Water Values Podcast

Aaron Tartakovsky, CEO & Co-founder of Epic Cleantec, provides an outstanding overview of water reuse systems, their benefits and how centralized and decentralized components of a water system support and strengthen each other.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Epic Cleantech’s origin story in the onsite water reuse space
• The policy background driving onsite reuse
• How onsite reuse supplements centralized treatment systems
• Why and how San Francisco implemented its requirement for onsite reuse systems
• How onsite water reuse regulation is spreading across the United States
• How onsite reuse diversifies supply and enhances resiliency of water supply
• How onsite reuse helps recapture waste heat from wastewater
• How the waste heat provides significant energy savings
• Overcoming the “Yuck!” factor
• Individual home vs. district water reuse systems
• Where the U.S. is on the spectrum of water reuse around the globe
• Aaron’s thoughts on what the U.S. can do better in the policy arena to promote better water stewardship

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

• Aaron’s LinkedIn profile
• Epic Cleantech’s website
• San Francisco’s water reuse regulations
• NBC News story on Epic Cleantec

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!

Alan Tucker, Information Technology Program Manager with Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, provides a compelling case for collaboration in the utility technology space.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Alan’s background and how he came to the water sector
• Alan’s thoughts on state of innovation and data usage in the water utility industry
• Alan’s work on Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District’s digital twin
• The paradox between speed of technological advancement and utility adoption
• Why Alan thinks its unfair to peg utilities as slow to adopt technology
• Some of the organizational obstacles that hinder technology adoption
• Candidate attraction challenges
• Why technology for technology’s sake is a recipe for failure
• What Alan thinks will drive technology adoption
• Making the pivot from reactive to proactive decision-making
• Why collaboration is key to achieving technological advancement in utilities

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

• Alan’s LinkedIn profile
• Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District’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!

Mike Sumner, the Director of Information Technology for the Consolidated Utility District of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, provides cybersecurity basics and tips. Mike entertains with his description of the Oldsmar, Florida, water utility cyberattack and its context occurring during Super Bowl week.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Mike’s background in cybersecurity in the auto and utility industries
• A comparison of cybersecurity issues in the auto and utility sectors
• Password/passphrase basics
• What hackers are after
• Why data security is so important
• Why layers of cybersecurity provide greater protection
• The different types of cyberattacks
• An analysis of the Oldsmar, Florida, cyberattack and its timing vis-à-vis the Super Bowl
• What a honeypot website is
• Why your cybersecurity plan needs to include “people, process, and technology”
• Why cybersecurity testing and auditing is important
• Why a VPN is an important cybersecurity tool
• Why a firewall is important
• Mike’s suggestions for getting a basic cybersecurity plan together

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

• Mike’s LinkedIn profile
• Consolidated Utility District’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!

Kendall Dix, National Policy Director for the Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy, comes on to discuss his recent article for the People’s Policy Center advocating for elimination of water rates.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Kendall’s background 
• Why Kendall wrote his article advocating for elimination of residential water rates
• Why residential water rates are typically regressive
• Why Kendall believes water usage is inelastic
• How Kendall proposes to replace water utility revenues
• How Ireland essentially is already doing this
• Why Kendall believes the relationship between water availability/shortages and water rates support his view that water rates should be eliminated
• How to overcome the public’s reticence to pay more taxes
• Kendall’s perspective on how his proposal applies to investor-owned utilities

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

• Kendall’s LinkedIn profile 
• Kendall’s Twitter handle: @kendix
• Link to Kendall’s article: Water For All

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!

Katrina Donaghy, founder of Civic Ledger and Water Ledger and blockchain leader, comes on to discuss blockchain and how it can benefit the water sector.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Katrina’s background in Australian disaster response and how it transitioned her into the utility space
• Katrina’s work in the “utility of the future” space for a major utility
• A lay explanation of blockchain
• The connection between data and blockchain
• How blockchain helps interoperability of data across enterprises (i.e., how blockchain frees data from data silos)
• How blockchain helps the water sector
• How blockchain brings trust, accountability and transparency to data
• What needs to happen before a company/market can engage in blockchain
• Why blockchain will not solve “bad data”
• Why blockchain is not an answer for every situation
• Katrina’s problem first, tech second approach to determining when blockchain should be used
• How blockchain can help the tragedy of the commons involving water
• How blockchain serves the public interest and strengthens property rights
• Blockchain’s role in democratizing information and making markets more efficient
• Why the agricultural water sector is ripe for blockchain (and how blockchain is used in Australian water markets)

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

• Katrina’s LinkedIn profile
• Civic Ledger’s website
• Water Ledger’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!

