Growing up and working in water in Puerto Rico, Yajaira Morphonios saw people who didn’t have access to clean drinking water and she gained a unique understanding of the essential nature of water services to the well-being of a community. Since relocating to Kentucky and continuing to work in the water industry, she holds onto her Puerto Rico experiences and believes utilities and infrastructure projects can lift people up, support local businesses, and have an impact on quality of life, even in modern U.S. cities. This episode explores the journey and perspective of Yajaira, an emerging water leader who is Capital Programs Control Manager at Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District. She also discusses the value that diverse voices and different backgrounds can bring to an organization and the benefits she gained from Duke University’s Water Innovation Leadership Development program.

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waterloop is made possible in part by grants from the Walton Family Foundation and Spring Point Partners.

waterloop is sponsored by Hydraloop, the innovative water recycling system for homes and businesses. Use water twice with Hydraloop. Learn more at hydraloop.com

waterloop is sponsored by High Sierra Showerheads, the smart and stylish way to save water, energy, and money while enjoying a powerful shower. Use promo code Loop20 for 20 percent off at highsierrashowerheads.com​​​

Coastal communities need accurate, reliable, and accessible information on tides, particularly as they confront rising sea levels and need to adapt to flooding events. But federal gauges are spread out on the U.S. coastline, which leaves extensive areas in between without precise predictions and real-world tracking of tides. That vital information gap can be closed using low-cost sensors, as discussed in this episode with Brian Glazer and Nicole Elko, Co-Founders of Hohonu. They explain that work to restore ancient Hawaiian fishponds revealed the need for ultra-precise tidal data and how it led to a network of sensors being established across the Southeast coastline. Brian and Nicole also talk about the accuracy provided during recent King Tides, the variety of people that can benefit from improved tidal predictions, and the broader push to democratize access to ocean data.

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waterloop is made possible in part by grants from the Walton Family Foundation and Spring Point Partners.

waterloop is sponsored by Hydraloop, the innovative water recycling system for homes and businesses. Use water twice with Hydraloop. Learn more at hydraloop.com

waterloop is sponsored by High Sierra Showerheads, the smart and stylish way to save water, energy, and money while enjoying a powerful shower. Use promo code Loop20 for 20 percent off at highsierrashowerheads.com​​​

Resilience is one of the words frequently heard in discussions about water resources. But what does it actually mean? It’s important to have a common understanding of resilience, particularly as climate change accelerates water challenges and resilience becomes a critical goal, according to the Pacific Institute’s Jason Morrison, President, and Heather Cooley, Director of Research. In this episode they discuss the organization’s new definition of resilience as the ability of water systems to function so that nature and people, including those on the frontlines and disproportionately impacted, thrive under shocks, stresses, and change. Jason and Heather also talk about dimensions of resilience, the difference from sustainability and security, and ways that communities should take action.

Find all episodes at waterloop.org

waterloop is made possible in part by grants from the Walton Family Foundation and Spring Point Partners.

waterloop is sponsored by Hydraloop, the innovative water recycling system for homes and businesses. Use water twice with Hydraloop. Learn more at hydraloop.com

waterloop is sponsored by High Sierra Showerheads, the smart and stylish way to save water, energy, and money while enjoying a powerful shower. Use promo code Loop20 for 20 percent off at highsierrashowerheads.com​​​

While precipitation like rain and snow get all the attention, the amount of evapotranspiration - water transferred from land and planets to the atmosphere - is also critical to water management. But there hasn’t been an effective tool for farmers, communities, and other water stakeholders to track evapotranspiration. Enter OpenET, a powerful platform that provides easily accessible satellite-based estimates and allows users to explore data down to a quarter-acre resolution or at a broader scale for millions of fields. The development and uses of OpenET is discussed in this episode with Robyn Grimm, Director of Climate Resilient Water Information Systems at the Environmental Defense Fund, and Forrest Melton, Research Scientist at California State University Monterey Bay. Robyn and Forrest talk about building OpenET through a massive partnership, which involves NASA, Google, EDF, the Desert Research Institute, and a variety of federal agencies and universities. They also discuss pilot projects across Western states and how the tool can support irrigation efficiency, groundwater management, and trading programs.

Find all episodes at https://www.waterloop.org

waterloop is made possible in part by grants from the Walton Family Foundation and Spring Point Partners.

waterloop is sponsored by High Sierra Showerheads, the smart and stylish way to save water, energy, and money while enjoying a powerful shower. Use promo code Loop20 for 20 percent off at https://www.highsierrashowerheads.com​​​

Historically the water industry preferred to be reactive in communications, especially in dealing with the media. That approach left utilities to play defense and often end up on the losing side of public relations. Now the winning strategy is to embrace proactive communications, build productive relationships with the media, and connect with customers, as discussed in this episode with Mike McGill, President of WaterPIO. Mike talks about positive opportunities the water industry has for storytelling, some examples of utilities he sees as comms leaders, and how an organization should conduct a SWOT analysis.

