Ripple Effect: A Podcast Putting Water In Context

Send us Fan Mail Jared Stewart, Senior Business Development Manager at EDCUtah, joins us to discuss attracting new companies to Utah, and what that means for our water. The EDC puts big emphasis on bringing new jobs, but a data center that doesn’t know what a closed-loop cooling system is? That’s a red flag. We dive into the details, from water-conscious provisions, to tax incentives, to energy. C...

Send us Fan Mail Lindsie Smith, Executive Director of Great Salt Lake Alliance, and Hannah Freeze, the newly appointed Commissioner for Great Salt Lake, join us to unpack the Great Salt Lake Solutions Exchange Report. In a massive day-long workshop, 47 organizations joined together to map out what's actually being done for the lake, and what's needed next. We dig into the lightning talks...

Send us Fan Mail This week we are revisiting an earlier episode that is still highly relevant to today's water discussion. We are looking back on episode 114: Data Aggregation and Digital Twins. Caleb Buahin and Bill Knight of Xylem’s Decision Intelligence Solutions team join us to talk about their work creating digital solutions for water clients. We talk a lot about data aggregation, digita...

Send us Fan Mail JD Doyle, CEO and Founder of FUTR, joins us to talk all about landscaping focused on saving water. Outdoor water use is the biggest drain on our municipal water supply, and we discuss the methods and cutting-edge tech to fix that. In particular, artificial turf has come a long way. By using natural plant oils, SYNLawn remedies many of the previous defects. JD uses his years of on-...

Send us Fan Mail Mike Whimpey, Assistant General Manager, and Shaun Hilton, Assistant Chief Engineer, join us to discuss critical developments in Utah water infrastructure. Often, people incorrectly assume that Utah is behind in water planning, but we're here to set the record straight - that couldn't be further from the truth! We dive deep into how the the Geneva Steel plant was acquire...

Send us Fan Mail Stephanie McGinnis, State Water Plan Manager, and Becca Frei, State Water Plan Specialist, join us to talk all about the updated 2026 Utah State Water Plan. This is the true big-picture plan for how Utah will manage water - from mountain watersheds to kitchen faucets - over the coming decades. We dig into what's new in this most comprehensive update yet, why basin-by-basin pl...

Send us Fan Mail Today we pay special tribute to a very beloved and influential guest. Steve Clyde passed away last Saturday, August 1st. In his honor, we are looking back on episode 193: Steve Clyde, Reflections. Steve Clyde, Senior Partner and Chair of the Natural Resources Practice Group at Clyde Snow & Sessions, joins us to talk about his 40 year legal career in Utah water. Steve is an est...

Send us Fan Mail Return guest Stephanie Santell, Founder and CEO of (Re)wilding, joins us to discuss her new company. With her impressive experience working for the Environmental Protection Agency, Stephanie shares her wisdom and insight in exploring a new venture. We discuss how the landscape has changed in recent years, how companies need to adapt, and why biochar offers impressive benefits thro...

Send us Fan Mail We talk all about the recently published report titled: "Why Communicating Minimum Drawdown Elevations from Lake Powell and Lake Mead can Mitigate Risks of Volatile Colorado River Flow". Joining us are the three co-authors and star guests from Utah State University: David Rosenberg, professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Brittany Fager, PHD s...

Send us Fan Mail This week we are revisiting an earlier episode that is still highly relevant to today's water discussion. We are looking back on episode 158: HDH Desalination Technology. Christopher Link, Founder, joins us to discuss his HDH Desalination Technology and his HALO Team’s participation in Elon Musk’s X-Prize Competition. Do not miss this conversation! So many interesting and inn...

Send us Fan Mail Our very own Dr. Joe Casola, Climatologist at C.K. Blueshift, joins us to discuss the current climate, how it got here, and what the future holds. We dive deep into warming trends and what the rising heat means for society as a whole. We explore what El Niño could mean for our water, both in the monsoonal season and upcoming winter. Taking advantage of these climate trends, we can...

Send us Fan Mail This week we are revisiting an earlier episode that is still highly relevant to today's water discussion. We are looking back on episode 159: Solar Panels Over Canals. Jon Parry, Assistant Manager for Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, joins us to discuss the many benefits of their solar panel demonstration project over the Layton Canal. This project is so cool on so man...

