Water Values Podcast

Dave’s law partner at Dentons, Kyle Miller, is a cybersecurity and data privacy lawyer who provides a tremendous discussion on a wide range of cybersecurity issues for water utilities. Water utilities (and all critical infrastructure providers) will find Kyle’s in-depth knowledge and experience on cybersecurity and data privacy issues well worth the time investment. In this session, you’ll learn about: Kyle’s background in cybersecurity and information technology before becoming a data privacy and cybersecurity lawyer Recent cybersecurity incidents involving water utilities Traditional profit-based cyber attacks and the rise of politically motivated attacks The reasons why utilities have difficulty with cybersecurity Why some utilities have a false sense of security over cybersecurity The cybersecurity vulnerabilities present in utilities Why the integration of information systems and operations systems presents a risk The regulation that wasn’t in 2023 (U.S. EPAs withdrawn regulation) The legal requirements of the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act that utilities need to be aware of Why utilities need to know the applicable regulations in advance (because you won’t have time to look them up during an incident) Two important members of the acronym soup of cybersecurity: CISA: Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency NIST: National Institute for Standards and Technology Kyle’s terrific “leave behind” message for water utilities on cybersecurity Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Kyle’s LinkedIn page Kyle’s bio on Dentons’ website CISA website NIST website 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!

Eastern Municipal Water District (Eastern) General Manager, Joe Mouawad, provides a fantastic discussion of Eastern’s Purified Groundwater Replenishment Program and its attendant benefits, as well as a discussion about water usage and water efficiency in Eastern’s service area. In this session, you’ll learn about: Joe’s background in water and path to Eastern’s General Manager position Eastern’s water resource portfolio Eastern’s brackish groundwater desalination program Eastern’s customer growth and how Eastern has creatively reused water Eastern’s Purified Groundwater Replenishment Program The groundwater infiltration and aquifer recharge process and cycle The climate extremes driving Eastern’s water resource portfolio diversification The federal and state support for the groundwater purification project How the aquifer recharge supports groundwater resources throughout the entire basin How the Water Master administers and improves the basin’s groundwater resources The groundwater replacement program’s impact on subsidence and energy usage Water efficiency measures adopted by Eastern Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Joe Mouawad LinkedIn profile Eastern Municipal Water District’s Website 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!

Art Umble, Director of the Stantec Institute for Applied Science, Technology & Policy, provides a fascinating discussion identifying the key megatrends impacting water and exploring the issues driving those megatrends. In this session, you’ll learn about: Art’s distinguished background in water The work undertaken by the Institute for Applied Science, Technology and Policy The knowledge gaps we need to fill in order to develop a strategy to address water stress Key water megatrends: (1) Water Stress; (2) Global Urbanization; (3) Transboundary Water; (4) Agricultural Productivity Water stress as a global, national, and regional issue The three S’s of water stress: scarcity, socio-economics, and security Water stress is usually discussed in scarcity terms, but socio-economics factors (i.e., infrastructure adequacy) also plays a significant role The global urbanization challenge and the concentration of water demand How population growth will affect water stress Agriculture water sources – “blue water” and “green water” and what they are How evapotranspiration affects green water Unsustainable irrigation and the reasons behind it Art’s thoughts on how we address water stress Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Art’s LinkedIn page The Stantec Institute for Applied Science, Technology & Policy’s website TWV #227: A Refreshing Vision for Water with Metropolitan’s Adel Hagekhalil 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, review and subscribe to The Water Values Podcast on Apple Podcasts 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 Johnstone, the Client Engagement Leader for Water Utility Digital Solutions at 1898 & Co., provides a fresh perspective on digital transformation at water utilities. Seth crushes this interview, and no matter how much you think you know about digital transformation, you will learn from taking a listen to Seth. Plus, Reese Tisdale kicks off another year of Bluefield on Tap with a Top 5 issues list. See if your issues list matches Reese’s list. In this session, you’ll learn about: Seth’s unique background in water What an underwater archaeologist does Seth’s thoughts on technology and workforce replacement Seth’s awesome take on the essential function of technology for a utility Why Seth believes most of what a utility does from an asset perspective is location-based What the “laser guided shovel” is Cybersecurity issues for utilities The IT and OT cybersecurity issues and how to marry them together Why utilities need to prepare for and respond to hyperlocal issues Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Seth’s LinkedIn page 1898 & Co.’s website 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, review and subscribe to The Water Values Podcast on Apple Podcasts 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!

