Episodes

“Where We Bridge the Gap Between Water Plant Operators and Engineers” In The Water Break Podcast Episode 21, Heather Jennings, PE, discusses Excavation and Trenching Safety with Joseph Lanute. Mr. Lanute is the owner of Universal Safety Compliance, LLC., and he is a lead Instructor at the OSHA Training Institute Education Center at Arizona State University. Universal Safety Compliance (phone 602-810-6713) is a full-service safety consulting, training and risk management company providing all asp...

“Where We Bridge the Gap Between Water Plant Operators and Engineers” In The Water Break Podcast Episode 20, Heather Jennings, PE, interviews Paula Jackson, owner of Earth Water Specialists, which provides training for the water and wastewater industry. The interview includes discussion of OSHA requirements, types of confined spaces, common hazards faced by water and wastewater workers, and how to stay safe when confronting common hazards in confined spaces. They emphasize the importance of safe...

“Where We Bridge the Gap Between Water Plant Operators and Engineers” In Episode 19, Heather Jennings, PE, interviews Michael Preston, Legislative and Policy Analyst for the National Rural Water Association, regarding the newly passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and what the billions of dollars in new federal funding could mean for the water and wastewater industry. The bill delivers more than $50 billion to EPA to improve our nation’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infra...

“Where We Bridge the Gap Between Water Plant Operators and Engineers” In Episode 18, Heather Jennings, PE, explores moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) with her guest, Dan Turner, president of Blue Whale Technologies. MBBRs biologically treat wastewater by incorporating specialized media that increase surface area on which microorganisms can grow and consume organic material. Heather and Dan discuss MBBR applications, equipment, sizing and design, as well as process optimization.

“Where We Bridge the Gap Between Water Plant Operators and Engineers” In Episode 17, Heather Jennings, PE, discusses the aging of the current water and wastewater treatment operations workforce and efforts to recruit, train, and retain new workers. Her guests are Paula Jackson, Apprenticeship Program Coordinator for the Vermont Rural Water Association, and Shea Dunifon, Education Coordinator for Pinellas County Utilities’ South Cross Bayou Education Program.

“Where We Bridge the Gap Between Water Plant Operators and Engineers” In Episode 16, Heather Jennings, PE, discusses Environmental Laboratory Sampling Tips & Tricks with Marci Payne, Sales and Marketing Director at Legend Technical Services of Arizona, Inc. In this podcast, Ms. Payne provides a general overview of best practices for collecting water and wastewater samples for testing at an environmental laboratory.

“Where We Bridge the Gap Between Water Plant Operators and Engineers” In Episode 15, Heather Jennings, PE, leads a panel of 3 guests on a discussion of PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) in the environment, drinking water, and wastewater. The panel includes Marci Payne, Sales and Marketing Director at Legend Technical Services of Arizona, Inc.; Cathy Swanson, West Regional Sales Manager and Groundwater Remediation Specialist at Purolite; and Dr. Rosa Gwinn, Global PFAS Technical Leader a...

“Where We Bridge the Gap Between Water Plant Operators and Engineers” In Episode 14, Heather Jennings, PE, leads a panel of 3 guests who share their lessons learned and wastewater wisdom from almost 100 years of combined wastewater processing experience. The panel guests collectively hold more water and wastewater operator licenses than we can count. The guests are Jim Huchel, City of Flagstaff Water Reclamation Plant Manager; Dave Axton, Owner of Water Resources, Inc.; and Jason Joynes who is E...

“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In Episode 13, Heather Jennings discusses Treatment Plant Instrumentation with her guest, Benjamin Barker. Mr. Barker has been an applications engineer for Xylem for 4 years, working with YSI’s process instrumentation product lines. In his role as applications engineer, he assists customers with sensor applications, writes material for YSI.com, and conducts technical trainings and webinars for wastewater operators and engineer...

“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In Episode 12, Heather Jennings discusses Cyber Security for Water and Wastewater Systems with her guest, Tom Kirkham. Tom is the Founder and CEO of IronTech Security. IronTech Security is a cybersecurity company that has been providing services to water utilities for 20+ years. Topics discussed include cyber security issues currently facing the water and wastewater industries and how to prepare for them.

