Water Values Podcast

Austin Thompson of the University of North Carolina’s Environmental Finance Center joins us to discuss challenges with and innovations in small utility systems. Austin tackles the primary issues and challenges faced by smaller systems and informs us of some innovations taking place in smaller systems that are making a positive impact. In this session, you’ll learn about: The primary challenges smaller systems face How small systems deal with big capital needs and a small customer base How small systems deal with water quality challenges How topography presents challenges for smaller systems How populations density impacts smaller systems Some of the strategies to address these challenges How water kiosks help small systems How topography challenges created an innovative energy production opportunity for a small system The role training plays in providing innovations to smaller systems Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Austin’s bio page on the UNC EFC website UNC EFC’s website Appalachian Regional Commission website TWV #047: The Ups and Downs of Environmental Finance with Jeff Hughes                            Thank You! Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

Brian Iversen, founder and managing partner of Cimbria Capital, pulls back the curtain on private equity in the water sector in this fascinating episode. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for another Bluefield on Tap session talking pipe materials and plastics. Settle in for a great episode! In this session, you’ll learn about: Why Brian believes the water sector is ripe for investment The role of growth capital/private equity capital in fostering water-related businesses Brian’s take on the current state of the water sector How the water sector is a commodity driven market with upstream, downstream and midstream components The difference between private equity and venture capital & why venture capital doesn’t work as well as private equity in the water sector Why Brian believes investors are still trying to figure the water sector out Why Brian believes management teams and business models are key elements of water sector investing Brian’s thoughts on impact investing, ESG & resiliency investing Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:  Brian’s LinkedIn page Cimbria Capital’s website Brian’s bio on the Cimbria Capital website Florida Drilling website AMI Global website TWV #105: Investing in Water with Bill Brennan TWV #045: Water Sector Investing with Jud Hill                     Thank You! Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

Brian Iversen, founder and managing partner of Cimbria Capital, pulls back the curtain on private equity in the water sector in this fascinating episode. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for another Bluefield on Tap session talking pipe materials and plastics. Settle in for a great episode! In this session, you’ll learn about: Why Brian believes the water sector is ripe for investment The role of growth capital/private equity capital in fostering water-related businesses Brian’s take on the current state of the water sector How the water sector is a commodity driven market with upstream, downstream and midstream components The difference between private equity and venture capital & why venture capital doesn’t work as well as private equity in the water sector Why Brian believes investors are still trying to figure the water sector out Why Brian believes management teams and business models are key elements of water sector investing Brian’s thoughts on impact investing, ESG & resiliency investing Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:  Brian’s LinkedIn page Cimbria Capital’s website Brian’s bio on the Cimbria Capital website Florida Drilling website AMI Global website TWV #105: Investing in Water with Bill Brennan TWV #045: Water Sector Investing with Jud Hill                     Thank You! Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

Khris Dodson of Syracuse University’s Environmental Finance Center discusses a wide range of workforce development issues for water utilities. Khris identifies the problems with utility workforce development and also delves into potential solutions. It’s a great and important episode. In this session, you’ll learn about: What the biggest job needs are for water utilities Strategies to develop the skilled trades Why our culture doesn’t value the skilled trades highly enough How to align skill sets and geographical barriers with workforce needs Why more attention needs to be paid to retention strategies Compensation issues How utility rates impact the workforce Keys to succession planning for the utility workforce What the anticipated impact of artificial intelligence, machine learning and the internet of things might be Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Khris’ LinkedIn page EFC Network website Syracuse EFC website TWV #039: Serving Water For People and Utility Employment Opportunities with Connecticut Water CEO Eric Thornburg TWV #036: Water Utility Acquisition Issues and Utility Industry Gender Issues with Utilities Inc. President Lisa Sparrow Thank You! Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

