Talk+Water

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler interviews Dr. Emily Fairfax, an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Resource Management at California State University Channel Islands. Dr. Fairfax’s current research is focused on the ecohydrology of riparian areas, particularly those that have been impacted by beaver damming. She uses a combination of remote sensing and...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler interviews Perry Fowler, Executive Director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network (https://txwin.org). As Executive Director, Fowler leads the organization’s efforts to build a strong, sustainable, and competitive Texas water infrastructure construction market through policy development, education, and advocacy. He is also the Prin...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler interviews Kyle Garmany, Water and Agriculture Program Director for The Nature Conservancy Texas Chapter. In his role at The Nature Conservancy, Garmany is responsible for developing innovative strategies to alleviate water scarcity and protect the ecological integrity of the rivers, bays and estuaries of the state. His work includes t...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Todd Votteler interviews Dr. Denielle Perry, a water resource geographer and Assistant Professor at Northern Arizona University in the School of Earth and Sustainability. Perry is the Director of the Free Flowing Rivers Lab (https://denielleperry.com/research/). In addition, she is one of the leaders of the River Field Studies Network (https://riverfieldstudies.com/), a commun...

Send us Fan Mail Todd Votteler, Ph. D. talks with Mark Boyd, P.E., Ph. D., Principal Engineer at LCA Environmental and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Environmental and Civil Engineering at Southern Methodist University. Boyd recently served as chair of the Texas Section’s Infrastructure Report Card Committee for the Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Infrastructure Repor...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Christina Babbitt, senior manager of the California Groundwater Program at Environmental Defense Fund. She is working to advance and scale groundwater sustainability policies and practices across California’s Central Valley and beyond. In these efforts, Babbitt works to build partnerships and collaboration among the agricult...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Monte Mills, Associate Professor and Director of the Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana. Mills teaches a variety of Indian law courses and works with clinical students on a range of legal matters in the Indian Law Clinic. His research and writing foc...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Professor Abigail André, an environmental litigator with over a decade of experience enforcing the Clean Water Act. She recently joined the staff of Vermont Law Schools’ Environmental Advocacy Clinic after ten years of environmental litigation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Environmental Enforcement Section, wher...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Dr. Rosario Sanchez, a senior research scientist for the Texas Water Resources Institute at Texas A&M University. Dr. Sanchez works on the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Act Program to integrate research and data on transboundary aquifers between Mexico and Texas. Rosario is also the Executive Director of the Permanent...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Dr. Sharon B. Megdal, Director of The University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center, which is a Cooperative Extension center and a research unit in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Her work focuses on water policy and management, on which she writes and frequently speaks. Take a deep dive into the world...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Mitch Tobin, Director of The Water Desk, which is an independent journalism initiative at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Center for Environmental Journalism that focuses on Western water issues and the Colorado River Basin. From 1998 to 2006, Tobin covered water, environmental, and other issues for the Napa Valley Regi...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Joe Underhill, Associate Professor of Political Science and Program Director of the River Semester (https://www.augsburg.edu/river/), Environmental Studies Program and Human Rights Forum at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Dr. Underhill studied philosophy, history, literature, politics and environmental studies...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Joshua Newton, an independent consultant and expert in global water political processes, governance and stakeholder engagement. Newton utilizes his knowledge of the international water community to help institutions develop their institutional strategies and drive political processes related to water. He is also the founder...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Dr. Ken Kramer and Jennifer Walker about the newly released Texas Water Conservation Scorecard 2020 Report, which provides an in-depth analysis and ranking of the water conservation efforts of more than 350 water utilities in Texas. Dr. Ken Kramer is the volunteer Water Resources Chair for the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Joel Scata, Water and Climate Attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, about his recent article published in the Spring 2020 edition of the American Bar Association’s Environmental Law Magazine that outlines the need for a new federal flood protection standard to ensure federally-financed infrastructure is better...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, talks with Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, Professor in the Public Administration program at Texas Tech University and Director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech, part of the Department of the Interior’s South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center. Dr. Hayhoe’s research focuses on developing and applying high-resolution climate p...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Benjamin Cook, Adjunct Research Scientist at the Earth Institute’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. In addition to his position at Lamont, Cook also serves as a Research Physical Scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York where he researches drought, hydroclimate, and interactions between the land...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Larry Stevens, Curator of Ecology at the Museum of Northern Arizona, and the Director of the Springs Stewardship Institute. He received his Ph. D. in Zoology from Northern Arizona University in 1989, and served as the ecologist for Grand Canyon National Park from 1989 to 1994. Well respected in the field of ecology, Dr. Stev...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Dr. Mike McGuire about the coronavirus and drinking water. As President of Michael J. McGuire, Inc. he has worked for drinking water utilities and consulting firms advising water utilities his entire career. He has worked for the Philadelphia Water Department, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and nation...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Stacey Allison Steinbach, General Manager of the Texas Water Conservation Association (TWCA). Steinbach joined TWCA in June 2015. She previously worked as a utility district attorney in private practice, as a staff attorney for the Texas General Land Office and most recently as the Executive Director of the Texas Alliance of...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, talks with Margaret Martens from the Water Systems Council and Susan O’Grady from Xylem Inc. Margaret Martens is the Executive Director of the Water Systems Council, a national nonprofit organization solely focused on household wells and small water well systems. In addition, she serves as Program Director for the Water Well Trust, t...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, talks with Robert Mace and Sharlene Leurig about a new study that is exploring the science behind Comanche Springs’ recent reawakening and the efforts that could help Fort Stockton reclaim its title as the Spring City of Texas. Once one of the five largest springs in Texas, Comanche Springs ceased flowing in the 1950s due to signific...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Dresden Farrand, Chief Executive Officer of the American Water Resources Association (AWRA). Prior to joining the AWRA team, Farrand was the vice president of membership and chapter development for the Independent Electrical Contractors Association (IEC), a national trade association, where she created strong new sources of...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Sarah Rountree Schlessinger, Executive Director of the Texas Water Foundation. Schlessinger previously worked in groundwater policy and regulation, and has experience with international non-profits with interest in water policy. She currently serves as an appointed member of the Water Conservation Advisory Council, and holds...

Send us Fan Mail Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler talks with Peter Lake, the Chairman of the Texas Water Development Board. Lake has served as a Board member of the Texas Water Development Board since December 15, 2015. Governor Greg Abbott designated him Chairman in February 2018.Lake has held a variety of financial roles across a number of industries. Previously, he acted as directo...