Episode 54: Measuring Water Insecurity

In this month’s episode of Talking Under Water, co-hosts Bob Crossen and Katie Johns discuss the PFAS health advisory limits announced by the U.S. EPA last month and share some of the conversations surrounding that news Additionally, they touch on the recent announcement of NOAA funding opportunities through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Finally, we share an interview with Dr. Sera Young, professor of anthropology and global health at Northwestern University. Johns spoke with her about water scarcity and the Water Insecurity Experiences Scales, also known as WISE scales.

Show Notes: 

• EPA Announces New Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFAS Chemicals 

• Water Industry Responds to PFAS Health Advisories 

• Communication & Education Vital for PFAS HALs, Firms Say 

• WWD Water Scarcity Newsletter 

• Biden Administration Announces Coastal & Climate Resilience Funding 

• Water Insecurity Experience Scales

Timestamps: 

• Cold open | 00:00 

• Host introductions & episode summary | 01:03 

• EPA announces PFAS Health Advisory Levels | 01:54 

• NOAA climate funding news | 06:36 

• Interview introduction & start | 8:30 

• Career path and current work | 9:19 

• Why measure experiences of water? | 12:51 

• Biggest takeaways from water insecurity research | 17:20 

• How do we increase visibility of this issue? | 19:23 

• How to measure water insecurity | 21:59 

• Why breaking down silos can address the issue | 23:41 

• Goals for the future of the measurement of water insecurity | 26:10 

• Interview wrap up| 27:37 

• Housekeeping | 28:40

Awards 

• SWS Top Project nominations 

About the Podcast 

Talking Under Water is the premier podcast for the water industry, including municipal and industrial water and wastewater, residential water treatment, storm water management and erosion control. It is produced in coordination between Water & Wastes Digest (WWD), Water Quality Products (WQP) and Storm Water Solutions (SWS). The podcast covers topics under the One Water movement including the municipal and industrial water and wastewater, point of use, point of entry, residential, storm water and erosion control markets. Talking Under Water highlights news, trends, new technologies, industry discussions and on-site interviews with experts for WWD, WQP and SWS. New episodes of the podcast are released on the third Friday of every month. Logo Images: Anatoly Tiplyashin / Romolo Tavani / stock.adobe.com. 

Contact the Talking Under Water podcast editors by emailing talkingunderwater@sgcmail.com or engaging with them on Twitter @TUWpodcast. Join the conversation by commenting or using the hashtag #talkingunderwaterpod on social media.