waterloop

Thousands of water utilities across the U.S. are smaller and under-resourced, often leaving them consumed by daily operations and unable to take on projects to increase efficiency and reduce costs. But external experts can help these utilities to triage pressing challenges and then turn to strategic improvements, as discussed in this episode with George Hawkins, CEO and Founder of Moonshot Missions.

George talks about bringing his experience, including as the head of DC Water, and building a team to work with utilities and launch them on a path of progress. He also provides his take on infrastructure funding, consolidation, affordability, cybersecurity, and PFAS.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet featuring conversations about solutions and science. Learn more at waterloop.org

waterloop is sponsored by Varuna, the tool that provides water utilities with full system awareness and offers a new resilience dashboard that identifies internal and external risks. Learn more at Varuna.city

Traveling presents the opportunity to make observations about many aspects of the world including about water. In this episode, waterloop host Travis Loop discusses his summer trip to Germany and a variety of ways that water caught his attention in cities such as Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Munich. Topics include public refill stations, bottled water in restaurants, the presence of green roofs, and river surfing.

waterloop is sponsored by Varuna, the tool that provides water utilities with full system awareness and offers a new resilience dashboard that identifies internal and external risks. Learn more at Varuna.city

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org

Artificial intelligence has emerged as a powerful tool in the fight to find lead water lines in the U.S., which could number up to 10 million and pose a threat to human health. The use of AI allows for much more accurate predictions of the location of lead lines by using a variety of factors such as the age of a house, size of the property, and prevalence in the area.

This approach has helped cities like Newark, Detroit, and Toledo to dramatically reduce the time and cost of finding and replacing lead lines, as discussed in this episode with Eric Scwartz, CEO and Co-Founder of BlueConduit. Eric talks about how funding from the Rockefeller Foundation is allowing BlueConduit to provide free access to an inventory tool, launch a nationwide map of lead lines, and increase outreach to under-resourced communities.

waterloop is sponsored by Varuna, the tool that provides water utilities with full system awareness and offers a new resilience dashboard that identifies internal and external risks. Learn more at Varuna.city

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org

Many of the one million people in California who lack access to safe and reliable drinking water are Latino agricultural workers living in small communities throughout the state’s Central Valley. Despite agriculture’s reliance on them as a workforce, the industry uses vast quantities of water and often pollutes resources. 

Change is difficult because these people are on the absolute bottom of the political pyramid and lack a voice in government, as discussed in this episode with Janaki Anagha, Director of Community Advocacy at the Community Water Center. Janaki talks about the need to focus on changing representation in local water boards and how her organization is helping to identify, train, and support people as candidates for political office.

waterloop is sponsored by Varuna, the tool that provides water utilities with full system awareness and offers a new resilience dashboard that identifies internal and external risks. Learn more at varuna.city

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org

Some coastal communities experience flooding of low-lying areas on sunny days due to exceptional high tides. The frequency and severity of these events, also called blue sky flooding or nuisance flooding, are increasing due to sea level rise and are projected to triple in the U.S. by the year 2050.

Sunny day flooding is discussed in this episode with Miyuki Hino, an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina. Miyuki explains a variety of the current research on the flooding, including her work in coastal North Carolina, and how the information is used to understand trends and help communities adapt. She also explains some of the response measures such as retrofitting infrastructure, using nature-based solutions, and employing managed retreat from flood prone areas.

waterloop is sponsored by Varuna, the tool that provides water utilities with full system awareness and offers a new resilience dashboard that identifies internal and external risks. Learn more at varuna.city

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org

As climate change and other crises strain water supplies, more attention is being paid to the water footprint, the amount of water used by an individual or household over a certain period of time. A water footprint includes the water that is directly used by taps, showers, toilets, and household appliances, as well as for outdoor uses. But the water used to make the food we eat, consumer products we buy, and energy we use is also part of a water footprint.

The rise and importance of the water footprint is discussed in this episode with Kai Olson-Sawyer, manager of the Water Footprint Project for GRACE Communications Foundation. Kai explains how people can use the Water Footprint Calculator to learn about their personal consumption and shares ways that individuals can reduce their impact.

waterloop is sponsored by Varuna, the tool that provides water utilities with full system awareness and offers a new resilience dashboard that identifies internal and external risks. Learn more at varuna.city

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org

As an historic flood devastated Yellowstone National Park and downstream communities in Montana, the U.S. Geological Survey was busy measuring streamflows, monitoring equipment, sharing data, and even making repairs in the field. Early data shows the flood could be a one in 500-year event and the gauge just outside the park measured water levels 50 percent higher than the previous record.

The role and response of USGS during these storms is discussed in this episode with Katherine Chase, surface water specialist at the USGS Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center. She says that trends show increases in peak flow over the years, a possible indication of how climate change is bringing more intense rainfall and melting snowpack more rapidly in the Yellowstone area. Katherine also talks about how to accurately describe the frequency of flood events and the ways USGS coordinates its science with other federal agencies.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. For all content visit waterloop.org

waterloop is sponsored by Varuna, the tool that provides water utilities with full system awareness and offers a new resilience dashboard that identifies internal and external risks. Learn more at varuna.city

A new report finds that the 2.2 million people in America who live without running water or a toilet at home is costing the U.S. economy over $8.5 billion a year. The biggest impacts to the GDP come from lost productivity, time lost at work or school to access water, physical health impacts, water purchase costs, and mental health impacts.

In this episode, George McGraw, CEO and Founder of DigDeep, discusses the report and how closing the water gap would generate $200 billion over the next 50 years. George also talks about recommendations to treat the water access gap as a crisis, refocusing federal funding, and building a domestic WASH sector.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. For all content visit https://www.waterloop.org

waterloop is sponsored by Varuna, the tool that provides water utilities with full system awareness and offers a new resilience dashboard that identifies internal and external risks. Learn more at https://bit.ly/waterloopVaruna

In Baltimore, there are vast, disturbing differences from neighborhood to neighborhood in factors such as employment, education, crime, and life expectancy. While it will take a wide variety of efforts to address the root causes, an effort is underway to evaluate how green stormwater infrastructure could provide benefits for residents and improve equity across the city.

In this episode, Meghan Hazer, a city planner with the Baltimore Department of Public Works, explains how a map that prioritizes work locations was created using socio-economic and health data along with suitability of the environment for green infrastructure. Meghan also discusses the importance of asking residents about their preferred projects rather than the city dictating what will happen.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. For all content visit https://www.waterloop.org

waterloop is sponsored by Varuna, the tool that provides water utilities with full system awareness and offers a new resilience dashboard that identifies internal and external risks. Learn more at https://bit.ly/waterloopVaruna

It took thousands of years for the Mississippi River to build the coastline of southern Louisiana and its vast network of wetlands and bayous. It only took several generations of people to disrupt the natural, land-building flow by controlling the river with concrete and levees.

Now a state-of-the-art, 10,000 square foot physical model is used to plan restoration projects for the area, as discussed in this episode with Clint Willson, the Director of the Center for River Studies at Louisiana State University. Clint explains how the Mississippi River Delta model operates and the unique learning opportunities it provides to students, scientists, and resource managers.

waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet. Visit waterloop.org