The Authority Podcast: Plumbing and Mechanical

On this episode of The Authority Podcast: Plumbing and Mechanical, we speak with Travis Loop, founder and host of the nonprofit media outlet waterloop; Dr. Christine Curtis (formerly DeMyers), research associate at the Pacific Institute; and Spencer Brown, director of Sales for Pfister Faucets, and also the executive producer of American Plumber Stories. To learn more about waterloop, visit https://waterloop.org and follow them on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. To learn more about Pacific Institute, visit https://pacinst.org and follow them on Twitter. To get in touch with Dr. Christine Curtis (formerly DeMyers), email her at cdemyers@pacinst.org or find her on LinkedIn. To learn more about American Plumber Stories, visit https://americanplumberstories.com and follow them on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. To watch the American Plumber Stories episode featured in this episode, visit https://www.americanplumberstories.com/blogs/episodes/signing-day-special-american-plumber-stories.

Welcome to this episode of The Authority Podcast: Plumbing and Mechanical. In our first segment, we speak with George McGraw, founder and CEO of Dig Deep. In our policy segment, we speak with Chad Seidel, President at Corona Environmental Consulting LLC, adjunct professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a council member with the Water and Health Advisory Council. In our last segment, we speak with Gabe Pinchev, CEO of Field Pulse, talking about trends in the plumbing industry. To get in touch with DigDeep, email info@digdeep.org. You can find also find DigDeep on Twitter @digdeepH2O and on Instagram @digdeepwater. You can find research, videos, and information about DigDeep projects all over the US at DigDeep.org. Chad Seidel and Corona Environmental can be reached on Twitter @ChadSeidel and @CoronaENV, respectively. You can reach the Water and Health Advisory Council at WaterAdvisory.org. Gabe Pinchev can be reached at Gabriel.Pinchev@fieldpulse.com. If you'd like to learn more about FieldPulse, visit fieldpulse.com.

On this episode, we speak with Anish Desai, Senior vice president of product certification at IAPMO R&T, about product certification at IAPMO R&T in our News segment; Adam Cory, Founder and Business Unit Leader of ThermoGrid at ECI Software Solutions, about how businesses in the trades can utilize cloud-based business management software in our Trends segment; and Markus Lenger, co-founder and CEO of CleanBlu, about his company and how emerging technologies can help underserved communities in needin our Good Vibes segment. To get in touch with Anish Desai, you can visit www.iapmort.org to find contact information and information about about IAPMO R&T. To get in touch with Adam Cory, you email him at sales@thermogrid.com or call at 1-800-592-3611. To get in touch with Markus Lenger, you can email him at markuslenger@cleanblu.com.

On this episode, we have a chat with Brian Courtright, national sales engineer for Lubrizol Corporation representing Corzan CPVC . Get in touch with Brian at Brian.Courtright@Lubrizol.com and learn more about Corzan CPVC at www.corzan.com.

On this episode, we'll be speaking with Troy Benavidez, Government Relations and Policy for LIXIL International, about the skilled labor gap in the plumbing profession and sanitation issues around the world, and Sherry Bradley, director of the Bureau of Environmental Services for the state of Alabama, about the Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program (BBUWP) and its collaboration with IAPMO's International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (IWSH) Foundation. To get in touch with Troy Benavidez, you can find him on LinkedIn or Twitter, and find LIXIL at www.lixil.com. To get in touch with Sherry Bradley, call her directly at (334) 206-5805. If you want to know more about BBUWP, visit www.bbuwp.org.

On this episode, we'll be speaking with a returning guest, Kerry Stackpole, CEO and executive director for Plumbing Manufacturers International, in our news and information segment; Pete DeMarco, IAPMO executive vice president of Advocacy and Research, in our policy segment, and Nimish Shah, Ph.D., and managing director of IAPMO India, in our good vibe segment. To get in touch with Kerry Stackpole, visit www.safeplumbing.org. To get in touch with Pete DeMarco, email pete.demarco@iapmo.org. To get in touch with Nimish Shah, look him (and IAPMO India) up on LinkedIn.

acNevin, Director of Engineering for PPI's Building & Construction Division, in our News segment; Sean Cleary, Vice President of Operations for IAPMO's Backflow Prevention Institute, in our Trends segment; and Trevor Martin and Jeremy Meyers, both of Local UA 400 out of Northeast Wisconsin. Contact Lance MacNevin by email at lmacnevin@plasticpipe.org. Contact Sean Cleary by visiting BPI's website at www.iapmobpi.org. Contact Trevor Martin and Jeremy Meyers by visiting Local UA 400's website at www.ua400.org or check them out on Facebook or LinkedIn.

