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Philadelphia is one of the country’s leaders in the use of green infrastructure to manage stormwater and bring benefits to communities. Since launching its Green City, Clean Waters initiative in 2011, Philly has installed 2,800 green tools at more than 800 sites, which together capture a staggering 3 billion gallons of water.

The city’s approach and accomplishments are discussed in this episode with Stephanie Chiorean, Environmental Scientist Specialist and Planner at the Philadelphia Water Department.

Stephanie leads visits to three standout locations for green infrastructure - the American Street, Adaire School, and Waterloo Playground. Along the way she provides insights on lessons learned and advice for other cities working to go green.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org

For a long time, the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. was nicknamed the Forgotten River due to a lack of investment, heavy pollution, and surrounding low-income neighborhoods.

Now ecological restoration and a development boom have brought attention to the Anacostia.

This episode is a ride on the river with Trey Sherard, Anacostia Riverkeeper.

Trey talks about challenges such as environmental racism, toxic sediment, and gentrification, as well as progress on sewer overflows, stormwater controls, and community engagement.

This episode is a conversation launched from the Reservoir Center in Washington D.C. where waterloop is a media partner.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org

Societal events of the past few years have many water utilities working to address diversity, equity, and inclusion within the workforce.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has established an Office of DEI that is focusing on an array of work and has a top executive that reports directly to the general manager rather than the human resources department.

These efforts are discussed in this podcast with Cathie Chavez-Morris, Utility Services Manager with the LADWP Office of DEI.

She talks about striving for improvements in the areas of workforce, workplace, and marketplace. Cathie also explains the opportunity to use historic levels of infrastructure funding to make progress on DEI.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org

Over the past 20 years, trust in public institutions has plummeted and sales of bottled water have skyrocketed. A new book titled Profits Of Distrust explores how these trends are related and the correlation between distrust of tap water and government agencies such as utilities.

The analysis is discussed in this episode with Manny Teodoro, one of the book’s authors and a Professor of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In addition to outlining the problem, the book presents a series of reforms that could rebuild public trust in the water coming out of the tap. Manny talks about several of them including consolidation of utilities, enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act, improving Consumer Confidence Reports, paying attention to the taste of tap water, and providing universal service across America.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org

This episode is part of a series The PFAS Puzzle: Lessons From A Contaminated Cape Fear. The forever chemicals were dumped in the North Carolina river for nearly 40 years before being discovered. The series explores how a community responds when it is the epicenter of PFAS pollution.

This episode is about health.

The emergence of PFAS has epidemiologists and toxicologists working to understand the health impacts. Researchers in North Carolina are on the leading edge of the science and in this episode Dr. Jane Hoppin of North Carolina State University and Dr. Jamie DeWitt of East Carolina University discuss what is known about human health impacts.

They talk about studying the blood of people in the Cape Fear region and finding higher levels of PFAS than the average American, communicating those results to people, and sharing recommendations for monitoring health moving forward. Jane and Jamie share what they have learned as researchers and offer advice for other scientists working on PFAS.

This series is sponsored by:

Black & Veatch, providing end-to-end consulting, engineering, and construction services to address each community's unique PFAS needs. Learn more at bv.com/pfas

PFASComms.com, who makes utilities the trusted, go-to-source for PFAS information in the community. Visit pfascomms.com

ALTRA, a company with the most robust PFAS treatment solution. Visit logistec.com/pfas-solutions/

What will water look like in the year 2050?

Envisioning the future and the forces shaping it can help the water utility sector to plan and be proactive, as discussed in this episode with David LaFrance, Chi Ho Sham, and Joe Jacangelo of the American Water Works Association.

They talk about brainstorming water in 2050 with a group of experts and the drivers of sustainability, technology, governance, economics, and demographics.

This episode is from a conversation at the Reservoir Center for Water Solutions in Washington, D.C. where waterloop is a media partner. Learn more at reservoircenter.org

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org

New Orleans has a complicated relationship with water. The city draws much of its identity from the Mississippi River, the bayous and swamps of southern Louisiana, and the nearby Gulf of Mexico. But the location and topography mean New Orleans has historically faced storms and flooding, which are worsening due to climate change.

The traditional use of large, engineered infrastructure to manage water is not enough. This episode explores how New Orleans is adopting a Living With Water approach to bolster its resilience.

Rami Diaz, an architect with Waggonner & Ball, discusses lessons from the Dutch in allowing water to be part of the landscape and how spaces across the city are being transformed. Meagan Williams, Urban Water Program Manager with the City of New Orleans, explains how green infrastructure is being implemented on public property and reducing floodwaters. Angela Chalk, Executive Director of Healthy Community Services, talks about helping residents in the 7th Ward install nature based solutions at their homes and improve their neighborhood.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org

This episode is part of a series, Funding To Fight Lead. There are perhaps 10 million lead service lines in the ground in the U.S. and it may cost $50 billion to remove them. The series explores financing lead service line replacement, technical assistance for under-resourced communities, and examples of successful approaches.

This episode is about how Denver did it.

When Denver Water decided to replace 64,000 to 84,000 lead service lines over 15 years, the question arose of how to pay for the work. The utility ultimately decided to use public funds for the work on private property. 

The decision came after much research into the financial approach and clarification that it was permissible from the Government Accounting Standards Board, as discussed in this episode with Angela Bricmont, Chief Financial Officer of Denver Water, and Ed Harrington, former President of the Government Finance Officers Association. 

Angela and Ed also talk about building comfort with this method of funding lead service line replacement and the significant interest in the approach from other water utilities.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org

This episode is made possible by support from the WaterNow Alliance and Environmental Policy Innovation Center and is sponsored by:

120Water offers cloud-based software and digital sampling kits to help water systems and states to execute lead programs. Visit 120water.com 

LeadCopperRule.com helps utilities proactively manage lead communications and public information emergencies. Visit leadcopperrule.com

BlueConduit has developed cutting-edge, predictive machine learning software to effectively locate lead service lines. Visit blueconduit.com

This episode is part of a series The PFAS Puzzle: Lessons From A Contaminated Cape Fear. The forever chemicals were dumped in the North Carolina river for nearly 40 years before being discovered. The series explores how a community responds when it is the epicenter of PFAS pollution.

This episode is about advocacy.

PFAS poses difficult challenges on multiple fronts for environmental advocacy groups. High levels of PFAS in the Cape Fear River meant local advocates had to learn about the complex chemicals and at the same time provide information to concerned community members and take steps to address the pollution.

The work and the lessons learned are discussed in this podcast with Dana Sargent, Executive Director of Cape Fear River Watch, and Kemp Burdette, the Cape Fear Riverkeeper.

Dana and Kemp also talk about pursuing legal action against state regulators and the industrial polluter, working with the water utility and public health researchers, and advise for advocates dealing with PFAS in other communities.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet.

This series is sponsored by:

PFASComms.com, who makes utilities the trusted, go-to-source for PFAS information in the community. Visit pfascomms.com

ALTRA, a company with the most robust PFAS treatment solution. Visit logistec.com/pfas-solutions

Black & Veatch, providing end-to-end consulting, engineering, and construction services to address each community's unique PFAS needs. Learn more at bv.com/pfas

For 50 years, American Rivers has worked to protect and restore waterways across the country. During the organization’s existence and through its efforts, many rivers have improved, such as the Neuse and Elwha, while others are in tough shape, like the Colorado and Snake.

The progress and challenges are discussed in this episode with Tom Kiernan, President and CEO of American Rivers.

Tom also talks about the goal of protecting one million miles of rivers and removing 30,000 dams by the year 2050, as well as how the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act can help with the work.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org