The Clean Water Pod

Nutrient control regulations have successfully maintained the water quality of Dillon Reservoir in Summit County, Colorado since the 1980s despite an increase in development and population in the watershed. Hear how protection efforts prevented more costly restoration, and how incorporating various stakeholder perspectives has increased innovation and accountability.

About our guests:

Joni Nuttle is the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) specialist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

James McCutchan serves as the director of the Center for Environmental Systems Analysis at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Hear from two Wisconsin-based utilities about their efforts to reduce phosphorus through adaptive management practices, such as cover crop planting and no-till farming. Both projects emphasize collaboration, cost-effectiveness, and the role of community engagement to improve water quality.

About our guests:

In Oregon’s salmon-rich Tualatin River, a water quality trading credit program is being implemented to address the river’s Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for temperature impairment. Hear about why this unique approach was selected and how it works, as well as how trading provides broader ecological benefits.

About our guests:

Brian Creutzburg is the alternative compliance specialist at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

Jamie Hughes serves as the program manager in the Regulatory Affairs Department at Clean Water Services.

Lake Champlain is shared by New York, Vermont, and Canada, requiring a uniquely collaborative approach to implementing the states’ Total Maximum Daily Loads for phosphorus reduction. In this episode, hear about the history and cultural significance of the lake and vital partnerships working to improve water quality. The conversation emphasizes the importance of community engagement to enhance management of this treasured water resource.

About our guests:

Eric Howe is the NEIWPCC program director for the Lake Champlain Basin Program.

Karen Stainbrook serves as the director of the Bureau of Water Resource Management at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Emily Bird is the Clean Water Initiative Program manager with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation.

Host Jeff Berckes speaks with water professionals from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the City of Boise about their creative approach to the Lower Boise River Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for nutrients. The City of Boise found an atypical way to meet pollutant reductions identified in the TMDL 40 miles downstream from the wastewater treatment facilities. The location of the Dixie Drain Phosphorus Removal Facility provides a unique opportunity to offset phosphorus inputs to the river system from multiple sources. Instead of more expensive treatment at the wastewater plants, the downstream facility maximizes phosphorus removal from sources along the river’s corridor.  

About our guests: 

Troy Smith is the Wastewater Compliance Bureau chief at the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. 

Lauri Monnot serves as the Idaho Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program (IPDES) municipal permit writer with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. 

Haley Falconer is the senior manager of Water Renewal Programs with the City of Boise, Idaho. 

Kate Harris is the Water Quality Programs manager for the City of Boise, Idaho. 

Iowa is home to many lakeside beaches created to provide recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. Sand deposited at the water’s edge for public access was found to behave differently than the rest of the lake environment, harboring potentially harmful bacteria concentrations during the summer months when beach going is most popular. In this episode, listen to how watershed improvement professionals from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, including host Jeff Berckes, adjusted their monitoring approach and found creative ways to diagnose and improve water quality at beaches across the state.

About our guest:

Jason Palmer is a Natural Resource Biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Water Quality Improvements Section.

In northern New Mexico, the Rio Hondo is an important ecological, recreational and cultural waterway that winds through Taos Ski Valley. In this episode, host Jeff Berckes speaks with a state agency representative as well as the deputy director of a nonprofit organization focused on water quality. They discuss how the Rio Hondo was successfully delisted from the impaired waters list and a protective TMDL was established, as well as its designation as an Outstanding Natural Resource Waters (ONRW), and the role of local communities and citizen scientists in the process. 

About our guests:

Shelly Lemon is the bureau chief of the Surface Water Quality Bureau in the New Mexico Environment Department.

Rachel Conn serves as the deputy director of Amigos Bravos, a nonprofit water conservation organization in New Mexico.

#RioHondo #ONRW #WaterQuality #CleanWaterPod

The population of Cape Cod, Massachusetts nearly triples during the height of the summer tourism season, putting stress on its natural resources. Water quality has become impaired by nutrients, primarily resulting from septic systems. To help protect its beloved waters, local organizations are working on solutions to reduce nitrogen pollution, such as with alternative septic systems and cranberry bog restoration. Host Jeff Berckes speaks with a project manager from a local nonprofit, the deputy director of a regional regulatory agency, and a microbiologist at a septic system testing center.

About our guests:

Jennifer Loughran serves as the project manager for innovative solutions at Barnstable Clean Water Coalition, located in Osterville, MA.

Erin Perry is the deputy director of the Cape Cod Commission, based in Barnstable, MA.

Sara Wigginton, Ph.D. is the microbiologist at the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center (MASSTC), located in Buzzards Bay, MA.

#CleanWaterPod #CleanWater #CapeCod #Septic #WaterQuality #Restoration

The Choptank River flows through Delaware and Maryland into the Chesapeake Bay, serving as an important fishery for the region. Working to improve the health of this watershed, the Envision the Choptank partnership takes a team approach in its efforts to advance water quality, support the ongoing oyster restoration and engage a wide range of stakeholders. In this episode, host Jeff Berckes speaks with the partnership coordinator behind Envision the Choptank, as well as one of its partners and biggest advocates.

About our guests:

Joanna Ogburn is the principal and founder of JBO Conservation, LLC and serves as the coordinator of the Envision the Choptank partnership.

Leslie Grunden is the assistant director of planning with the Caroline County Maryland Department of Planning and Codes. As a partner in Envision the Choptank, she helps develop and implement water quality projects that mutually benefit waterways and communities in the Choptank Watershed.

Great Bay is a large flooded inland estuary, located along New Hampshire’s coast, and part of the U.S. EPA’s National Estuaries Program. The bay is a recreational resource and recreational fishery, home to a growing oyster aquaculture which supports water quality improvements. In this episode, host Jeff Berckes speaks with an environmental scientist, a shellfish farmer, and a chef that prioritizes locally-sourced food – like Great Bay oysters – to explore the impacts of nutrient reductions to the Great Bay Estuary.

About our guests:

Ted Diers is assistant director of the Water Division at the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.

Dr. Kalle Matso serves as the director of the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP), which is affiliated with the University of New Hampshire.

Jay Baker is the founder and owner of Fat Dog Shellfish Company, located in Great Bay, New Hampshire.

Evan Mallett is the owner and chef of Black Trumpet Restaurant & Bar, located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.