An all-star panel of water leaders participate in a roundtable discussion about what happened in the year that was 2023, and provide insights on what 2024 might hold for the water sector. In this session, you’ll learn about: The diverse backgrounds of industry segments and geographies served by our panelists Key takeaways from 2023 in the water sector from our panelists Use of technology to address climate adaptability and improve customer engagement The panelists’ experiences using technology to improve customer engagement Why climate change impacts aren’t always apparent, especially to customers The impact on affordability and equity our panelists saw in 2023 How engineering and capital planning decisions impact affordability and equity The use of a regulator device in the context of water equity Our panelists’ thoughts on the big issues for the water sector in 2024 Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Vic’s LinkedIn page Raj’s LinkedIn page Sarah’s LinkedIn page Trinnex’s website Kyl Center for Water Policy Arizona Water Blueprint 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!

Host of the PBS series Wild Rivers with Tillie, Tillie Walton, relates her love for water, time “on the river” and water’s restorative powers. So sit back, relax, and learn about the role water can play, making your life and world better. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for another Bluefield on Tap segment. In this session, you’ll learn about: Tillie’s unique background Tillie’s awesome water origin story How Tillie came to host a TV show The rivers Tillie has been on Tillie’s definition of “time on the river” How Tillie has seen rivers change over time Some of the river restoration projects Tillie has been involved in How river restoration projects do more than just improve environmental outcomes The “Blue Mind” effect Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Tillie’s LinkedIn profile ‘Wild Rivers with Tillie’ website 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!

Tacoma Zach, Co-founder and CEO of MentorAPM, delves into the problem of prioritization for utilities. Tacoma provides an insightful look at ways utilities can efficiently prioritize their asset management programs and their business organizations. What Tacoma’s been up to since his last guest appearance The BIG news at MentorAPM Why prioritization problems are not unique to utilities The ISO 55000 asset management standard The “minimum level of service” concept How a holistic approach helps organizations refine their values and “own” them Building consensus with stakeholders, both internal and external How getting different business units communicating helps organizational efficiency and asset management How criticality analyses assist utilities with prioritization Dynamic versus endemic risk Pulling all aspects of the utilities business together to prioritize decision-making Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Tacoma’s LinkedIn page MentorAPM’s website 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!

David Lynch, CEO & Co-founder of Klir, provides an absolutely fabulous interview discussing how utilities manage data and AI applications, as well as delivering some key insights for holistically handling data, AI and the myriad changes that utilities face every day. In this session, you’ll learn about: Dave’s unique background and how he came across the pond from Ireland What sparked Dave to found Klir Dave’s perspective on constraints facing utilities and water management Why Dave thinks data management is a huge hurdle for utilities and water management Dave’s thoughts on AI and its use in utilities Why utilities need holistic solutions rather than piecemeal applications Why knowing where your organization “hangs out” is so important “Pilot fatigue” – why the water industry has more pilots than the airline Why change management is key for utilities Dave’s observations on the labor force and people’s desire for work with a purpose How to build customer engagement and trust Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Dave’s LinkedIn page Klir’s website 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!

Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Global Lead for Water Sustainability, Will Hewes, provides an insightful look at AWS’s approach to water and discusses AWS’s Water Positive program that strives to return more water than it uses to the communities in which it does business, by 2030. In this session, you’ll learn about: Will’s varied background in the water sector How Will became the Global Lead for Water Sustainability at AWS AWS’s Water Positive program How AWS proposes to return more water in the communities in which it does business than it uses, by 2030 How AWS uses water in its facilities AWS’s use of IOT data to efficiently use water How evaporative cooling provides greater efficiency than air conditioning Why liters per kWh is the metric of choice for water efficiency measurement How AWS recycles cooling water and harvests rainwater in its facilities Will’s perspective on how AWS interacts with local communities on social license issues How AWS supported invasive species removal to help increase local water availability How geographic locale and temperature drive water usage at AWS’s facilities Organizations AWS partners with in order to improve sustainability Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Will’s LinkedIn page AWS’s Water Sustainability website 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!https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/natural-resources/water

Tom Ricciardi, Vice President of Business Operations at Capture6, discusses its fascinating technology that removes and sequesters carbon while simultaneously producing fresh water. Tom provides details on the process, carbon credits, and much more in this wide ranging interview. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for another Bluefield on Tap segment. In this session, you’ll learn about: Tom’s non-traditional path to the water sector Capture6’s carbon removal and fresh water production technology How the technology used renewable electricity to capture carbon from the air How salt in salt water turns into a carbonate that can be permanently sequestered The byproducts of the technology, including hydrogen, fresh water, and pure carbon dioxide The carbon removal credits that are available through the process How the technology differs from zero liquid discharge The carbon removal potential and factors affecting carbon removal How the chemical bond of the carbonate helps ensure sequestration The circular nature of the process when paired with a wastewater treatment plant How the synergy between carbon removal and fresh water production reduces the cost of each Tom’s bathtub analogy for carbon markets Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include: Tom’s LinkedIn page Capture6’s website 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!