Khris Dodson of Syracuse University’s Environmental Finance Center discusses a wide range of workforce development issues for water utilities. Khris identifies the problems with utility workforce development and also delves into potential solutions. It’s a great and important episode. In this session, you’ll learn about: What the biggest job needs are for water utilities Strategies to develop the skilled trades Why our culture doesn’t value the skilled trades highly enough How to align skill sets and geographical barriers with workforce needs Why more attention needs to be paid to retention strategies Compensation issues How utility rates impact the workforce Keys to succession planning for the utility workforce What the anticipated impact of artificial intelligence, machine learning and the internet of things might be Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Khris’ LinkedIn page EFC Network website Syracuse EFC website TWV #039: Serving Water For People and Utility Employment Opportunities with Connecticut Water CEO Eric Thornburg TWV #036: Water Utility Acquisition Issues and Utility Industry Gender Issues with Utilities Inc. President Lisa Sparrow Thank You! Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) Chairman Peter Lake joins us to discuss water infrastructure financing in Texas and more. Chairman Lake provides a wide-ranging interview showcasing his knowledge on water infrastructure finance, risk and creditworthiness assessment, opportunities for private capital, water markets, and much, much more. In this session, you’ll learn about: Pete’s background and how a finance expert wound up on the TWDB TWDB’s SWIFT Program (State Water Implementation Fund for Texas) The TWDB’s regional planning process for water supply Issues in marketing TWDB’s $1 billion bond portfolio to investors Water & its relationship with economic development and the business community Why institutional investors look for positive stories, needed services and creditworthiness when assessing an investment TWDB’s programs assessing borrower creditworthiness and implementing post-loan compliance The increasing role of climate risk and the importance of local participation in climate planning P3s & investment portfolios and the relationship with regulatory risk and technology risk Two examples of opportunities where private capital might be leveraged to create value in water supply by lowering technology and regulatory risk   Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Pete’s LinkedIn page Pete’s Twitter handle: @twdb_peter Texas Water Development Board website TWDB’s SWIFT homepage Slaking Texas’ Thirst with Carlos Rubinstein Thank You! Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) Chairman Peter Lake joins us to discuss water infrastructure financing in Texas and more. Chairman Lake provides a wide-ranging interview showcasing his knowledge on water infrastructure finance, risk and creditworthiness assessment, opportunities for private capital, water markets, and much, much more. In this session, you’ll learn about: Pete’s background and how a finance expert wound up on the TWDB TWDB’s SWIFT Program (State Water Implementation Fund for Texas) The TWDB’s regional planning process for water supply Issues in marketing TWDB’s $1 billion bond portfolio to investors Water & its relationship with economic development and the business community Why institutional investors look for positive stories, needed services and creditworthiness when assessing an investment TWDB’s programs assessing borrower creditworthiness and implementing post-loan compliance The increasing role of climate risk and the importance of local participation in climate planning P3s & investment portfolios and the relationship with regulatory risk and technology risk Two examples of opportunities where private capital might be leveraged to create value in water supply by lowering technology and regulatory risk   Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Pete’s LinkedIn page Pete’s Twitter handle: @twdb_peter Texas Water Development Board website TWDB’s SWIFT homepage Slaking Texas’ Thirst with Carlos Rubinstein Thank You! Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

Seth Siegel, a New York Times best-selling author renowned for his insights on water scarcity, dives into pressing issues surrounding America's drinking water in his latest book. He shares how his journey from advertising to advocating for sustainable water management was sparked by a pivotal moment. The discussion unveils the inefficiencies in water governance, calling out the failures of regulation and the fragmented nature of water management. Siegel also explores the need for consolidation among utilities to ensure safer drinking water and highlights the public health implications of contaminated supplies.

New York Timesbest-selling author Seth Siegel joins The Water Values Podcast to discuss his most recent book, Troubled Water: What’s Wrong with What We Drink. In this session, you’ll learn about: Seth’s background and awakening to the water sector Why Seth chose to write a book on our water systems Seth’s conceptualization of the water governance problem Why Seth believes government does a poor job of regulating government Seth’s multi-faceted solution to the water governance problem Seth’s history of how municipal ownership became the dominant water utility model How consolidation will help address the problems with our utilities How to convert safe drinking water from an environmental issue into a public health issues Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Seth’s bio on his website Seth’s homepage on his website Seth’s Twitter Handle: @SethMSiegel Troubled Wateron amazon.com TWV 006: Why Do We Drink Bottled Water? With Prof. Jim Salzman                                 Thank You! Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!

After 100 episodes since his last appearance, George Hawkins joins The Water Values Podcast and discusses his work with Moonshot Missions. After filling us in on the 2 years since his departure from DC Water, George details specific examples of how utilities with challenging circumstances can optimize different aspects of their systems by adopting the modules prepared by Moonshot Missions. George asserts that the trillions of estimated utility capex spend is overinflated and identifies ways utilities can achieve more with less. As with every interview George does, this is a can’t miss episode. In this session, you’ll learn about: George’s voluntary departure from DC Water Why George started Moonshot Missions The for profit and the not-for-profit arms of Moonshot Missions How the not-for-profit Moonshot Missions helps struggling utilities The utilities eligible for help from the not-for-profit Moonshot Missions arm Why George thinks the estimated trillions of utility capex spend is overinflated The low-hanging fruit for utilities to improve operational, financial and environmental performance The role of non-revenue water in improving utility performance  Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: George Hawkins’ email: George at MoonshotMissions dot org George Hawkins’ LinkedIn profile Moonshot Missions’ website George Hawkins’ Twitter Handle TWV #060: Change Leadership with DC Water CEO George Hawkins                                 Thank You! Thanks to each of you for listening and spreading the word about The Water Values Podcast! Keep the emails coming and please rate and review The Water Values Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher if you haven’t done so already. And don’t forget to tell your friends about the podcast and whatever you do, don’t forget to join The Water Values mailing list!