Water Values Podcast

The Water Values Podcast welcomes Marty Melchior of Inter-Fluve, Inc. to discuss restoration and reclamation of rivers and streams. Marty provides some great information about reclaiming our rivers. From beginning the process of reclamation to the post-construction monitoring that takes place, Marty leads us step-by-step through the process. He also provides several real-life examples of river and stream restorations and what those restorations accomplished.

Dr. Ellen Wohl of Colorado State University joins The Water Values Podcast to discuss rivers and streams, and headwaters streams in particular. If you’ve always thought of rivers and streams as conduits to flush away whatever we put into it, this podcast will open your eyes to how rivers and streams interconnect with their surroundings and why headwater streams are so important.

Duke University professor Jim Salzman wrote a book titled Drinking Water: A History, in which he follows the history of water from a number of differing perspectives. In our talk, Jim addresses several of those issues and focuses on the rise of bottled water and two ongoing debates – drinking water as a commodity versus drinking water as a human right, and drinking water in the developing world provided by grey infrastructure versus drinking water provided by point of use treatment.

John Entsminger, the new General Manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, shares a tremendous amount of his knowledge about the Colorado River and a lot of information about water conservation, water rate design and water infrastructure projects in Southern Nevada. He provided a fantastic interview and displayed great knowledge of water conservation and related water utility issues and Colorado River governance. His remarks on the future of water on the Colorado River are must-listen material.

In the fourth session of The Water Values Podcast, Mike McGuire joins us to talk about safe drinking water. Mike is a California-based engineer, author, blogger and water historian. He provides a terrific interview and reveals some little known history about safe drinking water. He also relates a story about drinking water from his travels to China and how Chinese culture approaches drinking water.

Jenn Vervier, the Director of Sustainability and Strategic Development for New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado, shares a tremendous amount of information about New Belgium’s conservation and sustainability efforts as they relate to direct and indirect use of water in the brewing process, to the water-energy nexus, and to society in general. She provided a fantastic interview and displayed great knowledge of New Belgium’s water processes and substantial efforts on the water sustainability front

In the second session of The Water Values Podcast, I welcome Jack Wittman, a hydrogeologist with INTERA. As described in the podcast, Jack has significant experience in all kinds of water issues and has worked all over the United States. He is a terrific resource on a host of water topics.

In the first-ever session of The Water Values Podcast, I’m happy to welcome Matt Klein. Matt’s wide-ranging experience with water issues demonstrates why he’s my first guest. Matt has been an environmental regulator, an environmental lawyer, the Executive Director of Indianapolis Water and the Executive Director of Technical Operations for the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, his present position. Today, we’re talking about water issues from the perspectives of each of these positions.