Water Values Podcast

Aaron Tartakovsky, CEO & Co-founder of Epic Cleantec, provides an outstanding overview of water reuse systems, their benefits and how centralized and decentralized components of a water system support and strengthen each other. In this session, you’ll learn about: Epic Cleantech’s origin story in the onsite water reuse space The policy background driving onsite reuse How onsite reuse supplemen...

Alan Tucker, Information Technology Program Manager with Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, provides a compelling case for collaboration in the utility technology space. In this session, you’ll learn about: Alan’s background and how he came to the water sector Alan’s thoughts on state of innovation and data usage in the water utility industry Alan’s work on Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer Distric...

Mike Sumner, the Director of Information Technology for the Consolidated Utility District of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, provides cybersecurity basics and tips. Mike entertains with his description of the Oldsmar, Florida, water utility cyberattack and its context occurring during Super Bowl week. In this session, you’ll learn about: Mike’s background in cybersecurity in the auto and utility industri...

Kendall Dix, National Policy Director for the Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy, comes on to discuss his recent article for the People’s Policy Center advocating for elimination of water rates. In this session, you’ll learn about: Kendall’s background  Why Kendall wrote his article advocating for elimination of residential water rates Why residential water rates are typically regressive Why K...

Katrina Donaghy, founder of Civic Ledger and Water Ledger and blockchain leader, comes on to discuss blockchain and how it can benefit the water sector. In this session, you’ll learn about: Katrina’s background in Australian disaster response and how it transitioned her into the utility space Katrina’s work in the “utility of the future” space for a major utility A lay explanation of blockchain Th...

Bryan Stubbs, the President and Executive Director of the Cleveland Water Alliance, provides a compelling case for the water tech model that embraces economic development while nestled along the shores of the Great Lakes where 21% of the world’s fresh surface water resided. In this session, you’ll learn about: Bryan’s entrepreneurial background in sustainable economic development How Cleveland Wat...

Iris Gonzales,  Philippine Star  reporter and columnist, provides an eye-opening discussion on water in the Philippines and the Manila water concessions. Iris also explains the impact of the recently enacted legislative franchises granted by the Filipino government. In this session, you’ll learn about: Iris’ coverage of water in the Philippines How the Philippines set up water utilities after achi...

Robin Craig, the Robert C. Packard Trustee Chair in Law at USC Gould School of Law and long-time water law professor, joins us to discuss the background, arguments and holding in Mississippi v. Tennessee, and provides some insights on what the case might mean for State water policy moving forward. In this session, you’ll learn about: Robin’s extensive background in water law The factual background...

Christina Lundbäck provides a fascinating discussion of SurfCleaner and its applications to remove contaminants from water at wastewater treatment plants, industrial facilities, ports, harbors, and spills. In this session, you’ll learn about: What SurfCleaner is How the technology behind SurfCleaner was developed How SurfCleaner was developed based on the human heart How SurfCleaner works How Surf...

Water industry veteran and Association of State Drinking Administrators (ASDWA) Executive Director Alan Roberson discusses the big issues facing the water sector from a state regulatory perspective. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for a Bluefield on Tap segment. In this session, you’ll learn about: What ASDWA is ASDWA’s membership The priorities in 2022 for state drinking water regulators Why the Lea...

An all-star panel of water leaders participate in a roundtable discussion about what happened in the year that was 2021 and provide insights on what 2022 might hold for the water sector. In this session, you’ll learn about: Each panelist’s takeaways from 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding issues Why the IIJA needs to be a “down payment” on our infrastructure rather than a o...

Christoph Gorder, Chief Global Water Officer, blows us away with a deep dive on charity: water and its work. In this session, you’ll learn about: How Christoph transitioned from disaster relief to charity: water charity: water’s mission How charity: water’s unique structure helps it achieve success How charity: water overcame one of the unique fundraising challenges Why clean water helps reduce in...

Alyson Watson, CEO of Woodard & Curran, delivers a tour de force performance explaining why the water industry needs a fresh approach to delivering services and advocating for an outcome based contracting approach focused on trust and empathy. In this session, you’ll learn about: Alyson’s background as a “water brat” Alyson’s perspective on the prevailing mode of project delivery Why shifting...

