Water Values Podcast

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!

The AWWA’s Barb Martin (Director of Engineering and Technical Services) discusses the fantastic opportunity to participate in the inaugural Transformative Water Leadership Academy. Reese Tisdale also appears for a Bluefield on Tap segment discussing the Jackson, MS, crisis and the SouthWest Water-Corix tie up.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• What the Transformative Water Leadership Academy (TWLA) is
• Why it’s necessary
• The details of the program – what is required, time commitment (it’s not overwhelming!), the size, and other issues
• What the AWWA and WaterNow Alliance are looking for in TWLA candidates
• Why diversity is important for the applicant pool
• The types of skills participants will develop
• The “faculty” of the TWLA
• Opportunities to volunteer for the program
• How the TWLA will promote the triple bottom line of social, environmental and financial performance
• How to apply – September 15, 2022 is the application deadline for the inaugural cohort
• Information about The Water Values Podcast scholarship for the TWLA

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

• Barb’s LinkedIn profile
• Transformative Water Leadership Academy (TWLA) website
• Application for the TWLA Program

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!

Mae Stevens, Chair of the Water Practice at Banner Public Affairs, delivers a terrific interview discussing some of the ins and outs of Capitol Hill, unpacking the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and providing tips to ensure the water sector gets its due from Congress.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Mae’s background on The Hill and in water policy
• The Congressional aide program and quick tips on how to get a job on The Hill
• The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (i.e., IIJA, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or BIL)
• How SRF funding levels have been increased
• The new water funding programs created by the BIL
• Why the BIL is just a drop in the bucket of needed water infrastructure funding
• How to keep water infrastructure top of mind with legislators and the general public
• The difference between “authorized” versus “appropriated” funding
• The challenges and opportunities as BIL funding gets rolled out
• Why legislators need to hear your voice!

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

• Mae’s LinkedIn profile
• Banner Public Affairs’ 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!

Alexander Loucopoulos, a partner with Sciens Water, provides an overview of Sciens Water’s well-thought out market and investment strategy. Alexander also makes the case that water is a great investment and that we need more people investing in water.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• The story of how Alexander and Sciens Water landed in the water sector
• Why Alex chose to approach water investments in the mid-market private equity space with a focus on real assets
• How water offers the ability to earn private returns while making a positive impact on people and communities
• Alexander’s thoughts on the current economic climate and the water mid-market’s capital attraction possibilities
• The themes that Sciens Water supports with its water investments: 1) water utility consolidation; 2) recycle/reuse; and 3) deep infrastructure (targeting prestressed concrete tanks)
• The overlay strategies Sciens Water uses to enhance its core water investments
• How Sciens Water uses digital solutions to bring efficiencies to small systems through scale
• The types of utility systems Sciens Water is consolidating
• Why the water sector is a great place to invest

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

• Alexander’s LinkedIn profile
• Sciens Water’s website
• Central States Water Resources’ 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!

Dr. Stephanie Smith, Product Segment Manager for Xylem’s Laboratory Solutions for North America, presents a great opportunity for water in solving the climate crisis. Stephanie explores practical methods for the water sector to address its climate impacts and also provides her position to get water higher on the policy agenda.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Stephanie’s awesome story of how she came to the water sector
• How Stephanie views the climate crisis as a huge opportunity
• How the Integrated Panel on Climate Change was formed and what it does
• Water’s role in climate change
• How the water sector has a business opportunity to help solve climate change
• The link between nonrevenue water and greenhouse gas emissions
• How digital tools play a role in the solution to climate change
• Why utilities cannot afford not to make changes
• Why data needs to support changes rather than relying on the generalities of climate change
• How to get water on the policy agenda
• Stephanie’s great leave behind message

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

• Stephanie’s LinkedIn profile
• Xylem’s website for YSI
• The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’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!

Emily Simonson, the Director of Strategic Partnerships of the US Water Alliance, shares findings, insights and strategies distilled from the US Water Alliance’s recent report entitled Catalyzing Community-Driven Utility Consolidations and Partnerships. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for another Bluefield on Tap segment discussing The Digital Water Revolution.

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!