Water Break
Bridging the gap between water plant operators and engineers
Recent Episodes
48
Nov. 19, 2025
The Water Break Podcast, Episode 48: Wanda-ring Through Water
Welcome to “Water Break”, where we try to bridge the gap between Water Operators and Engineers! Today’s episode is our 48th and to celebrate, we have brought back Wanda Baustert of “Wanda’s Water Tidbits”. Typically, our Tidbits are little bits of trivia or articles that are unusual and sometimes even brilliant about water that my mother, Wanda, has sent to me and has asked for my opinion on. Today, you get to hear her opinions directly.
47
Sept. 30, 2025
The Water Break Podcast, Episode 47: Operator Ethics and Why They Matter
Welcome to “Water Break”, where we try to bridge the gap between Water Operators and Engineers! In today’s episode, we are going to talk about “Operator Ethics and Why They Matter”. We would like to welcome back John Schwartz, who is the Senior Technical Support Representative/Technical Training Manager, and Loyd Rawlings, who is the Technical Training Manager for USA BlueBook. John brings over 40 years of water and wastewater experience to the training room, including roles as a water system
46
July 28, 2025
The Water Break Podcast, Episode 46: Package Plant Retrofit From Failure to Success
“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In today’s episode, we are going to talk about a challenging packaged sanitary wastewater treatment plant retrofit. We are thrilled to welcome back our guest Ibrahim Teres, a senior process engineer at EMCO group with 10+ years in the water and wastewater treatment systems design field. Ibrahim was recently elected as the vice chairman for the AZ Water Association’s water treatment committee and holds a Bachelor’s degree in E
45
March 24, 2025
The Water Break Podcast, Episode 45: Source Water Protection!
“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” Matt Casto Jordan Jackson In today’s episode we are going to talk about “Protecting Source Water.” Our guests are Matt Casto and Jordan Jackson of North Carolina Rural Water Association. Matt’s unconventional journey into the water industry began with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture, where he developed an improvisational problem-solving mindset that he’s carried into 14 years of hands-on experience in water operations
43
Jan. 23, 2025
The Water Break Podcast, Episode 43: What’s That Taste in My Water
“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In episode 43 of the Water Break Podcast, Heather Jennings, PE, discusses interesting details about water with our guests, John Schwartz, Senior Technical Support Representative/Technical Training Manager, and Loyd Rawlings, Technical Training Manager for a leading MRO company. John brings over 40 years of experience in water and wastewater to the training room, including roles as a water system operator, lead/senior operator
42
Dec. 19, 2024
The Water Break Podcast, Episode 42: WW Laboratory with Jane
“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In episode 42 of the Water Break Podcast, Heather Jennings, PE, discusses wastewater laboratory testing with Jane Leatherland. Jane was born in Yorkshire, England and started her career at a coal testing facility that also conducted water, gas, and air analysis. Jane emigrated to the USA in 1986 and worked for Metro Denver Wastewater for 16 years as a lab analyst. She then moved to Michigan and later to Tennessee, where she