The AquaHacking Podcast

Building a business is hard. Building a business that makes a positive social difference as well is even harder. However, the innovation that these new businesses bring is just what is needed to help out Canadian municipal water systems that require close to $100B to continue meeting the standard of quality Canadians have come to expect. With this financial pressure further strained by COVID, Bernadette Conant, CEO of the Canadian Water Network, joins us to discuss why innovation is needed more than ever and how it is possible for entrepreneurs in this space to deliver it and in doing so, thrive.

Est-ce que vous savez qu'on perde un ⅙ de toute l'eau traitée à cause des tuyaux qui fuient? Sinon, vous serez encore plus choqué d'apprendre que cela nous coûte des milliards de dollars par an! Notre invité, Naysan Saran, la co-fondatrice de Cann Forecast, explique le problème, comment Cann Forecast essaie de le résoudre, et comment vous pouvez aider.

Did you know that a ⅙ of all treated water is lost due to leaky pipes in public infrastructure? If not you'll be even more shocked to learn that this costs us billions of dollars a year! Our guest, Naysan Saran, co-founder of Cann Forecast, explains the problem, how Cann Forecast is trying to solve it, and what you can do to help.

Did you know that invasive shellfish are costing Canada and the United States billions of dollars per year? James Littley, Grants and Operations manager of the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB), joins us to talk about the role that local water organizations like OBWB play in fighting water issues like this, why these invasive shellfish are a real problem, and what you can do about it.

What is Aquahacking and how did it start? In this episode, we take a different path and instead of exploring an existing water issue we talk more about the organization behind this podcast. Join co-founders Aidan and Nan-B as they discuss how the state of freshwater issues a decade ago drove them to start Aquahacking, how Aquahacking has evolved to what it is today, and what the future holds for freshwater issues and Aquahacking.

Do you think your drinking water is lead free? Well, the truth might surprise you! David Ullrich, former Director of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, joins us to explore the backstory behind how lead makes its way into drinking water, why this merits your attention, what you can do to find out if you are affected, and if so, what steps you can take to fix the problem.

Algae blooms are common and generally harmless, but under the right set of circumstances, these blooms can turn toxic and go from bad to worse in the blink of an eye. Jason de Glint, co-founder of Blue Lion Labs, joins us to discuss what is an algae bloom, why they can turn toxic, how Blue Lion Labs is working with water treatment facilities to prevent this, and what you can do to safeguard you (and your pets!) from toxic blooms as well as prevent them from occurring.