

Water Values Podcast
Dave McGimpsey
The Water Values Podcast series is presented in collaboration with Bluefield Research. This podcast series explores water issues from a variety of perspectives with the goal of uncovering the true value of water. Each episode will delve into one aspect of water, such as water utilities, water treatment, water resources, water reuse, and more.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 16, 2023 • 33min
The Amazing Uses of Nanobubble Technology with Moleaer CEO Nick Dyner
Nick Dyner, CEO of Moleaer, takes us on an amazing journey into nanobubble technology – what it is, what it does and how it improves water efficiency, water quality, water processes and much more.
In this session, you’ll learn about:
Nick’s background and his unexpected path to the water sector
What nanobubbles are
How big nanobubbles are in comparison to a grain of salt – the answer will surprise you!
How nanobubbles transfer gas into liquid so efficiently
How nanobubbles behave different than normal bubbles
The wide range of industries in which nanobubbles can make process improvements
How nanobubbles increase agricultural yields, promote water quality and efficiency, improve nutrient absorption and mitigate against waterborne disease and biofilm
How leadership continuity affects utility culture
Use of nanobubbles in wastewater treatment, especially in the aeration process
How nanobubbles improve energy efficiency
Use of nanobubbles in the energy sector
How nanobubbles can be used in the natural world to reduce harmful algal blooms and other
Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:
Nick’s LinkedIn profile
Moleaer’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!

May 2, 2023 • 48min
Utility Leadership, Pittsburgh Style with Will Pickering
Will Pickering, the CEO of the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority, provides a master class in utility leadership covering a wide range of issues from capital programs to the art of building trust with your customers. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins us for a Bluefield on Tap segment discussing some interesting economic information in the water sector.
In this session, you’ll learn about:
Will’s background
How Will navigated starting at PWSA during the pandemic
PWSA’s lead service line (LSL) replacement program
Why PWSA does not undertake partial LSL replacements
How the LSL replacement program helped rebuild trust in the community
Will’s tips on rebuilding trust in the community
How leadership continuity affects utility culture
PWSA’s capital improvement program, including its water reliability plan
Why the Pennsylvania legislature put PWSA under PUC jurisdiction
The impact of PUC jurisdiction over PWSA
How PWSA succeeded as a public authority in a state favorable to privatization
Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:
Will’s LinkedIn profile
PWSA’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!

Apr 18, 2023 • 38min
Sea Lab with Dr. Spencer Taintor
Dr. Spencer Taintor, Head of School for St. Mark’s Episcopal School and Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, fills us in on Sea Lab and the awesome programming it provides, as well as an inspirational message of hope about water quality.
In this session, you’ll learn about:
Spencer’s background
How watching water quality degrade in Biscayne Bay while growing up affected Spencer
What Sea Lab is
Why Spencer wants to teach kids to be “solution makers” not “solution thinkers”
How Spencer interfaced with the local business community to establish Sea Lab
The researchers Sea Lab has partnered with
The broad age range that can take advantage of Sea Lab
How to think globally but act locally
Some of the research projects that are underway
Some of the struggles Spencer encountered when building the tidal pool for Sea Lab
How the Sea Lab program is expanding
How Sea Lab is educating the community for the long term
Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:
Spencer’s LinkedIn profile
Sea Lab’s website (make sure you check out the Sea Lab launch video!)
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!

Apr 4, 2023 • 46min
Will Green Hydrogen Die of Thirst? with Antony Currie
Financial journalist and The Water Values Podcast veteran guest, Antony Currie, returns to discuss the water issue in the context of green hydrogen. Antony delivers a fantastic interview and highlights that green hydrogen developers need to pay more attention to water. Plus, Reese Tisdale joins our Bluefield on Tap segment to discuss a significant development in the private water utility space.
In this session, you’ll learn about:
What’s new with Antony since he was last on the podcast in 2019
Antony’s thoughts on how the financial sector impacts climate
The line between water and green hydrogen
What the financial statements of green hydrogen developers say about water
The key water assumptions green hydrogen developers use
Which renewable resource green hydrogen developers gravitate to and the typical water resources where those resources are plentiful
Green hydrogen and water efficiency and conservation
Water resource allocation issues related to green hydrogen
Antony’s thoughts on green hydrogen production in arid areas
Why Antony uses stoichiometric so much when discussing water
Antony’s argument for greater transparency with respect to water in the energy industry
Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:
Antony Currie’s LinkedIn profile
Antony’s The Liquid Asset webpage
Reuters’ Breaking Views
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!

Mar 21, 2023 • 37min
Improving Water Use through Soil Health with Parker Cohn
In this session, you’ll learn about:
Parker’s background and how a mechanical engineering student developed a passion for water
The interrelationship between water and soil health
The current state of soil health
Parker’s thoughts on how to improve soil health
How regenerative agricultural practices improve soil health
How yields are affected by using regenerative practices
The ROI of using regenerative agricultural practices
How improving soil health saves water
Steps to improving soil health
Where the “Soil Surgeon” moniker came from
How soil health also improves golf course water management (& also indirectly makes those golf courses more available to the public)
Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:
Parker Cohn’s LinkedIn profile
Parker’s Twitter Handle: @thesoilsurgeon
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!

Mar 7, 2023 • 30min
The State of the Colorado River Negotiations with Pat Mulroy
The one and only Pat Mulroy provides a stark reality check and status update on the state of the Colorado River negotiations. And Reese Tisdale from Bluefield Research provides his observations on several recent P3 announcements in the water space.
In this session, you’ll learn about:
Pat’s update on what’s new with her since she was last on the podcast
The two proposals made to the Department of the Interior
How the Six States Proposal and the California Proposal are different
How recent precipitation affects the negotiations
How neither proposal reaches the required cut mark
Where the Six States Proposal pushes the majority of the cuts
Why the California Proposal is a strict priority based proposal
How the current acre feet allocation works
Pat’s guess as to what happens this year in the negotiations
How the federal government plays into the negotiations
Why Pat believes a negotiated settlement, rather than a lawsuit, is the most likely outcome
Pat’s guess as to how the SCOTUS would rule in a lawsuit
Why paper water rights are worthless if Lake Mead goes to dead pool
Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:
Pat’s LinkedIn profile
The Water Problem on Amazon (book edited by Pat)
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!

Feb 21, 2023 • 1h 20min
Smart Cities & Connected Communities Panel Discussion on Water Technology
Wayne Griffith, now the Acting Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of DC Water, Ben Grumbles, the Executive Director of Environmental Council of the States, Christine Boyle, Vice President of Business Incubation for Xylem, and Dave McGimpsey, water, energy and utility Partner at Dentons engage in a panel discussion surrounding water technology and its role in finding solutions for utilities.
In this session, you’ll learn about:
DC Water’s Strategic Plan
How DC Water uses technology to assist customers
DC Water’s Blue Plains Facility
Why the US needs a national water policy that affords State and local governments flexibility to achieve policy goals
Why innovation at the State and local government levels are needed to address water quantity and water quality concerns
How interplay between grey infrastructure and nature based solutions
Examples of collaboration and conflict between States
The connection between the “Conservation Conundrum” and data science
Digitization and data aggregation leading to real-time decision making
How utilizing digital strategies can leverage nature-based solutions and reduce grey infrastructure costs
Convergence in the energy and water sectors
Changing the utility paradigm
What the panel sees for the future of water technology implementation
Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:
Wayne Griffith’s LinkedIn profile
Ben Grumbles bio on the ECOS website
Christine Boyle’s LinkedIn profile
Dave McGimpsey’s bio on Dentons’ website
Moderator Linda Willard’s bio on Dentons’ 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!

Feb 7, 2023 • 42min
Water Reuse Gains Momentum with Patricia Sinicropi
After a 5 year hiatus, Patricia Sinicropi, Executive Director of the Water Reuse Association, relates the exciting and substantial changes seen in the water reuse sector over the last 5 years. Plus, Reese Tisdale breaks down the Xylem agreement to acquire Evoqua in our Bluefield on Tap segment.
In this session, you’ll learn about:
How water reuse and recycling has changed over the past 5 years
How the IIJA has impacted water reuse
What the drivers for water recycling are and how it differs in various regions of the country
How businesses are influencing the move toward water reuse
Some examples of businesses achieving “water positive” facilities
How the Water Reuse Association (WRA) promotes water reuse in the business community
The inaugural Industrial Water Reuse Champion Award
WRA’s 2023 Water Reuse Symposium in Atlanta, GA, from March 5-8, 2023
Details on El Paso’s new DPR facility and the public’s positive reaction to it
Advances in potable reuse technologies
Colorado’s DPR rulemaking
Los Angeles’ recycling of wastewater
What’s next for water reuse and the WRA?
Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:
Patricia’s LinkedIn profile
Water Reuse Association’s website
Water Reuse Symposium in Atlanta on March 5-8, 2023
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!

Jan 17, 2023 • 39min
The Birth, Life, and Death of Lakes with Professor John Richard Saylor
John Richard Saylor, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University, provides a fascinating look at lakes and things you didn’t know about them. He provides examples of unique lakes around the world and offers a warning about natural resources and the human tendency to deplete them.
In this session, you’ll learn about:
The unique circumstances that brought Prof. Saylor to lake research
Prof. Saylor’s lake research and some fascinating aspects of lakes
How lakes store carbon dioxide and can cause an explosion of the lake
What causes thermal stratification of lakes
What Carolina Bays are and the mystery behind how they were formed
Subglacial lakes and how chemosynthesis drives lake ecology
How subglacial lakes were formed and were discovered
Why glaciers are the “master builder” of lakes
Several ways that lakes die
The story of the Aral Sea (which in reality is a lake) and its warning for the Great Salt Lake
How salt lakes form
Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:
Prof. Saylor’s Clemson University profile
John Richard Saylor’s webpage
Amazon page for Prof. Saylor’s Book: Lakes: Their Birth, Life and Death

Jan 3, 2023 • 46min
A Refreshing Vision for Water with Metropolitan’s Adel Hagekhalil
Water rock star Adel Hagekhalil imparts a powerful vision for leadership in the water sector through the lens of his work at Metropolitan. Plus, Reese Tisdale kicks off our Bluefield on Tap segment by providing his top 5 water issues to be on the lookout for in 2023.
In this session, you’ll learn about:
How Adel’s life has changed since he was last on in 2019
Why Metropolitan declared a regional drought emergency and what it means
How Metropolitan is experiencing a “Second Mulholland Moment”
The programs Metropolitan is developing and implementing to promote conservation and create sustainable supplies
How Adel promotes an inclusive and cooperative approach through his “We are one” program
What Adel means by building a “virtual aqueduct”
How Adel coalesced support from a divided board
The biggest surprises Adel encountered after coming to Metropolitan
The 5 principles Adel adopted in his business plan for Metropolitan
Why embracing partnership, not partisanship, is so important on water issues
Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:
Adel’s LinkedIn profile
Metropolitan’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!


