Tap Talk Podcast: Season 3 Recap

With our work here on WaterOperator.org as well as our sister program PrivateWellClass.org, our team has a unique national role that weaves in and out of environmental health, water infrastructure, and public policy. While we use our science backgrounds to get the job done well, our purpose is fundamentally about communication. We want to connect people with information and each other.

Tap Talk: The Drinking Water in Rural America Podcast connects professionals across the drinking water community with ideas to extend and enhance our work

The third season was released throughout 2022 & 2023 and featured the following 12 episodes:

TT025 – Understanding Drought and Drinking Water: learn more about drought issues across the U.S. and how water and health professionals can network with experts in this area.

TT026 – Focusing on the Customer: perspectives from a water well contractor and industry expert on customer knowledge, shifts in the industry and regulatory landscape, and the one thing that could make all the difference for public health.

TT027 – The Future of Operator Certification: learn about water and wastewater certification in a post-pandemic world.

TT028 – Data and Details from an Effective Program: insights on running a successful outreach program from a public health perspective, a Minnesota private well forum, and the shift towards policy that the outreach program has taken.

TT029 – The Power of Persistence: stories of persistence and resilience when it comes to protecting public health in rural Alaska.

TT030 – Improving Safe Water Access for the Cherokee Nation: perspectives from a licensed water operator and registered sanitarian who works for the Cherokee Nation. This conversation highlights the innovative solutions the Tribe is using to address water access as well as obstacles that still remain.
 
TT031 – Funding Your Water Infrastructure Project: insights on the importance of communication and outreach in gaining support for a project. This episode talks about the true cost of not updating a Saco, Maine wastewater plant and the steps local government officials took to secure the needed funding. 

TT032 – Research for Water Equity (Part 1): exploring some of the challenges of improving access to safe water, particularly for private well users. This episode highlights how both social understanding and real data are needed to design equitable solutions.

TT033 – Research for Water Equity (Part 2): a discussion of alternate perspectives on real private well problems. The conversation reiterates the need for personalized solutions, raises various research questions, and shares opinions on the needed direction for public outreach.

TT034 – Leveraging Passion to Protect Public Health: learn about the Montgomery County private well program in Pennsylvania where there is no statewide well construction code or other private well regulations. Despite this, Montgomery County is leading the way to greater public health protection in the state.

TT035 – The State of Drinking Water: learn more about the most pressing challenges facing public water systems and state regulators, efforts to increase compliance, and sustainability for the most disadvantaged communities as we approach 50 years of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

TT036 – Busting Myths about Regionalization: a conversation on the fundamentals of regionalization and why these conversations are so important to the sustainability of small and rural water systems.

You’re invited to discuss the episodes in our LinkedIn Group and if you choose to share on Twitter, please use the hashtag #TapTalkPodcast. Don’t forget to subscribe via Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app!