Tap Talk Podcast: Season 4 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 fourth season was released throughout the spring of 2024 and featured the following 12 episodes:

TT037 – Partnership: The More You Give, The More You Get: Tap Talk hosts Steve and Jennifer Wilson look back on the beginnings of WaterOperator.org, discuss the evolution and expansion of our programs, and the value of our partnerships in helping those we serve.

TT038 – Operator Training: It Takes Skill: We chat with Ramzi Mahmood of the Office of Water Programs at California State University, Sacramento, about what he’s learned from his years of teaching and the future of operator training.

TT039 – RCAP at 50: Building Sustainable Rural Communities: A conversation with RCAP CEO Olga Morales-Pate about the challenges of ensuring the sustainability of rural communities, what it means to be a technical assistance provider, and why passion is the most important part of the job.

TT040 – Be the Champion: Building Knowledge with Informal Communities: Steve and Jennifer talk with Bob Dunlevy of U.S. EPA’s Region 7 about building an understanding of asset management in water utilities and how informal communities can be an essential tool for knowledge building.

TT041 – Data: The Key to Private Well Advocacy: A conversation with Amie Shei from the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts about how data from sampling private wells has been essential to lobbying efforts related to implementing statewide regulations on private well water quality. 

TT042 – Local Solutions: A Key to Growing the Water Workforce (Part 1): We talk about efforts to combat the “silver tsunami” affecting the water workforce with Mike Sullivan, Executive Director of the Northampton Bucks County Municipal Authority; and Shannon Drosnock, Executive Director of the Montgomery Township Municipal Sewer Authority.

TT043 – Local Solutions: A Key to Growing the Water Workforce (Part 2): A continuation of our conversation with Utility Directors from suburban Philadelphia, Mike Sullivan and Shannon Drosnock. In this episode, they talk about the logistics of their internship program, how they appeal to potential participants, and how the model could be duplicated for other utilities across the country.

TT044 – Cybersecurity: Helpful Resources for Small Systems: Our guest Jennifer Lyn Walker, the Director of Infrastructure Cyber Defense for WaterISAC, discusses ways that small utilities can protect themselves from cyberattacks and the growing importance of cybersecurity.

TT045 – Lead Service Line Replacements: Lessons from Cleveland (Part 1): During this episode we talk with Cleveland Water’s Brenda Culler, Lead Program Manager, and Joshua Pecek, Lead Service Line Replacement Work Administrator. We learn about their successful program to replace lead service lines that has landed Cleveland and Cuyahoga County ahead of the LSLR curve.

TT046 – Lead Service Line Replacements: Lessons from Cleveland (Part 2): We continue our conversation with Brenda Culler and Joshua Pecek of Cleveland Water‘s LSLR team. Their program provides a model for other water systems to follow in the development of their own lead service line replacement efforts.

TT047 – Hands-On Training: How to Develop the Water Workforce: Jennifer and Steve talk with Matt Maas, the director of the Environmental Resources Training Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The ERTC is a one-of-a-kind facility with working pilot plants and laboratories that allow students to experience hands-on training throughout the entire certification program. 

TT048 – Solutions-Focused Journalism: Creating Water Stories: In this episode, we welcome Travis Loop, the founder of waterloop, to discuss how to use solutions-focused journalism and storytelling to address our various water problems.

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!

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!

Tap Talk Podcast: Season 2 Recap

Launched in spring of 2022, the second season of Tap Talk discussed a wide range of water issues that coalesce at the community level. Our conversations with experts from across the industry focused on the importance of human-centered and practical decision-making as the foundation of real, sustainable progress.

1. TT013 – Water is an Economic Development Problem
2. TT014 – Building Civic Engagement in Rural Water Issues
3. TT015 – Selecting Appropriate Water Treatment and Ethical Providers
4. TT016 – Listening to People and Data
5. TT017 – Creative Collaborations in Water (Part 1)
6. TT018 – Creative Collaborations in Water (Part 2)
7. TT019 – Water and Children’s Health
8. TT020 – Community-centered Infrastructure Planning
9. TT021 – Education and Funding Options for Well Owners
10. TT022 – Best Practices in Webinar Training
11. TT023 – Environmental Justice, Water, and Public Health
12. TT024 – Thinking Differently about Infrastructure

You’re invited to discuss the episode in our LinkedIn Group. If you decide to share on Twitter, please use the hashtag #TapTalkPodcast. And, of course, make sure to subscribe in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

Tap Talk Podcast: Season 1 Recap

With our work here on WaterOperator.org and on 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 was born from noticing and facilitating these connections over the past decade. The first season was released in Fall 2021 and featured twelve episodes:

1. TT001 – The Drinking Water in Rural America Podcast
2. TT002 – Private Wells vs. Public Water Systems
3. TT003 – Mastering Well Owner Education
4. TT004 – The Problem with Springs
5. TT005 – Controlling Nitrification in Chloraminated Systems
6. TT006 – Protecting Well Users in North Carolina
7. TT007 – Helping the Smallest Water Systems
8. TT008 – Asset Management for Rural America (Part 1)
9. TT009 – Asset Management for Rural America (Part 2)
10. TT010 – Understanding Groundwater Quantity and Quality
11. TT011 – Risk Communication and Perception
12. TT012 – Water Supplies and Renter’s Rights