Find more at waterloop.org

waterloop is made possible in part by grants from the Walton Family Foundation and Spring Point Partners.

waterloop is sponsored by High Sierra Showerheads, the smart and stylish way to save water, energy, and money while enjoying a powerful shower. Use promo code Loop20 for 20 percent off at highsierrashowerheads.com​​​

An estimated 2.2 million people in America lack clean water and proper sanitation. These individuals are found all across the country - in indigenous communities, California’s Central Valley, the U.S.-Mexico border, Appalachia, the Deep South, and in urban neighborhoods. In this episode George McGraw, Founder and CEO of DigDeep, says it’s time for an international-style WASH sector to form in the U.S. and that’s why a new database lists organizations that work on the issues. George also talks about the community focused approach that DigDeep takes, how a lack of running water worsened the COVID pandemic for Navajo Nation, and rebuilding infrastructure in West Virginia.

Find all episodes at waterloop.org

waterloop is made possible in part by grants from the Walton Family Foundation and Spring Point Partners.

waterloop is sponsored by High Sierra Showerheads, the smart and stylish way to save water, energy, and money while enjoying a powerful shower. Use promo code Loop20 for 20 percent off at highsierrashowerheads.com​​​

An estimated 2.2 million people in America lack clean water and proper sanitation. These individuals are found all across the country - in indigenous communities, California’s Central Valley, the U.S.-Mexico border, Appalachia, the Deep South, and in urban neighborhoods. In this episode George McGraw, Founder and CEO of DigDeep, says it’s time for an international-style WASH sector to form in the U.S. and that’s why a new database lists organizations that work on the issues. George also talks about the community focused approach that DigDeep takes, how a lack of running water worsened the COVID pandemic for Navajo Nation, and rebuilding infrastructure in West Virginia.

Find all episodes at waterloop.org

waterloop is made possible in part by grants from the Walton Family Foundation and Spring Point Partners.

waterloop is sponsored by High Sierra Showerheads, the smart and stylish way to save water, energy, and money while enjoying a powerful shower. Use promo code Loop20 for 20 percent off at highsierrashowerheads.com​​​

For decades, advocates and activists have worked relentlessly to elevate water issues and drive policy changes and government funding. Now it seems water has risen to be a top priority, in large part because of those years of advocacy, crumbling water infrastructure, high-profile crises such as Flint, and the impacts of climate change like drought, flooding, and storms. The opportunity on water has arrived, as discussed in this episode with Nicole Lampe, Managing Director of the Water Hub. Nicole talks about a report on how to meet this moment for water, which features results of public polling and recommendations for policymakers, funders, and advocates.

Find all episodes at waterloop.org

waterloop is made possible in part by grants from the Walton Family Foundation and Spring Point Partners.

waterloop is sponsored by High Sierra Showerheads, the smart and stylish way to save water, energy, and money while enjoying a powerful shower. Use promo code Loop20 for 20 percent off at highsierrashowerheads.com​​​

Polling shows that large majorities of Latinos feel that outdoor activities involving water are a way of life, that protecting water is vital to their culture and the economy, and that the government should combat water pollution. Historically large environmental organizations haven’t represented the Latino community and that has led to the rise of groups like GreenLatinos that give them a voice, as discussed in this episode with Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes, Water Equity and Ocean Program Manager for GreenLatinos. Mariana talks about the challenges and work to address issues including environmental justice, water affordability, and access to coasts and oceans.

See all episodes at waterloop.org

waterloop is made possible in part by grants from the Walton Family Foundation and Spring Point Partners.

waterloop is sponsored by High Sierra Showerheads, the smart and stylish way to save water, energy, and money while enjoying a powerful shower. Use promo code Loop20 for 20 percent off at highsierrashowerheads.com​​​

The scope of waters covered by the federal Clean Water Act - called Waters of the U.S. - is one of the most complex, controversial, and contentious issues in environmental policy. Waters of the U.S. has been the focus of Supreme Court rulings, lobbying and litigation by stakeholders, and rulemakings by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama and Trump administrations. The history is explained in this episode with Ken Kopocis, the head of water at EPA under President Obama, and Dave Ross, the head of water at EPA under President Trump and now a partner at Troutman Pepper.

Ken and Dave discuss the difficulty of defining Waters of the U.S., misconceptions and distortions of their respective rulemakings, their approach to working with stakeholders, the influence of politics on the issue, and if there could ever be a compromise.

Find all episodes at waterloop.org

waterloop is made possible in part by grants from the Walton Family Foundation and Spring Point Partners.

waterloop is sponsored by High Sierra Showerheads, the smart and stylish way to save water, energy, and money while enjoying a powerful shower. Use promo code Loop20 for 20 percent off at highsierrashowerheads.com​​​