Episodes

There are one million people in California without safe drinking water and many of them live in the San Joaquin Valley, a region dominated by agriculture. Many residents, particularly low-income, Latino farmworkers in rural communities, face the harsh reality of dry wells or contaminated water sources due to the excessive water consumption and pollution caused by the agricultural industry. But there are organizations fighting for fairness in water access, as discussed in this episode with Susan...

Sports have tremendous influence and impact on many facets of society, including the environment. The potential to turn the sports industry into a powerful driver of sustainability led to the formation of the Green Sports Alliance in 2010. Over a decade later, its member teams, leagues, venues, and businesses are creating change, as discussed in this episode with Dune Ives, the organization’s co-founder and board member. Dune explains how the Green Sports Alliance was initially focused on ener...

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 regulations. Some of the big questions about PFAS are how industrial facilities have been able to discharge the chemicals and whether regulations like the Clean Water Act are being properly u...

Athletes have tremendous influence - on fans, teams, brands, and more. That power can be used to create positive change for the environment, as discussed in this episode with Chris Dickerson, a former Major League Baseball player and co-founder of Players For The Planet. Chris explains how he developed an interest in sustainability when surrounded by single-use plastic in a baseball clubhouse and then launched the organization to create opportunities for athletes to take action. He also talks ...

Many people, particularly in younger generations, want careers that make a positive impact on broad issues such as social justice and climate change. The water industry is promoting that it has jobs that deliver results for people and the planet. One of the messengers is Maura Jarvis, a community outreach consultant for the Philadelphia Water Department. In this episode, Maura discusses how water careers are excellent opportunities to create change in communities, the impact of her work in publ...

This episode is part of a series, Funding To Fight Lead. Replacing the nation’s lead service lines in a timely manner is going to require funding beyond government dollars. The municipal bonds that utilities use for a variety of water infrastructure projects are an untapped resource for lead service line replacement. This episode about the use of municipal bonds is particularly of interest to utility leadership, financial staff, and municipal managers. The conversation features Marc Uy, portfo...

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 Dep...

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 cont...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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 Wa...

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...

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...

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...

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 20...

Science has always been foundational to water management. That tradition continues in 2023, with a staggering breadth and depth of research underway. It’s particularly important to gain knowledge about emerging contaminants, impacts of climate change, and water reuse, as discussed in this podcast with Peter Grevatt, CEO of The Water Research Foundation. Peter explains how research can be applied to improve water management, the opportunity for regulators to use research to accelerate solutions...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed drinking water regulations for several types of PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals that are pervasive in society and the environment and pose a risk to human health. The announcement was made at an event in Wilmington, North Carolina and this episode features the remarks by EPA Administrator Michael Regan and commentary by waterloop host Travis Loop. The episode also includes reactions from Secretary Elizabeth Biser of the N.C. Departmen...

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 the role of state and local policy. State and local policies play a central role in financing of lead service line replacement. The ability of util...

Analysis has shown a significant lack of diversity in the sources cited in media coverage. This means failing to include Black, Latino, and Indigenous water experts and to present the stories of people within impacted communities. The Color of Water platform was created to counter this trend. It’s an online directory that journalists can use to connect with a diverse set of experts, as discussed in this episode with Jose Aranda, Relationships Manager for the Water Hub. Jose explains how the Co...

Nearly two decades after Hurricane Katrina, there are continued efforts to make New Orleans more resilient to storms and climate change. A recent innovation is the green mortgage, a program that helps lower-income people buy a home and provides a budget for retrofits for water, wind, and energy projects. The green mortgage concept is discussed in this episode with Damon Burns, President and CEO of Finance New Orleans. He explains how green mortgages can also be used to bolster resilience of mu...

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 the drinking water. The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority in Wilmington, N.C. found itself in a difficult situation when high levels of PFAS were discovered in its water. How should the util...

Black people in environmental conservation have not historically received the same visibility in the media. This not only fails to acknowledge their contributions, but also leaves young people without role models in fields such as water. That’s why a conservationist is profiled each day during Black History Month by Sierra Taliaferro, founder of the Green Obsidian. In this episode, she talks about five years of writing the profiles and shares examples of people she is highlighting this year. ...

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 the menu of options. The ways to fund lead service line replacement and some of the key financial aspects are discussed in this episode with Cynthi...