The Authority Podcast: Plumbing and Mechanical

Aaron Tartakovsky, co-founder and CEO of Epic Cleantec, highlighted the newfound prominence of water during the renowned World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos this year. On this episode, we'll be speaking with Tartakovsky about the convergence of technology, regulations, and innovative business models aimed at tackling water-related climate issues. We also discuss how to market plumb...

The high volume of wastewater generated by hospitals is a challenge for engineers that want to promote safety and sustainability. Not only that, but due to waterborne pathogen concerns, hospitals are set to flush even more water to drain in an effort to control water age.  On this episode, we'll be speaking with Bob Salvatelli, director of Water Organization for NextEra Distributed Water, and...

The city of Vancouver is consistently named among the world's most desirable places to live and the region is expected to add nearly 1 million more residents by 2050. Massive development leads to growing pains for any city, and for Vancouver, the dirty secret was insufficient sewer capacity. On this episode, we'll be speaking with Chris Radziminski, Development, Buildings & Licensing...

We usually think about the Legionella threat in terms of hospitals and buildings. But did you know the Legionella threat can impact home water systems too? Joining us for the second time, on this episode we'll be speaking with Dr. Janet Stout, executive vice president and founder of Special Pathogens Laboratory, who will discuss the threats of Legionella and what steps communities should cons...

Relief is finally coming for the more than 9 million homes and buildings still serviced by lead pipelines, as federal infrastructure funds are making replacements possible. But those projects take time, and lead in drinking water remains a threat right now, especially to children where even low levels of lead exposure can cause permanent cognitive deficits and behavioral difficulties. The good new...

Did you know that water filters can mitigate lead, PFAs, and legionella threats? But not all of them. Many people are familiar with water filters — such as those built into refrigerators and pitchers inside the refrigerator. Water filters to improve drinking water quality and mitigate legionella bacteria in the shower are quite different, however, and must pass stringent performance requirements....

The U.S. Geological Survey has found that at least 45% of the nation's tap water is estimated to have one or more types of chemicals known as per or polyfluorinated alcohol substances, otherwise known as PFAS. PFAs are harmful chemicals that contaminate our drinking water. Fixing water systems to reduce the risk to human health is a priority, but treatment solutions can be costly to communiti...

On this episode of The Authority Podcast: Plumbing and Mechanical, we speak with Travis Loop, founder and host of the nonprofit media outlet waterloop; Dr. Christine Curtis (formerly DeMyers), research associate at the Pacific Institute; and Spencer Brown, director of Sales for Pfister Faucets, and also the executive producer of American Plumber Stories. To learn more about waterloop, visit https:...

Welcome to this episode of The Authority Podcast: Plumbing and Mechanical. In our first segment, we speak with George McGraw, founder and CEO of Dig Deep. In our policy segment, we speak with Chad Seidel, President at Corona Environmental Consulting LLC, adjunct professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a council member with the Water and Health Advisory Council. In our last segment, w...

On this episode, we speak with Anish Desai, Senior vice president of product certification at IAPMO R&T, about product certification at IAPMO R&T in our News segment; Adam Cory, Founder and Business Unit Leader of ThermoGrid at ECI Software Solutions, about how businesses in the trades can utilize cloud-based business management software in our Trends segment; and Markus Lenger, co-founder...

On this episode, we have a chat with Brian Courtright, national sales engineer for Lubrizol Corporation representing Corzan CPVC . Get in touch with Brian at Brian. Courtright@Lubrizol.com and learn more about Corzan CPVC at www.corzan.com .

On this episode, we'll be speaking with Troy Benavidez, Government Relations and Policy for LIXIL International, about the skilled labor gap in the plumbing profession and sanitation issues around the world, and Sherry Bradley, director of the Bureau of Environmental Services for the state of Alabama, about the Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program (BBUWP) and its collaboration with IA...