Cameron was a civilian employee working on a U.S. Army base before moving to a military contractor. Cameron gives a terrific interview shining a light on water issues on military installations in this U.S. Army approved interview. In this session, you’ll learn about: Cameron’s background Why water is important to the armed forces Water needs and use on military bases Cameron’s role as a civilian w...

James Eklund returns to The Water Values Podcast for a third time to provide an argument for why demand management is critical to the future of the Colorado River. In this session, you’ll learn about: What James has been up to since his last podcast appearance A brief history of the Colorado River Compact How the Upper Basin and Lower Basin came to be How climate change has impacted the Colorado R...

Alison Adams, now Chief Technology Officer at INTERA, drove innovation at Tampa Bay Water when she helped pioneer Tampa Bay Water’s digital transformation. Alison provides firsthand knowledge about how to design a program for digital transformation, how to get employee buy in, and the benefits your utility will achieve along the way. Plus Reese Tisdale joins us for another Bluefield on Tap segment...

Claudia Toussaint, General Counsel of Xylem, provides a terrific discussion of ESG issues from the perspective of a publicly traded corporation’s general counsel. In a nutshell, Claudia describes how little acorns of ESG can grow into mighty oaks when corporate boards use ESG to guide their business strategies. In this session, you’ll learn about: Claudia’s unique background What ESG is from a pub...

Tom Ferguson of Imagine H2O fame and now captaining Burnt Island Ventures joins The Water Values Podcast for an engaging discussion on early stage and venture capital investing in the water sector and a big picture discussion about what the water sector needs to achieve greatness. In this session, you’ll learn about: Tom’s unique story for how he landed in the water sector Why Tom believes that de...

Brent Fewell of the Water Finance Exchange shares the story of why the Water Finance Exchange was established and how it aims to serve the significant need for water infrastructure funding in the market. In this session, you’ll learn about: What the Water Finance Exchange is Why the Water Finance Exchange was founded How the Water Finance Exchange is funded Brent’s view on why communities have not...

Jeffrey Kightlinger provides an excellent interview offering profound thoughts on the water industry that was recorded during the waning days of his 15-year tenure as the General Manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Plus, Reese Tisdale of Bluefield Research comes on for Bluefield on Tap to discuss how population shifts might impact the water sector. In this session, y...

Locus Technologies founder and CEO Neno Duplan provides a wealth of experience on water quality in the cloud. Neno began cloud-based data work before any of us knew what the cloud even was. He does a great job explaining the steps needed to undertake and the significant benefits of a cloud-based digital transformation, and much more! In this session, you’ll learn about:   Neno’s background and sta...

James Perry of Utilis joins us to discuss Synthetic Aperture Radar and its many and varied applications in the water sector. James provides a wealth of information about how the technology developed to its cost-effective use and application in the water sector. Plus, Reese Tisdale of Bluefield Research provides more water industry insights on the California drought and how utilities are bringing c...

Plutoshift CEO Prateek Joshi comes on to talk about digital transformation in the water sector. Prateek hits on a number of important and practical points in a wide-ranging discussion on data, AI, and machine learning in the water sector. In this session, you’ll learn about:   Prateek’s background & how it influenced his arc into the water sector Water-intensive industries and using water data...

Water entrepreneur (and new mom) Meena Sankaran discusses data collection and usage in the water sector. She provides fascinating perspectives on everything from driving the digital transformation to common data gaps to cybersecurity. Get ready for a terrific interview from Meena! In this session, you’ll learn about:   Meena’s upbringing in India and its impact on her work in water today Meena’s v...

Water entrepreneur (and new mom) Meena Sankaran discusses data collection and usage in the water sector. She provides fascinating perspectives on everything from driving the digital transformation to common data gaps to cybersecurity. Get ready for a terrific interview from Meena! In this session, you’ll learn about:   Meena’s upbringing in India and its impact on her work in water today Meena’s v...