John Richard Saylor, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University, provides a fascinating look at lakes and things you didn’t know about them. He provides examples of unique lakes around the world and offers a warning about natural resources and the human tendency to deplete them.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:

Water rock star Adel Hagekhalil imparts a powerful vision for leadership in the water sector through the lens of his work at Metropolitan. Plus, Reese Tisdale kicks off our Bluefield on Tap segment by providing his top 5 water issues to be on the lookout for in 2023.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:

Thank You!

Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

An all-star panel of water leaders, including Alyson Watson, Tony Parrott, and Robert Puente, discuss the year that was in water and share insights and perspectives on the water sector.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:

Evan Thomas, an environmental engineering professor at the University of Colorado – Boulder, details the fascinating story of Virridy and how Virridy promotes water security through remote sensing. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for the final Bluefield on Tap of 2022.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• How a bioastronautics Ph.D. became an environmental engineering professor
• Why Evan founded Virridy to facilitate water security in drought prone regions in Africa
• How Evan identified the date gap that Virridy filled
• How the sensing technology works
• How Virridy connects sensing data to satellite data
• How Virridy leverages predictive analytics and machine learning to “pre-position” water supplies and food supplies
• How and why Virridy imported its technology to the U.S.
• The needs Virridy’s sensory and satellite linked technology fill in the U.S.
• How Virridy facilitates demand response programs by electric utilities
• Where Evan sees sensing technology and data usage in driving water policy
• How Virridy’s technology fits in the water-energy-food security nexus
• How Virridy provides basic water security through carbon credits and climate financing

Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:

• Evan’s LinkedIn profile
• Virridy’s website

Thank You!

Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

Manny Teodoro returns to discuss his new co-authored book, The Profits of Distrust. Manny lends his keen insights and explains the tenets of the book in a clear and concise manner. His findings, all backed by substantial evidence, will definitely surprise you and should cause utility leaders to sit up and take notice.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Manny’s COVID experience moving during the pandemic and starting a new job
• Why Manny and his co-authors wrote The Profits of Distrust
• The relationship between the increase in commercial water consumption and the decrease in the trust in government and institutions
• The populations that distrust government most, which in turn causes those populations to buy commercial water
• The socio-economic class that drinks tap water
• The socio-economic class that drinks commercial water
• What it means when a consumer “exits” tap water
• Why utility leaders need to worry about consumers that exit tap water
• Why the silence of the customer base has an ethnic accent
• Why utilities need to operate with excellence, openness and equity to rebuild trust 
• Key components of the co-authors’ plan to achieve excellence, openness and equity

Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:

• Manny’s LinkedIn profile
• Manny’s website
• The Profits of Distrust at the Cambridge University Press website

Thank You!

Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

Austin Alexander, Vice President of Sustainability and Social Impact at Xylem, lays out key features of Xylem’s new report, Net Zero: The Race We All Win. Austin delves into simple ways to start on the path to net zero and enhancers to achieve net zero in the water industry. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for another Bluefield on Tap segment talking desalination.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Austin’s journey to the water sector (it started in middle school!)
• Austin’s work on decarbonizing the water sector
• Xylem’s new report, Net Zero: The Race We All Win
• Why net zero is not a scary term
• How to take the first step toward net zero
• Simple strategies utilities can take to reduce their carbon footprint
• Easy ways to integrate decarbonization into capital planning
• How to use what you have smarter
• How most electric related emissions can be reduced 50% at cost savings or at least cost savings
• Strategies for making the net zero story tangible to decision makers and the public
• Examples of utilities around the world that are experiencing success and making progress toward net zero

Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:

• Austin’s LinkedIn profile
• Xylem’s website
• Link to download the Net Zero: The Race We All Win

Thank You!

Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

MentorAPM Co-founder & CEO, Tacoma Zach, takes us on a fantastic ride covering asset management and how it helps utilities manage their most important assets.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Tacoma’s work history domestically and internationally, including interesting perspectives on the impact of different governments and financial systems on project success
• What asset management is
• High level overview of ISO 55000 
• Why making risk-based decision is so important to asset management
• Why the water sector needs asset management
• How “level of service” impacts asset management
• Why “minimum level of service” trips people up
• Tacoma’s car analogy. Trust me – it’s fantastic!
• How asset management helps utilities optimize their spending
• How to get good, quality data for asset management decision-making

Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:

• Tacoma’s LinkedIn profile
• MentorAPM’s website
• International Organization for Standards’ ISO 55000

Thank You!

Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

Melissa Kelly, Staff Director and Attorney for the Center for Land, Environment, and Natural Resources at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, and Caroline Koch, Water Policy Director for WaterNow Alliance, provide an enlightening discussion on localized water infrastructure. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for another Bluefield on Tap segment.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Melissa’s work with the Center for Land, Environment, and Natural Resources (CLEANR)
• Caroline’s work with the WaterNow Alliance
• What we mean by localized water infrastructure
• Discrete examples of localized water infrastructure projects in multiple geographies in the U.S.:
  • Turf replacement in Nevada
  • Green infrastructure project in Wisconsin
  • Source water protection project in Arkansas
• The One Water nature of localized water infrastructure projects
• How to provide incentives to undertake localized water infrastructure projects
• How localized water infrastructure projects supplement rather than replace centralized systems
• How localized water infrastructure projects support workforce development at favorable wages
• What barriers prevent broader implementation of localized water infrastructure projects
• How to overcome the barriers to greater deployment of localized water infrastructure

Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:

• Kelly’s LinkedIn profile
• Caroline’s LinkedIn profile
• CLEANR’s website
• WaterNow Alliance’s website
• Link to download the Tap into Resilience: Pathways for Localized Water Infrastructure report

Thank You!

Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

374Water’s Marc Deshusses provides unique insights on supercritical water oxidation and its ability to destroy PFAS. Marc also discusses his early efforts to harness the power of supercritical water oxidation, overcoming technological obstacles, and the path towards commercialization.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• What supercritical water oxidation is
• What supercritical water oxidation does (hint: it will not only remove stains from your laundry, it will eviscerate your laundry)
• How Marc applied for and received funding in 2013 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Reinvent the Toilet Challenge
• The history of technical challenges for supercritical water oxidation that blocked prior commercialization attempts
• The best applications for supercritical water oxidation
• The undesirable compounds in biosolids that supercritical water oxidation treats 
• Why landfill operators don’t like biosolids deposited in their landfills
• The outputs of supercritical water oxidation: clean water, waste heat and resource recovery (including phosphorous)
• How supercritical water oxidation treats and destroys PFAS and other emerging contaminants
• Why supercritical water oxidation is, in Marc’s view, the best option to treat and destroy PFAS

Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:

• Marc’s LinkedIn profile
• 374Water’s website
• EPA Announcement on Proposed Rule Designating PFAS as a Hazardous Substance under CERCLA

Thank You!

Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!