Talking Under Water

Who should bear the burden of Colorado River water cuts? Sarah Kominek, Mandy Crispin and Bob Crossen unpack Arizona’s move to join Nevada’s lawsuit against the federal government, the tension between Upper and Lower Basin obligations, and why water providers need both flexible operating rules and long-term certainty.  The hosts also trace the Colorado River Compact’s history and discuss how alloc...

In this episode Talking Under Water editors from other industry publications discuss how water serves as the invisible backbone of modern infrastructure, industry and technology, and what could happen if that resource suddenly disappeared. Featuring perspectives from across the Endeavor Business Media network, the conversation explores the critical role water plays in cooling data centers, support...

In this episode Talking Under Water co-hosts discuss key takeaways from WEFTEC 2026, including the growing influence of artificial intelligence in the water sector, cybersecurity preparedness, utility financing, potable reuse, and the innovative technologies generating buzz on the show floor. Recorded live from WEFTEC, Mandy Crispin and Bob Crossen reflect on the conference theme of innovation and...

In this episode Talking Under Water host Mandy Crispin discusses the upcoming water reuse regulatory guide, an effort led by the Water Reuse Association to help states develop or modernize water reuse regulations. Joined by Bruno Pigott, executive director of the association, and Tricia Kilgore of Beaufort Jasper Water and Sewer Authority, the conversation explores why the guide was created and ho...

In this episode, Talking Under Water co-host Bob Crossen discusses advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), data management, utility modernization, stakeholder buy-in, and the future of smart water utilities with Kamstrup Solutions Engineer Jake Waidmann. The conversation explores how utilities exist across a wide spectrum of metering technology adoption, from manual meter reading to next-generatio...

In this episode of Talking Under Water, Mandy Crispin, head of content for WaterWorld, shares how local news outlets in four Colorado River Basin states, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and Utah, are framing Nevada's lawsuit against the federal government over Colorado River management. Sarah Kominek, head of content for Stormwater Solutions covers flash flooding at the Grand Canyon and in Utah, a corru...

In this episode Talking Under Water co-host Mandy Crispin speaks with Brent Alspach, Vice President and Director of Applied Research at Arcadis, about the evolving science of microplastics in drinking water and the challenges facing future regulation. Recorded at ACE26, the conversation explores what has changed over the past year in the industry's understanding of microplastics and why policymake...

In this episode Talking Under Water the co-hosts discuss the recent coordinated cyberattacks targeting water and wastewater system PLCs across Minnesota and several other states, examining what happened, why it matters, and what utilities can learn from the incident. Bob Crossen and Alex Cossin break down reports that more than 30 Minnesota water systems were affected, with federal agencies now in...

In this episode Talking Under Water co-host Mandy Crispin speaks with Pranjali Kumar, associate vice president at Carollo and the firm’s Southeast Water Reuse Lead, about why the industry needs to look beyond treatment technologies and public perception when evaluating reuse projects. Kumar explains how water reuse is increasingly being considered a resilience and sustainability tool rather than s...

In this episode Talking Under Water co-hosts discuss EPA’s draft guidance on PFAS in biosolids, lessons utilities can take from the PFAS regulatory landscape to prepare for future contaminants, and recent developments affecting stormwater and water infrastructure projects. Bob Crossen explains EPA’s newly released guidance for reducing risks associated with PFOA and PFOS in biosolids, highlighting...

In this episode Talking Under Water co-hosts Bob Crossen and Mandy Crispin discuss key insights and takeaways from the AWWA ACE26 conference, including affordability challenges, PFAS treatment and regulation, data center demands, and the evolving role of collaboration across the water sector. Recording from Washington, D.C., the hosts share firsthand experiences from sessions, interviews, and conv...

In this sponsored interview, Editorial Director Bob Crossen sits down with Blake Michal from Kamstrup to discuss what a decade of AMI performance can teach utilities about reliability, cost, and lifecycle value.  About the Podcast       Talking Under Water is the premier podcast for the water industry, including municipal water and wastewater, residential water treatment, storm water management an...