On this episode, we'll be speaking with Gary Klein, managing director at Gary Klein and Associates, in our policy segment; Brian Potter, structural department manager at DEVITA Inc. in our news segment, and Jed Scheuermann, IAPMO Region 2 field manager and North American program director for IWSH, in our good vibe segment. Contact Gary Klein by email at gary@garykleinassociates.com. Check out Brian Potter's Substack newsletter at https://constructionphysics.substack.com, which has links to his email and LinkedIn account. Contact Jed Scheuermann by email at jed.scheuermann@iapmo.org.

Welcome to Season Two of The Authority Podcast: Plumbing and Mechanical. This season will be a little bit different than Season One. In Season Two, each episode will feature three short sections with three different guests. Our first section will be policy and things that are impacting jurisdictions. Our second segment will be news and information and the latest trends of what's going on in the plumbing industry. And finally our third section will cover the good work that the plumbing industry is doing. We hope this will give our listeners a big-picture view of what's going on in our sector and keep you all in the know. On this episode, we'll be speaking with Dain Hansen, executive vice president of Government Relations for The IAPMO Group in our policy segment. In our news segment, we'll be speaking with Darion Ziegler, architect at NELSON Worldwide. In our third section, we'll be talking with Michael Lavoie, president of The Drain Whisperer and a registered plumber in the state of California.

Get ready for Season 2 of The Authority Podcast: Plumbing and Mechanical! This season will be a little bit different than Season 1. In this season, each episode will feature three short segments with three different guests. Our first section will cover policy and things that are impacting jurisdictions. Our second segment will cover news, information, and the latest trends in the plumbing industry. And finally, our third section will cover the good work that the plumbing industry is doing. Join us for Episode 1 on Tuesday, Dec. 14, and together we'll explore the ways we can make our buildings shape us.

On our final episode of Season 1, we'll finish our conversation about plumbing resiliency with a focus on plumbing equity and bridging plumbing equity gaps. Joining us on this episode are Emma Robbins, DigDeep's Navajo Water Project Executive Director, Kaitlin Harris, DigDeep Field Engineer, and Seán Kearney, Managing Director of the International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation (IWSH). To learn more about DigDeep, visit https://www.digdeep.org. To learn more about IWSH, visit https://iwsh.org.

In this episode, we'll discuss the concept of equity — specifically, plumbing and water equity — with Kathryn Sorensen, Director of Research for the Kyl Center for Water Policy and Professor of Practice at the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. Sorensen served for many years as Director of Phoenix Water Services as well as Director of the City of Mesa Water Resources Department. In these roles she was responsible for the delivery of safe, clean, reliable water for millions of Arizonans, and significantly advanced the sustainable management of water resources in Arizona and the Colorado River basin. She earned a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Texas A&M University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Michigan. In her position at Arizona State University, she oversees the research efforts of the Kyl Center for Water Policy, serves as a Professor of Practice at the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, and contributes to the Global Futures Laboratory. To learn more about the Arizona State University Morrison Institute for Public Policy, visit https://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu. RESOURCES: Ten Tenets of Water Equity: Considerations for Community Water Systems

In this week's episode, we'll continue our conversation on plumbing resiliency with a focus on sustainability and equity. Our guest this week is Ron Jones, co-founder and president of Green Builder Media, who is recognized as one of the fathers of the green building movement, instrumental in establishing guidelines and programs through NAHB, USGBC, and a variety of regional initiatives. Jones is the charter chairman of the Greenbuilder Coalition, a grassroots nonprofit advocacy group, whose goal is to promote integrity and the building industry and beyond in an effort to return balance and harmony to the relationship between the built environment and the natural one. A recognized author and keynote speaker on four continents, his industry credentials and leadership experience, combined with his inspirational message and take-no-prisoners style, makes him a high-demand presenter for conferences and events of all kinds. To learn more about Green Builder Media, visit www.greenbuildermedia.com.

This is part two of our two-part series where we'll continue our conversation about plumbing resiliency, drought prevention, and water reuse with Sarah Porter, Director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy; Micah Thomas, Senior Director of Program Development and Compliance at the Green Building Initiative, also known as GBI; Pat Sinicropi, Executive Director at the WateReuse Association; and Mike Collignan, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Green Builder Coalition. If you missed part one, we suggest you go back and listen to that episode before continuing here. Sarah Porter is director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University's Morrison Institute for Public Policy. Established in 2014, the Kyl Center promotes research, analysis, collaboration and open dialogue to build consensus and support of sound water stewardship solutions for Arizona and the West. To learn more about the Kyl Center, visit https://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/content/kyl-center-water-policy. Micah Thomas is GBI's primary content expert and heads the development of the Green Building Initiative's user-friendly assessment tools and rating systems. As senior director of program development and compliance, Thomas refines the assessment, rating, and certification processes, and develops customized tools and processes to meet the specific and unique needs of federal guiding principles compliance users. To learn more about the Green Building Initiative, visit https://thegbi.org. