The Water Zone

Scott Burr and Rick Penn of Accelerated Filtration, explain their new technology, specialized metal filters designed for produced water markets. They provide detail on the unique challenges of this innovative start-up and how this specialized filtration helps clean contaminants from dirty water, and how it can help provide solutions in several applications. This breakthrough technology is being me...

Ron Burke, president and CEO of the Alliance for Water Efficiency, explains the organization’s mission and presents their priorities around education, advocacy, research, and training. Ron also takes us on a deep dive into the approach to water efficiency in regions throughout the U.S. He tells us about the organization’s strategic plans, their vision for the future of water in the U.S., and what...

Guest Charley Wilson, executive director and CEO of the Southern California Water Coalition, provides his perspective on the biggest water challenges in California today and what his organization is doing to secure greater water supplies. He shares his thoughts on how climate change is affecting water supplies and discusses the status of the Delta Fix project. He also speaks about the need to expa...

The first of a six-part series on New Mexico Produced Research Consortium, a joint effort of the New Mexico Environment Department and New Mexico State University. Throughout this series, we will have participating members in the Consortium like EPA representatives, government agencies, legislators, scientists, and utilities representatives, to share their perspectives and contributing actions tow...

Irrigation Association President and owner of Surf ‘N Earth Enterprises, Inge Bisconer, describes her role and plans for working with membership, the industry and legislators. Inge reflects on recent accolades from the American Society of Irrigation Consultants and her 40 plus years in the irrigation industry. A long-time advocate for sustainability and water use efficiency, she has been a leading...

Special guest Steven Moore, CEO of Moore Water Management, talks about best practices in water management and how they can be practically applied in the real world.  He describes evapotranspiration (ET) and factors to consider when developing watering plans like crop coefficients, soil conditions, temperature, humidity, wind, and solar radiation. Finally, he discusses smart controllers and soil mo...

Moses West Foundation leverages cutting edge atmospheric water generation technology to provide water access, foster community development and promote environmental responsibility. Founder Moses West joins the show to present the foundation’s latest technology for atmospheric water generation. He also shares how the foundation has generated over 5 million gallons of clean water around the world si...

We are joined by friend of the show, John Farner, executive director of the Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy, a center at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. John provides insight on the center’s activities and objectives. He also details the history and importance of the Colorado River Basin and why the center started its work there. He addresses the biggest challenges facing the basin...

This week’s guest is Thomas Schumann, CEO of Thomas Schumann Capital (TSC). TSC has emerged as a leading advocate for sustainable freshwater management and global water security. Recognizing the importance of water, TSC’s mission is to harness innovative strategies to protect freshwater supplies for the future. The company has also developed innovative financial instruments to promote water securi...

Chris Willis, owner of Colorado Total Maintenance company located in Denver, Colorado details his journey from grounds worker to business owner.  Colorado Total Maintenance manages landscape and irrigation for the City of Denver Parks & Recreation along with other large scale commercial properties. Chris believes that his experience starting in the industry and the opportunity to learn from ex...

Theo Wirtz and Philliph Prosenko of the IRRISketch company discuss their low-cost, innovative web-based irrigation system planner for landscape professionals and homeowners. Their software can significantly reduce the time to create a professional irrigation system design down to approximately 30 minutes. The system automatically determines pipe size, spray heads or rotors required and how many ca...

Part two of our discussion on cybersecurity affecting the water, electrical and petroleum industries. Contributors to the discussion are Frank Taylor, former under secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Sherri Ramsay, former director of the National Security Agency/Central Security Service Threat Operations Center, Hafsah Lak, former FBI Department of...

The first of an eye-opening two-part series, this episode dives into the heart of cybersecurity, featuring an elite panel including Frank Taylor, former Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Sherri Ramsay, former Director of the NSA/CSS Threat Operations Center, Hafsah Lak, former FBI Cyber Security Chief, and Harri Hursti, a world-renowned data...

The New Jersey Irrigation Association is known for its leadership in groundbreaking legislation for the industry. The New Jersey IA helped drive legislation that requires all irrigators in the state to be licensed. Gregg Rogers, owner of Garden Irrigation in New Jersey, chronicles his efforts to help drive new legislation through his work with the Irrigation Association and discusses his company’s...

Tom Lucas, president of Performance Nursery, provides a history of how and what attracted him to the green industry. He recounts the changes to the industry over time and how those changes have shaped the sales of low water use plant materials and water conservation. Tom also shares how these changes have impacted marketing, promotion and produced a more educated customer base. Podcast Recorded on...

Featured guest Seth Bangerter of Thrive Smart Systems joins to share the company’s new valve technology that can immediately and remotely connect back to an installed smart irrigation controller. This product can communicate up to 200 yards through typical landscape obstructions with no wires or pairing required with the controller. He describes how this technology fits within most residential irr...

Salt Lake City Utilities is the oldest retail water provider in the west. Conservation Manager for Salt Lake Cities Utilities, Stephanie Duer gives us a brief history on this special purveyor and talks about her role in water conservation. She also shares the many projects that they are involved with focused on water use efficiency and discusses how the organization handles the population growth,...

Water activist, Seth Siegal, joins the show to share his experience during a recent trip to Israel in a quest to see how the current conflict is affecting people and businesses in the region.  He describes to listeners the even more critical need for water and discusses new, highly efficient technologies for agricultural utilization in the Middle East, Europe and the United States receiving praise...

CEO and General Manager of San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, Heather Dyer, speaks about many of the area’s projects including a gravity pipeline that delivers non-reclaimable waste from the Santa Ana River to an Orange County treatment plant. As well as the Santa Ana River water rights project that provides leadership in the management of water resources throughout its service area....

Tia Fleming, director of external affairs for the California Water Energy Partnership (CALWEP), gives a brief history of the organization and explains how they advocate for California water agency legislation and regulatory requirements. CALWEP provides technical tools and training as well as professional networking opportunities. It also serves as the technical expert for partners and agencies an...

Featured guest Michael Davidson, president of Davidson Consultants details his experience in Israel relevant to the agricultural industry and how magnetic technology is helping to increase crop production. He shares how the current conflict has impacted food supply, water security and distribution in the region. Michael also provides a broader understanding of what is driving the Israeli AgTech se...

Hosts Rob Starr and Chris Davey celebrate the Water Zone being named FeedSpot’s #1 podcast on water with a review of highlights from 2023 including segments with Reese Tisdale and John Berryman from Bluefield Research who addressed national water trends; Innovyze President, David Totman regarding the challenges facing water utilities; and a range of fabulous guests representing climate science, ir...

Natasha Rankin, CEO of the Irrigation Association (IA), details the Association's 2023 achievements and reviews legislative activities that helped the IA, water agencies, the agriculture industry, and property owners.  She shares plans to provide interested individuals with a solid understanding of the significant opportunities within the industry and the educational training and networking capabi...

Metropolitan Water District (MWD) Resource Specialist, Krista Guerro, provides a history of the water purveyor and explains how they serve their Southern California region. She describes her specific role within the organization and details of some of the challenges facing water suppliers right now.  Krista speaks about their progress in water conservation activities over the past 30 years and how...

Special guest Jeff Graydon, sr. associate director of athletics at Princeton University chronicles his journey in sports fields and grounds and agronomy. Jeff manages the university's sports field design, construction and maintenance including management of various types of natural and synthetic turf. Jeff explains the variables that can impact the field and players like mold and other field chara...