waterloop

waterloop

waterloop is a nonprofit news outlet exploring solutions for sustainability and equity in water. Hosted by journalist Travis Loop, the podcast features stories from across the U.S. about water infrastructure, conservation, innovation, technology, policy, PFAS, climate resilience, and more.

Episodes

September 8, 2025

Inside infrastructure, there’s a simple device called check valves quietly protecting water systems from chaos, stopping dirty water from flowing backward, and keeping everything running smoothly amid bigger storms, tighter regulations, and growing cities.

In this episode, Cal Hayes from Proco Products explains the vital role of check valves.

He explains how they need zero maintenance or power, making them ideal for handling sewage...

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Pittsburgh is writing a playbook on lead pipe replacement, aiming to eliminate all toxic lines by 2027.

In this episode, Will Pickering, CEO of Pittsburgh Water, and Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis of Women for a Healthy Environment reveal the strategy behind this national model.

With over $200 million in federal grants and low-interest loans, the city has replaced 13,000 lead service lines at no cost to residents. Digitized records and G...

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As Southern California wonders if water scarcity could ever spiral into a “Day Zero” crisis, the region stands at a crossroads for securing its water future.

In this episode of In The Newsroom, Ian James, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, dives into the critical decisions shaping the region’s water portfolio.

With half its supply imported from vulnerable sources like the Colorado River, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and Sierra ...

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Houston is known as the energy capital—but it’s also the Bayou City, where water flows not just through the environment, but through culture, memory, justice, and resilience.

In this episode from the Color of Water series, Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud, Executive Director of Bayou City Waterkeeper, shares how her background in art and advocacy fuels bold environmental leadership rooted in equity. She discusses the group’s efforts to prote...

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Texas is tackling its booming population’s water demands with a bold $20 billion investment plan to secure sustainable supplies and infrastructure by 2050.

In this episode of In The Newsroom, Todd Votteler, a veteran water expert and editor of the Texas Water Journal, joins the podcast to discuss the state’s dynamic water landscape. With Texas expecting about 40 million residents by mid-century, the state is addressing urgent needs...

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AI isn’t coming—it’s already here, and it’s reshaping how communications and marketing get done.

In this episode, Shama Hyder, a leading voice in digital transformation, explains why this moment demands strategic urgency and how organizations must adapt or risk falling behind. She shares how AI is disrupting knowledge work, changing workflows, and redefining what entry-level even means.

Shama lays out practical ways communicators ca...

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Healthy rivers are essential for thriving communities, and smart, nature-based solutions are proving crucial to turning things around in a changing climate. In this episode, Derek Vollmer, Director of Waterscapes for the World Wildlife Fund, shares how their program uses innovative, place-based strategies to restore rivers and build resilience worldwide.

From the US-Mexico border, solutions for the Rio Grande include removing invas...

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California's water future could be shaped by a $20 billion gamble with the controversial Delta Tunnel.

This episode dives deep into the high-stakes project with Camille von Kaenel, California Environment Reporter for Politico.

She unravels the complex plan to transport water from Northern to Southern California, detailing its immense cost, the decades-long permitting battles, and the stark divide between its proponents and opponents,...

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June 20, 2025 37 mins

Decades of overpumping groundwater around Houston caused the land to sink by as much as 15 feet, forcing neighborhoods to flood and entire communities to relocate.

This episode explores how land subsidence developed, and how science, regulation, and infrastructure are now stopping the ground from sinking.

Chrissy Butcher of Baytown Nature Center and Jason Ramage of the U.S. Geological Survey explain how groundwater extraction trigge...

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The hard-fought plan to restore salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest has been abruptly derailed, threatening one of the most significant tribal and environmental agreements in decades.

In this episode of In The Newsroom, Tony Schick of Oregon Public Broadcasting breaks down how the Trump administration scrapped a landmark deal that would have paved the way for breaching four Snake River dams to save salmon populations.

The agreemen...

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Billions of dollars are finally flowing into the water industry, but the financial landscape is still far behind energy, climate tech, and other booming sectors.

In this episode of In The Newsroom, Travis Loop is joined by Antoine Walter, host of the (don’t) Waste Water podcast, for an insider look at how investment in the water sector is evolving—and where it’s still stuck.

They discuss how private equity, venture capital, and ins...

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Turning lawns into water savings, rewriting city codes, and protecting forests upstream—these are just some of the ways communities are reimagining their water systems with help from the WaterNow Alliance.

In this conversation from the Reservoir Center in Washington, D.C., Cynthia Koehler, Executive Director of the organization, shares how their Project Accelerator provides pro bono support to utilities ready to scale distributed, ...

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What does a 21st-century water-powered economy look like?

In this conversation, Brett Walton of Circle of Blue discusses their new reporting series on the blue economy in the Great Lakes region—where water is being used to drive innovation, jobs, and sustainable growth.

The discussion explores how cities like Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Chicago are building a future around water tech, smart infrastructure, and workforce development.

W...

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EPA is moving forward with PFAS drinking water limits but delaying compliance deadlines and withdrawing a controversial hazard index. At the same time, the Trump White House has proposed about a 90% cut to the State Revolving Funds—raising serious concerns about how utilities will afford compliance and critical infrastructure upgrades.

In this episode of In The Newsroom, Bob Crossen, Editorial Director of WaterWorld and Wastewater ...

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A legacy of pollution and neglect once left the James River and surrounding waterways in ecological crisis.

But decades of federal protections and grassroots advocacy have shown that nature can heal—if given the chance.

In this episode, Beth Roach, Vice Chair of the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia and National Water Conservation Campaign Manager for the Sierra Club, shares her personal and professional journey in water protection...

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Stormwater management solutions that are effective, space-conscious, and sustainable are increasingly important for cities. One increasingly popular solution is deep infiltration, a practice that moves stormwater into native soils far below the surface, to avoid harmful runoff and recharge groundwater.

In this episode, Gregor Patsch of Oldcastle Infrastructure explains how vertical drywells work, why they’re different from injectio...

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As a new administration and Congress settle into Washington, questions loom about how federal water policy will take shape amid broader political turbulence. Fortunately, water remains a rare bipartisan issue, providing a pathway for continued investment and action around critical infrastructure and public health.

In this conversation from the Reservoir Center, Mae Stevens of Banner Public Affairs explains why water has stayed stead...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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