Water Values Podcast

Beth Toot-Levy, Senior Environmental Specialist with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, discusses environmental issues faced in the wastewater treatment process by the Cleveland area sewer utility serving over a million customers. Beth addresses water quality & other issues affecting the Great Lakes. Beth shares the area’s current wastewater research & efforts to treat and eliminate sources of pollution flowing in the watershed from neighborhoods, industrial facilities, & agricultural production.

Donna Vincent Roa, a communication specialist, water sector communication expert and Managing Partner at the Vincent Roa Group, comes on The Water Values Podcast for a discussion on the importance and effectiveness of communication using storytelling, visual and symbolic elements, and language to educate and engage the public about water and water utilities. Donna uses her own storytelling in this episode and provides insight on various types of strategic communication.

Alison Kastama, a communication manager with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and Heather Pohl, a project manager at SFPUC for the Automated Water Meter Program, explain the initiatives behind the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) program, the technology and tools used to educate customers on water usage reduction and the process to roll out AMI. This episode provides valuable tips for utilities thinking about AMI deployment!

Alison Kastama, a communication manager with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and Heather Pohl, a project manager at SFPUC for the Automated Water Meter Program, discuss the deployment of SFPUC’s advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) project. Alison and Heather explain the initiatives behind the AMI program, the technology and tools used to educate customers on usage reduction and the process to roll-out AMI. This is a must-hear episode for utilities interested in AMI!

Michael Deane, the Executive Director at the National Association of Water Companies, identifies important issues for investor-owned water utilities. He describes how both the private and public sectors can work together to solve today’s water challenges. With a career dedicated to this vital resource, Michael shares his perspective about how previous generations have paved the way for our nation to enjoy the highest quality water in the world – and now he poses important questions for this generation.

Ken Mercer, the American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) Senior Manager of Technical and Research Programs, comes on The Water Values Podcast to discuss the AWWA’s State of the Water Industry Survey. Ken does a deep dive into how those in the water industry perceive the industry from a variety of perspectives. Check this episode out and see how the industry thinks it’s doing! And if you’re not participating in the AWWA’s surveys, you need to start!

Ken Mercer, the American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) Senior Manager of Technical and Research Programs, discusses the AWWA’s Rate Survey and it Utility Benchmarking Survey. Ken fills us in on the trends that the AWWA’s Rate Survey reveals and some interesting metrics that the Utility Benchmarking Survey tracks, as well as how benchmarking can be used by utilities. Check this episode out and then see how your utility measures up! And if you’re not participating in the AWWA’s surveys, you need

UC Berkeley professor, David Sedlak, discusses the revolutions in urban water systems and to forecast what the next generation of our urban water systems will look like, which he calls Water 4.0. Dr. Sedlak takes us through the circumstances that surrounded the development of major technological revolutions in how water was supplied, treated and disposed of, and he’s got intriguing and provocative ideas on the need for and shape of a new revolution in our urban water systems.

Forbes Guthrie, a good friend of The Water Values Podcast, discusses how to clean up water from industrial processes. We had a wide-ranging discussion that covered the basic process his company, Stewart Environmental, employs using ceramic filters, and the different types of water that need to be cleaned up, from water from industrial processes to mine water, to brackish water. We even get into technology commercialization, and he shares how Stewart Environmental goes about commercializing its technology.

Wall Street veteran Debra Coy joins us on The Water Values Podcast to talk about a number of issues concerning water finance. She brings a wealth of experience as a water analyst and as a water consultant to our discussion about financing water utilities, assessing the current state of the market, evaluating the importance of rates to utilities, surveying industry consolidation, and much more.