, communications and marketing. Daniel Cunningham, Horticulturist of Texas A&M AgriLife's Water University program, reaches professionals and the public with the most current sustainability information about landscape water use, including design, plant selection, and water-conserving landscape management practices. His primary focus is a holistic approach to landscaping and food production systems. Cunningham specializes in Texas native plants and trees, vegetable gardening, edible landscaping, and rainwater harvesting. He is also passionate about utilizing landscapes as habitat for beneficial wildlife.

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Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, talks with a panel about water and new startup technologies. The participants are led by Erin Keys who manages Water RIOT (Water Resiliency with Internet of Things) at the Austin Technology Incubator (ATI), which is the deep technology incubator affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin (UT). With Erin are John Higley who is CEO of EQO, which has developed a zebra mussel monitoring and detection service; and Jim Brotherton, CEO of Hydroid, which has developed a smart water meter that saves money, conserves water and protects your property from water damage. ATI is the longest active technology incubator in the United States. Water RIOT’s partners are: Pecan Street, 3-Day Startup, FATHOM, the City of Austin, the UT Energy Institute, and the UT Bureau of Business Research. You can learn more about ATI’s Water RIOT, EQO and Hydroid by visiting their websites: ATI’s Water RIOT: https://ati.utexas.edu/wriot/EQO: http://www.eqo.life/Hydroid: https://hydroidmeter.com/

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Also, just a note that Talk+Water has been ranked as one of the top water podcasts in the world by FeedSpot and MillionPodcasts!

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Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, talks with Dr. Rosario Sanchez, who is a Senior Research Scientist and Associate Graduate Faculty in the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) at Texas A&M University. She is the Principal Investigator of the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Act Program funded by the USGS. Her work is to integrate, develop and create research and data on transboundary aquifers between Mexico and the United States, particularly with Texas. She has 15 years of academic and work experience on transboundary issues between Mexico and the United States and has been working and publishing on transboundary water issues at international and binational level since 2006. Her work has been cited by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) in 2016 and 2018. She has recently published the only complete study on transboundary aquifers between Mexico and Texas that has deserved recognition by state and federal agencies from both sides of the border. She is now working on developing models for cooperation and management of transboundary aquifers between Mexico and the United States.

Take a deep dive into the world of water with those making  waves!

Also, just a note that Talk+Water has been ranked as one of the top water podcasts in the world by FeedSpot and MillionPodcasts!

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Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, talks with Lara Fowler, who is a mediator and an attorney focused on all things water, energy, and dispute resolution. Prior to joining Penn State in 2012, she worked on public policy issues for the Oregon Water Resources Department and practiced law Seattle. As a private practitioner, she helped facilitate discussions on water issues in Washington, California, and Oregon. She now holds a joint appointment as a Senior Lecturer at Penn State Law and the Assistant Director for Outreach and Engagement with Penn State’s Institute of Energy and the Environment. She will be a Fulbright Scholar in Sweden during the 2019-2020 academic year, partnered with Dr. Ashok Swain, who is the UNESCO Chair of International Water Cooperation, and Director of the Research School for International Water Cooperation at Uppsala University.

Take a deep dive into the world of water with those making  waves!

Also, just a note that Talk+Water has been ranked as one of the top water podcasts in the world by FeedSpot and MillionPodcasts!