Bryan Stubbs, the President and Executive Director of the Cleveland Water Alliance, provides a compelling case for the water tech model that embraces economic development while nestled along the shores of the Great Lakes where 21% of the world’s fresh surface water resided.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Bryan’s entrepreneurial background in sustainable economic development
• How Cleveland Water Alliance promotes the water economy in the Cleveland area
• How the Cleveland Water Alliance has fostered job growth in the Cleveland area
• Bryan’s explanation of innovation test beds for water technologies
• How the municipal utility test bed is trying to identify lead service lines without breaking ground
• How mobile test beds allow greater technology testing and further reach
• How the Cleveland Water Alliance has expanded into a regional player involving multiple geographies
• How a Data as a Service model helped accelerate the technology testing
• The role of legal and insurance in building trust and making sure all risks are considered and adequately addressed
• The process for accepting companies into the Cleveland Water Alliance’s programs
• How Cleveland Water Alliance has developed buy-in with market participants and built up trust with utilities and other market participants
• Bryan’s perspective on climate change and its impact on water tech innovation and the impacts on the Great Lakes

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

• Bryan’s LinkedIn profile
• Cleveland Water Alliance’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!

Iris Gonzales, Philippine Star reporter and columnist, provides an eye-opening discussion on water in the Philippines and the Manila water concessions. Iris also explains the impact of the recently enacted legislative franchises granted by the Filipino government.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Iris’ coverage of water in the Philippines
• How the Philippines set up water utilities after achieving independence on July 4, 1946
• Why President Ramos privatized the water utility industry in the Philippines
• Where President Ramos got the idea to privatize the water utility industry
• The background on the Manila water utility concessions
• Why Manila split its water utility concessions between an East Zone and a West Zone
• How the Manila water concessions are ––structured
• How the Manila water concessionaires are regulated
• The legislative franchise the Congress of the Philippines enacted for the concessionaires 
• How the legislative franchise interfaces with the Manila water concessions
• Why the legislative franchise provides a safety net for the concessionaires’ investment in water infrastructure
• Whether privatization improved water utility service in the Philippines
• Iris’ take on the Filipino view of water as a right

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

• Iris’ page on the Philippine Star’s website
• Iris’ Twitter handle & Instagram handle: @eyesgonzales
• Manila’s Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Service webpage explaining the concessions

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!

Robin Craig, the Robert C. Packard Trustee Chair in Law at USC Gould School of Law and long-time water law professor, joins us to discuss the background, arguments and holding in Mississippi v. Tennessee, and provides some insights on what the case might mean for State water policy moving forward.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• Robin’s extensive background in water law
• The factual background of Mississippi v. Tennessee
• The procedural history of Mississippi v. Tennessee
• Why Mississippi sued Tennessee and not the actual entity pumping the water
• What Mississippi’s claim was
• What the briefings revealed about the parties’ positions
• The issues the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) probed during oral arguments
• What the SCOTUS held in Mississippi v. Tennessee
• What equitable apportionment is
• How equitable apportionment interfaces and impacts compacts between the States
• How the SCOTUS’ holding might impact State compact negotiations over water rights (and potentially other natural resources)
• How the holding of Mississippi v. Tennessee might impact other conflicts among the States over groundwater 

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

• Robin’s LinkedIn Page
• Robin’s bio on the USC Gould School of Law Faculty Page
• The Supreme Court of the United States Opinion in Mississippi v. Tennessee
• Robin’s blog post on SCOTUSblog about the case

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!

Christina Lundbäck provides a fascinating discussion of SurfCleaner and its applications to remove contaminants from water at wastewater treatment plants, industrial facilities, ports, harbors, and spills.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• What SurfCleaner is
• How the technology behind SurfCleaner was developed
• How SurfCleaner was developed based on the human heart
• How SurfCleaner works
• How SurfCleaner helps separate and capture floating solids
• How SurfCleaner helps remove oil and fuel from water
• How reduced emissions is a byproduct of SurfCleaner
• Why industrial applications are ideal for SurfCleaner
• Why pretreatment applications are ideal for SurfCleaner
• Why “upstream” applications are ideal for SurfCleaner
• The difficulties of using SurfCleaner in the open sea and ocean
• How SurfCleaner differs from traditional skimmers
• Christina’s SurfCleaner leave-behind message

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

• Christina’s LinkedIn Page
• SurfCleaner’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!

Water industry veteran and Association of State Drinking Administrators (ASDWA) Executive Director Alan Roberson discusses the big issues facing the water sector from a state regulatory perspective. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for a Bluefield on Tap segment.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

• What ASDWA is
• ASDWA’s membership
• The priorities in 2022 for state drinking water regulators
• Why the Lead and Copper Rule is the most complex regulation to administer
• How the Lead and Copper Rule interplays with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the service line inventory periods
• How state drinking water administrators view compliance and enforcement
• ASDWA’s perspective on PFAS
• How PFAS regulation might unfold
• How ASDWA interfaces with the U.S. EPA
• How ASDWA looks at cybersecurity for drinking water systems
• How ASDWA views the upcoming funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

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

• Alan’s LinkedIn Page
• ASDWA’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!