In this episode Talking Under Water co-host Bob Crossen speaks with Krishna Prashanth, global product line manager for electromagnetic flow meters and global segment manager for water and wastewater instrumentation at ABB, about the promise and practicality of the circular water economy. Prashanth explains how the concept shifts water management away from a linear take-treat-discharge model and to...

In this episode Talking Under Water co-hosts discuss EPA’s latest PFAS regulatory moves, major new federal funding for drinking water and lead service line replacement, and stormwater-related investments aimed at protecting coastal water quality. The episode opens with a breakdown of EPA’s proposal to maintain drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS while reconsidering standards for several oth...

In this episode of Talking Underwater, Stormwater Solutions Head of Content Sarah Kominek speaks with Manuel Parra of Xylem Vue about how digital tools are changing the way municipalities prepare for and respond to flooding. The conversation explores how communities can use existing infrastructure more effectively, why high-quality data matters as much as data collection, and how predictive analyt...

In this episode Talking Under Water the co-hosts discuss the addition of microplastics to the EPA’s Sixth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL6), enforcement fallout from the Potomac interceptor sewer collapse, industrial wastewater sampling tied to a Tesla facility in Texas, and recent stormwater headlines across the U.S.  Show notes How EPA Regulates Drinking Water Contaminants CCL 6 Frequent Questio...

In this episode Talking Under Water co-host Bob Crossen discusses Water Week 2026 where key figures recorded messages from the event. The episode features firsthand perspectives from water sector leaders who gathered in Washington, D.C., for the annual Water Policy Fly‑In to advocate for national water priorities. Through voice memos from leaders at the Water Environment Federation, American Water...

In this episode Talking Under Water co-hosts discuss escalating water use restrictions in Denver, the broader legal and political fight over Colorado River allocations, and what differing conservation strategies reveal about the future of water management in the West. The conversation begins with Denver Water’s declaration of a Stage 1 drought, outlining outdoor watering limits, fines for repeat v...

Utilities hold more power than they think. In this day and age, with a few taps of a keyboard, information is literally at your fingertips. For some, that’s a simple Google search, and others a query with a generative AI tool. But for those more enterprising utility leaders, operators and managers, that interaction in peer groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, Discord or other platforms.  They share best...

In this episode Talking Under Water co-host Mandy Crispin speaks with Angela Walker who is the Assistant Director of Wastewater Operations at the Brunswick‑Glynn Joint Water & Sewer Commission and one of the inspirations for this year’s Women in Water feature story. Walker reflects on her career journey, the role her mother played in shaping her sense of responsibility and stubborn determinati...

In this episode, Talking Under Water co‑hosts discuss the newest PFAS regulatory developments, major legal challenges, and the mounting strain on water and stormwater infrastructure across the U.S. The conversation begins with the EPA’s decision to add PFHXSNA to the Toxics Release Inventory, expanding federal PFAS tracking and community access to chemical data. The hosts then outline the unfoldin...

In this episode Talking Under Water co-host Bob Crossen talks with John Ikeda and Justin Roush about the launch of Xavier University’s groundbreaking Water Utilities Management master’s degree — the first program of its kind in the United States. Together, they discuss how the degree was conceived, the industry challenges it aims to address, and why workforce development has become one of the most...

In this episode of Talking Underwater, co-hosts Mandy Crispin and Bob Crossen explore the forces shaping the water and wastewater sector as the industry looks ahead to 2026.  The conversation opens with insights into new research on the growing water demands of data centers in Texas. Drawing from a recent white paper by the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), Crispin outlines how existing and...

In this episode Talking Under Water co-host Bob Crossen speaks with Gabriel Collins, the Baker Botts Fellow in Energy and Environmental Regulatory Affairs at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, about the evolving pressures on industrial water use and the widening implications of the AI boom. Drawing from his cross-sector expertise, Collins unpacks why water is an inherently hyper‑...

In this episode of Talking Under Water, Mandy Crispin and Bob Crossen discuss the EPA’s proposal to establish a national primary drinking water regulation for perchlorate under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The hosts break down the proposed rule, monitoring requirements, cost implications, and what utilities should prepare for, plus give updates on PFAS treatment research and recent wastewater spil...