On this episode, we'll be speaking with a returning guest, Kerry Stackpole, CEO and executive director for Plumbing Manufacturers International, in our news and information segment; Pete DeMarco, IAPMO executive vice president of Advocacy and Research, in our policy segment, and Nimish Shah, Ph. D., and managing director of IAPMO India, in our good vibe segment.  To get in touch with Kerry St...

MacNevin, Director of Engineering for PPI 's Building & Construction Division, in our News segment; Sean Cleary, Vice President of Operations for IAPMO's Backflow Prevention Institute , in our Trends segment; and Trevor Martin and Jeremy Meyers, both of Local UA 400 out of Northeast Wisconsin. Contact Lance MacNevin by email at  lmacnevin@plasticpipe.org . Contact Sean Cleary by visi...

On this episode, we'll be speaking with Gary Klein, managing director at Gary Klein and Associates , in our policy segment; Brian Potter, structural department manager at DEVITA Inc . in our news segment, and Jed Scheuermann, IAPMO Region 2 field manager and North American program director for IWSH , in our good vibe segment. Contact Gary Klein by email at  gary@garykleinassociates.com . Chec...

Welcome to Season Two of The Authority Podcast: Plumbing and Mechanical.  This season will be a little bit different than Season One. In Season Two, each episode will feature three short sections with three different guests. Our first section will be policy and things that are impacting jurisdictions. Our second segment will be news and information and the latest trends of what's going on in...

Get ready for Season 2 of The Authority Podcast: Plumbing and Mechanical! This season will be a little bit different than Season 1. In this season, each episode will feature three short segments with three different guests. Our first section will cover policy and things that are impacting jurisdictions. Our second segment will cover news, information, and the latest trends in the plumbing industry...

On our final episode of Season 1, we'll finish our conversation about plumbing resiliency with a focus on plumbing equity and bridging plumbing equity gaps. Joining us on this episode are Emma Robbins, DigDeep's Navajo Water Project Executive Director, Kaitlin Harris, DigDeep Field Engineer, and Seán Kearney, Managing Director of the International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation...

In this episode, we'll discuss the concept of equity — specifically,  plumbing and water equity — with Kathryn Sorensen, Director of Research for the Kyl Center for Water Policy and Professor of Practice at the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. Sorensen served for many years as Director of Phoenix Water Services as well as Director of the City of Mesa Water Resources De...

In this week's episode, we'll continue our conversation on plumbing resiliency with a focus on sustainability and equity. Our guest this week is Ron Jones, co-founder and president of Green Builder Media, who is recognized as one of the fathers of the green building movement, instrumental in establishing guidelines and programs through NAHB, USGBC, and a variety of regional initiatives....

This is part two of our two-part series where we'll continue our conversation about plumbing resiliency, drought prevention, and water reuse with Sarah Porter, Director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy; Micah Thomas, Senior Director of Program Development and Compliance at the Green Building Initiative, also known as GBI; Pa...

This is part one of a two-part series where we'll continue our conversation on plumbing resiliency, expanding a little bit more into the weeds on drought prevention and water reuse with Sarah Porter, Director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy; Micah Thomas, Senior Director of Program Development and Compliance at the Green Bu...

Welcome to this week's episode of The Authority Podcast: Plumbing a Mechanical. This is part two of our two-part series where we'll continue our conversation about plumbing resiliency and sustainability with Emma Hughes, Project Manager in the LEED Department at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC); Mike Cudahy, Regulation and Sustainability Specialist for the Plastic Pipe and Fitting...

Welcome to this week's episode of “The Authority Podcast: Plumbing & Mechanical.” This is part one of a two-part series where we're going to continue our theme of plumbing resiliency and discuss sustainability issues with Emma Hughes, Project Manager in the LEED Department at the U.S. Green Building Council, also known as USGBC; Mike Cudahy, Regulation and Sustainability Specialist f...

Welcome to this week's episode of The Authority Podcast: Plumbing & Mechanical. As we have all season long, we're going to continue our conversation of plumbing resiliency. On today's talk, we're going to focus on the overlap between water efficiency and well-being with Rodolfo Perez, Senior Director, Standard Development, for the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI...