waterloop

Desalination is a proven technology—but it’s still too costly, energy-intensive, and inaccessible for the communities that need it most.

To change that, XPRIZE launched a $119 million global competition to drive breakthroughs in seawater desalination and deliver scalable, sustainable solutions. Lauren Greenlee, Executive Vice President of Food+Water+Waste at XPRIZE, shares how the foundation uses incentive-based competitions to tac...

A 2,600-year-old bald cypress tree stands quietly in North Carolina’s Three Sisters Swamp—older than the Roman Empire, untouched by time, and protected by a resurgent tribal community.

In this powerful episode, Travis Loop joins members of the Coharie Tribe on a World Water Day paddle through their ancestral waters on the Black River.

Guided by Kullen Bell and other tribal leaders, the journey reveals a deep cultural revival ground...

Radhika Fox has spent her career at the intersection of people, policy, and infrastructure.

In a conversation from the Reservoir Center in Washington, D.C., the former head of EPA's Office of Water shares how she helped lead the largest federal investment in U.S. water infrastructure, advance PFAS regulation, and expand environmental justice efforts.

Radhika reflects on her path to leading federal water policy, shaped by experience...

Islam offers powerful guidance for enviromental stewardship - and Huda Alkaff has spent 20 years bringing those teachings to life.

As Founder of Wisconsin Green Muslims, Huda blends faith, ecology, and community action to advance water equity and climate justice. She shares how Islamic teachings inspire a sustainable lifestyle - from spiritual water practices during Ramadan to practical solutions like distributing water filters in...

Decades of underinvestment in water infrastructure have caused major issues—lead pipes, sewer overflows, and stormwater failures—in cities like Benton Harbor, Michigan and Mount Vernon, New York.

In this episode, Mayor Marcus Muhammad of Benton Harbor and Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard of Mount Vernon share how federal investments have made a real difference in rebuilding water systems, protecting public health, and boosting local ec...

Nutrient runoff from tile drainage systems on Iowa farms is a significant challenge, affecting local waterways and the Mississippi River.

Tile drain water recycling offers an innovative solution by capturing nutrient-rich drainage water, storing it in reservoirs, and reusing it for irrigation. This approach reduces nitrogen runoff while providing farmers with a reliable water source to boost crop yields.

In this episode, Chris Hay, ...

Texas' iconic springs are facing growing pressure from urban development, groundwater pumping, and climate change, threatening the lifeline of both ecosystems and communities. But through sustainable aquifer management, conservation easements, and innovative policies, there is hope for keeping these vital waters flowing.  

This episode features conversations with Vanessa Puig Williams of the Environmental Defense Fund, Robert Mace o...

Flooding and water quality degradation are significant challenges in Iowa's agricultural watersheds, driven by intensive farming practices and increasingly extreme weather events. Relay cropping, a regenerative farming practice, offers a solution by keeping soil covered and living roots in the ground year-round to reduce runoff and improve soil health. Plus it provides another source of revenue for farmers.

Ross Evelsizer of the Nor...

Grand Rapids is restoring the namesake rapids of the Grand River, reversing decades of human intervention that removed natural rock formations and altered the river’s flow. The city’s River For All project is removing five low-head dams and reshaping riverbanks to improve habitat, water quality, and public access.

Mike Stahl, an engineer with the City of Grand Rapids, shares how the project will reconnect people with the river by ad...

Agriculture in Iowa is vital to feeding the world, but it poses challenges for water quality and flood management due to nutrient runoff and extreme weather.

One innovative solution is the restoration of oxbow lakes—former river bends that have become disconnected from streams. These revitalized oxbows filter out nutrients like nitrates, provide habitat for endangered species such as the Topeka shiner, and offer flood storage to re...

The presence of 200,000 lead service lines in Cook County, Illinois poses a serious public health threat, especially to young children who are highly vulnerable to the effects of lead exposure.

Addressing this issue requires collaboration across more than 130 municipalities and overcoming the complexities of replacing outdated infrastructure. One key initiative is the Lead Care program, which prioritizes removing lead lines at chil...

Amid the devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires, confusion and misinformation have surrounded the role of water resources.

This episode clarifies key inaccuracies, highlighting how municipal water systems are designed to support localized firefighting efforts rather than large-scale wildfires fueled by extreme weather conditions.

Kathryn Sorenson of Arizona State University’s Kyl Center for Water Policy and Chad Seidel of Corona ...

At the 2024 WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas, waterloop founder Travis Loop shared key insights from his travels across the United States, documenting innovative water projects. He identified a number of commonalities that define sustainable solutions.

A return to nature is a recurring theme, with projects like Louisiana’s $3 billion Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion reconnecting the Mississippi River to its floodplains...

Since launching in 2014, the Clean Water Partnership in Prince George’s County, Maryland has provided a blueprint on how the government and a company can work together to simultaneously tackle environmental challenges and achieve community and business development.

In this episode, Roland Jones of CIS and Jim Lyons of Prince George’s County discuss how this groundbreaking community-based public-private partnership has implemented ex...

About one million Californians face persistent challenges accessing safe, affordable drinking water, particularly in rural and disadvantaged communities.

California’s SAFER program, led by the State Water Resources Control Board, takes a holistic and proactive approach to address these inequities, providing funding, technical assistance, and regulatory tools to ensure clean water for all.

In this episode, Adriana Renteria, Director...

Excess nutrients from farms in Iowa and across the Midwest are a major challenge, polluting local waterways and ultimately impacting the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico.

To address this, the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund incentivizes farmers to adopt practices that improve water quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In this episode, Adam Kiel, Managing Director of the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund, discusses how the Fund w...

Flooding is impacting communities nationwide with both devastating and costly effects. The solution requires resilience planning, infrastructure adaptation, and community involvement to effectively address flood risk.

In this episode, Melissa Roberts of the American Flood Coalition discusses the increasing frequency and impact of flooding across the U.S. and the need for innovative, community-focused solutions.

She highlights recen...

The Mississippi River is essential to global agriculture and trade, but it is increasingly vulnerable to climate impacts, including severe droughts and floods, resulting in significant economic and environmental challenges.

Colin Wellenkamp, Executive Director of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI), discusses how the coalition is advancing nature-based solutions to build resilience along the river.

One notable...

The ever-changing nature of the Mississippi River poses significant challenges for those living behind the levee at Dogtooth Bend in southern Illinois, where increased flooding and infrastructure strain can impact everyday existence.

A promising solution involves nature-based strategies that restore floodplains to better manage water flow and reduce flood risk.

Tharran Hobson of The Nature Conservancy shares insights into collabora...