Send us Fan Mail Christine Rumsey from United States Geological Survey joins us to talk about the Great Salt Lake, salinity, and how the science tells us proactive berm management between the North and South Arm of the Great Salt Lake are staving off the most dire consequences of diminished inflows into the Lake. A MUST listen.

Send us Fan Mail This week we are revisiting an earlier episode that is still highly relevant to today's water discussion. We are looking back on episode 133: Solar Garden Agrivoltaics. Byron Kominek, Owner and Manager of Jack's Solar Garden, explains how he revitalized his family farm with modern technology. A creative approach that mixes old-world farming and new-world energy productio...

Send us Fan Mail Have you wondered how AI could help solve our water problems? - Eric McCulley, CEO of McCulley Watershed Consulting Services and Founder of GetWater. AI, and David Robinson, Cofounder and CEO of 9606.AI, join us to talk about exactly that. We discuss their project GetWater. AI and their plans to collectively measure and monitor our entire watershed as a wholistic system. Using rea...

Send us Fan Mail In this special episode, we flip the script. Tracy Harden, Principal of Harden Communications LLC and climate and environmental steward, steps in as the interviewer to turn the tables on our host and water attorney, Emily. Sparked by the ongoing debate over data center development in Utah, Tracy voices the questions on everyone's mind: How do water rights work? How do you get...

Send us Fan Mail Patrick Lee, Field Manager with Envoy Public Labs, and Dr. Tim Kowalchik, of the Utah Office of Energy Development, join us to talk all about nuclear energy in Utah. We cover a wellspring of information: how nuclear power works, its power generation potential, its safety, what happens to waste, its water usage, and how it could meet Utah's growth and data center's astron...

Send us Fan Mail Kristina Ribellia, President and Founder of Western Water Market, joins us to give a 2026 update of her platform. A lot has happened in the past few years. We cover auctions, arbiters, quality control, and efforts to facilitate transactions through news letters, social media, and targeted outreach. We also discuss skepticism and resistance towards water markets. A great on-the-gro...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Kevin Perry, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Utah, also know as "Dr. Dust", joins us to talk all about dust. We cover the rising concern of the newly-exposed dry lakebed, and how the resultant dust may expose the whole valley to dangerous toxic materials. We learn what is being done now and what can be done in the future to protect us. You may...

Send us Fan Mail Mae Stevens, CEO and Founder of Current Strategies, gives us a fantastic overview of the world of federal water lobbying. Mae and her company work tirelessly to inform policy and secure funding so that we can ensure the future of our precious water supply. We dive into the nitty-gritty, from discussing policy for the entire nation, all the way to water considerations of the indivi...

Send us Fan Mail We are joined by two special guests, Mitsu Salmon, multidisciplinary Artist, and  Andrew Shaw, Wake the Great Salt Lake Lead and Special Projects Coordinator with the Salt Lake City Arts Council. We celebrate the impetus and accomplishments of Wake the GSL, and Mitsu details her wondrous art-piece contribution. Come see the grand capstone artwork project: "A symphony of disap...

Send us Fan Mail Brian Deurloo, President and Founder of Frog Creek Partners, returns to give us an update. Nearly 3 years ago in a fan-favorite episode (142), we discussed his novel invention - the Gutter Bin stormwater filtration system. And now we follow-up to see the impressive strides his company has made.

Send us Fan Mail This week we are revisiting an earlier episode that is still highly relevant to today's water discussion. We are looking back on episode 112: Addressing Climate Distress. Psychologist Ariana Moran talks through her practice of working with clients experiencing climate distress. We end with a much bigger discussion about what it means to be living in a society experiencing a c...

Send us Fan Mail Jamie Safulko, Area Manager at PCL Construction, joins us discuss planned water reuse and wastewater treatment. We dive in from the perspective of the planners and builders, learning what it takes to get large-scale projects actually built. We cover hurdles like costs, operator risk, and procurement laws - and the solutions to overcome them. A fun and interesting discussion with a...

Send us Fan Mail This week we are revisiting an earlier episode that is still highly relevant to today's water discussion. We are looking back on episode 70: Corporate Water Stewardship. Cora Kammeyer, Senior Researcher at the Pacific Institute, talks us through her organization's work to implement the UN's CEO Water Mandate. Great discussion on the state of corporate water stewards...