“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In Episode 11, Heather Jennings discusses wastewater BOD (biological oxygen demand) Testing and Lab Analysis with 2 guests: Rick Mealy, retired program chemist from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Laboratory Certification and Registration Program and president-elect of the Wisconsin Wastewater Operator Association’s (WWOA) Board of Directors, and George Bowman, retired lab manager and certification audit chemist....

“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In Episode 10, Heather Jennings discusses water clarifiers with John Gottschall. Mr. Gottschall is retired, with over 40 years of experience in the wastewater industry. Topics covered in the podcast include introduction and orientation to water clarifiers, types, processes involved, and maintenance of clarifier systems. Mr. Gottschall shares many lessons learned from his long experience, along with stories from the field that ...

“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In Episode 9, Heather Jennings discusses COVID 19 wastewater epidemiology and how that helps communities track the pandemic in their communities. Her guests are: Ian L. Pepper, PhD, Professor at the University of Arizona and Director of the Water & Energy Sustainable Technology (WEST) Center in Tucson, Arizona. Dave Tracey, a licensed professional engineer in the province of New Brunswick, Canada, and Director of Global Chan...

“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In Episode 8, Heather Jennings discusses DNA Analysis and Microscopy with Dr. Paul Campbell and Ryan Hennessy. Paul has extensive experience with microbial physiology, industrial microbiology, and fermentation and leads Aster Bio’s molecular biology and biochemistry work. Ryan is a microbiology and operations specialist at Midwest Contract Operations. Topics covered in the podcast include introduction and orientation to wastew...

“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In Episode 7, Heather Jennings discusses Wastewater Anaerobic Digesters with Kay Curtin. Kay is an Advanced Wastewater Operator in Wisconsin and a Level A Wastewater Operator in Minnesota, with 45+ years’ experience in wastewater. She is currently working with the Wisconsin Rural Water Association as a trainer/technician for Western Wisconsin and has her own consulting business, Curtin Consulting, LLC. Topics covered in the po...

“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In Episode 6, Heather Jennings discusses Wastewater Laboratory Operations with Toni Glymph-Martin. Toni is a Wastewater Microbiologist and Certified Operator, B-Level, with 40+ years’ experience. She is the author of two books: A Wastewater Microbiology Laboratory Manual for Operators and Wastewater Microbiology: A Handbook for Operators. In today’s podcast, Toni talks about how and when to use a microscope to better manage wa...

“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In this podcast episode, host Heather Jennings, PE, interviews Patrick Hill, a wastewater treatment lagoon specialist at Triplepoint Environmental. Patrick has presented on lagoon topics at conferences throughout the U.S. and at WEFTEC. He was named one of Water and Waste Digest’s young water professionals to watch in 2015. In this podcast, Heather and Patrick discuss lagoons, their technical considerations, and aeration optio...

“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In this podcast episode, host Heather Jennings, PE, interviews two highly experienced experts regarding operational issues related to activated-sludge wastewater systems: Jim Huchel is the Water Reclamation Plant Manager for the City of Flagstaff, Ariz. Dave Axton is the owner of Water Resources Management, Inc., and he is also a Probiotic Solutions® sales representative Jim and Dave have over 80 years of combined experienc...

“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In this podcast episode, host Heather Jennings, PE, interviews Fred Black and Ray Ramos of the New Mexico Rural Water Association on the topic of Troubleshooting Water and Wastewater Systems. Fred and Ray troubleshoot water and wastewater systems in the state of New Mexico, and together they have more than 50 years of experience in the water/wastewater industry.

“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In this podcast episode, host Heather Jennings, PE, interviews wastewater microbiologist and certified operator Toni Glymph-Martin on the topic of Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal in Wastewater. Toni has more than 40 years of wastewater experience and is the author of several wastewater microbiology textbooks. Microorganisms (stained slides), photos courtesy of Toni Glymph-Martin: GAOs PAO-PHBs PAO-PolyPs Toni’s Web...

“Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In our first podcast episode, host Heather Jennings, PE, discusses the wastewater nitrification-denitrification cycle with two guests, John Souza and Diego Lopez. John Souza is Utilities Manager for the City of Lemoore, California. He is also a Grade T-4 Water Operator, Grade 3 Wastewater Operator, and D-3 Distribution Operator. Diego Lopez, also with the City of Lemoore, is a Grade 2 Wastewater Operator working toward his Gra...