waterloop

A landmark new report from the American Water Works Association estimates the United States will need between $2.1 and $2.4 trillion in drinking water infrastructure investment over the next 25 years—and the funding gap is widening fast.

In this episode, the findings of Beyond The Replacement Era are explained by Mike Grimm of West Slope Water District, Heather Collins of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California...

The rivers of Washington, D.C. are becoming living laboratories for the future of urban water stewardship, with Xylem and the Reservoir Center helping launch a new real-time water quality monitoring network across the Potomac, Anacostia, and Shenandoah rivers.

In this episode, guests Nicole Horvath of the Reservoir Center, Trey Sherard of Anacostia Riverkeeper, Olympic rower Aquil Abdullah, and Lynn Coffey of Living Classrooms disc...

America’s drinking water infrastructure depends on more than 2 million miles of pipe buried beneath streets and communities across the country.

In this episode of How Water Works, Jeff Mason leads a tour inside the U.S. Pipe foundry in Alabama to show how ductile iron pipe is manufactured — from recycled scrap metal to critical underground infrastructure. The episode follows the intense process of melting old cars, appl...

Water utilities are quietly strengthening the “immune system” of our water infrastructure, using compliance programs and technology to prevent pollution, protect drinking water, and reduce sewer overflows before they happen.

In this episode, Mick O’Dwyer of SwiftComply shares how his journey from wastewater engineer in Dublin to tech founder led to building software that modernizes programs for backflow, pretreatm...

More than 2 million people in the United States live without running water or a working toilet—and the true number could be far higher. It’s a crisis hidden in plain sight, affecting communities from tribal lands and rural Appalachia to border colonias and even neighborhoods just beyond city infrastructure.

In this episode, Kabir Thatte of the Vessel Collective announces a new national roadmap aimed at closing that gap.

T...

Nanobubbles—microscopic pockets of gas invisible to the human eye—are emerging as a powerful tool to improve water treatment and management.

In this episode of How Water Works, Travis Loop visits Moleaer Inc. in Los Angeles to break down how nanobubbles work and why they’re gaining traction across industries.

Thousands of times smaller than a grain of salt, nanobubbles don’t rise and burst like ordinary bubble...

A group of top water experts is challenging one of the core assumptions behind U.S. drinking water policy—that chasing ever-smaller traces of contaminants is the best way to protect public health—and instead calling for a fundamental shift toward fixing pipes, strengthening systems, and prioritizing the risks that actually matter most.

In this episode, members of the Water Health Advisory Council lay out a bold path for...

Estuaries—places where rivers meet the ocean—are some of the most important ecosystems in the United States, supporting coastal economies, protecting communities, and serving as nurseries for much of the nation’s seafood.

In this episode from the Reservoir Center in Washington, D.C., Daniel Hayden, CEO of Restore America\'s Estuaries, explains why these places—from Chesapeake Bay to Puget Sound – are e...

Water is emerging as a defining factor in U.S. economic growth and national security—from where data centers and energy projects can scale to how communities absorb the rising costs of floods, droughts, and insurance risk.

In response, a new Aspen National Water Strategy has been released, laying out a plan to rethink how the country manages water. This episode is a conversation with the co-leads for developing the strategy, ...

A download from Davos reveals how water is rising on the global agenda — with business leaders, governments, and NGOs increasingly recognizing it as a critical climate and economic risk.

In this episode, Jason Morrison, president of the Pacific Institute, shares insights from the World Economic Forum gathering this past January, where conversations about water resilience are reaching CEOs, prime ministers, and top decision-ma...

The water sector is in the middle of a major transition, as decades-old challenges collide with powerful new technologies, workforce shifts, and rising public expectations.

In this episode, Ralph Exton, Executive Director of the Water Environment Federation, unpacks how a nearly century-old organization is working to steer global water strategy. He breaks down WEF’s three-pillar roadmap—building water communities, advan...

California’s water system was built for a wetter century—and now the state is racing to turn wastewater into a reliable part of its supply portfolio. In this episode, Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board, breaks down where water reuse fits in California’s long-term strategy, and what it will take to scale it safely and affordably.

The conversation spans the state’s ro...

In Sacramento, the shift to viewing wastewater as a critical resource is transforming regional water security and ecological health.

In this episode, Christoph Dobson, General Manager of Sacramento Area Sewer District, explains how the landmark $1.7 billion EchoWater project has elevated treatment standards to tertiary levels, protecting the sensitive Bay Delta while creating a massive new supply of recycled water.

This advanced infr...

Is the Chesapeake Bay finally turning a corner, or is restoration falling behind on its most critical deadlines?

This episode provides an expert "check-up" on America’s largest estuary with Hilary Falk, President and CEO of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF). After decades of investment, the results are a complex mix of record-breaking successes and urgent new challenges.

Explore the "Oyster Revolution"—a massive effort ...

Explosive growth in data centers, semiconductors, and power generation is driving unprecedented industrial water demand, pushing reuse from niche to necessity across the U.S.

In this episode, Bruno Pigott of the WateReuse Association, Courtney Tripp of Grundfos, and Jim Oliver of Black & Veatch unpack their joint report, Accelerating Industrial Reuse, spotlighting proven and sustainable strategies to meet that demand.

They highl...

What happens when laws designed to protect water fail — and what legal action does it take to set things right?

For decades, the health of the Chesapeake Bay has struggled because of three major pollution sources: stormwater, wastewater, and agriculture. These pressures send nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment into streams and rivers that flow into the Bay, where they harm water quality and the environment broadly.

While there h...

Green infrastructure is reshaping how communities manage stormwater by blending natural processes with modern engineering to improve water quality, reduce flooding, and fit into increasingly dense urban spaces.

In this episode, Christian Hennessy of Oldcastle Infrastructure breaks down what makes a system truly “green,” from mimicking pre-development hydrology to using engineered soils, media amendments, and carefully s...

Water is at the heart of America’s national parks, yet many of these rivers, lakes, coasts, and wetlands are under growing stress from pollution, climate impacts, and decisions made outside park boundaries.

In this episode from the Reservoir Center in Washington, D.C., Ed Stierli of the National Parks Conservation Association explains how his organization serves as the independent voice for 433 national park sites, backed by ...

Wastewater treatment plants rely on nonstop mechanical power to keep water moving, oxygen flowing, and critical equipment turning—and the systems behind that power are the focus of this episode.

Dave Zimmerman of Dodge Industrial breaks down how gearboxes, bearings, motors, and couplings form the “powertrain” that drives nearly every major process in a treatment plant.

Zimmerman explains how these components suppor...