Utility Management

Talking Under Water Episode 54: Measuring Water Insecurity

In this month’s episode, the hosts discuss the new PFAS health advisory limits and NOAA funding and share an interview on water scarcity.
July 22, 2022
3 min read

In this month’s episode of Talking Under Water, co-hosts Bob Crossen and Katie Johns discuss the PFAS health advisory limits announced by the U.S. EPA last month and share some of the conversations surrounding that news Additionally, they touch on the recent announcement of NOAA funding opportunities through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Finally, we share an interview with Dr. Sera Young, professor of anthropology and global health at Northwestern University. Johns spoke with her about water scarcity and the Water Insecurity Experiences Scales, also known as WISE scales.   

Show Notes: 

Timestamps: 

  • Cold open | 00:00 

  • Host introductions & episode summary | 01:03 

  • EPA announces PFAS Health Advisory Levels | 01:54 

  • NOAA climate funding news | 06:36 

  • Interview introduction & start | 8:30 

  • Career path and current work | 9:19 

  • Why measure experiences of water? | 12:51 

  • Biggest takeaways from water insecurity research | 17:20 

  • How do we increase visibility of this issue? | 19:23 

  • How to measure water insecurity | 21:59 

  • Why breaking down silos can address the issue | 23:41 

  • Goals for the future of the measurement of water insecurity | 26:10 

  • Interview wrap up| 27:37 

  • Housekeeping | 28:40  

Awards 

About the Podcast 

Talking Under Water is the premier podcast for the water industry, including municipal and industrial water and wastewater, residential water treatment, storm water management and erosion control. It is produced in coordination between Water & Wastes Digest (WWD), Water Quality Products (WQP) and Storm Water Solutions (SWS). The podcast covers topics under the One Water movement including the municipal and industrial water and wastewater, point of use, point of entry, residential, storm water and erosion control markets. Talking Under Water highlights news, trends, new technologies, industry discussions and on-site interviews with experts for WWD, WQP and SWS. New episodes of the podcast are released on the third Friday of every month. Logo Images: Anatoly Tiplyashin / Romolo Tavani / stock.adobe.com. 

Contact the Talking Under Water podcast editors by emailing [email protected] or engaging with them on Twitter @TUWpodcast. Join the conversation by commenting or using the hashtag #talkingunderwaterpod on social media. 

About the Author

Katie Johns

Katie Johns, editor-in-chief of Storm Water Solutions and Water Quality Products, graduated from the University of Missouri in 2016 with a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. Johns joined the Storm Water Solutions team in September 2019. Johns also helps plan the annual StormCon conference and co-hosts the Talking Under Water podcast. Prior to entering the B2B industry, she worked as a newspaper reporter and editor in Sarasota, Florida, and a magazine assistant editor in the Chicago suburbs. She can be reached at [email protected]

Bob Crossen

Bob Crossen is the editorial director for the Endeavor Business Media Water Group, which publishes WaterWorld, Wastewater Digest and Stormwater Solutions. Crossen graduated from Illinois State University in Dec. 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in German and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. He worked for Campbell Publications, a weekly newspaper company in rural Illinois outside St. Louis for four years as a reporter and regional editor. 

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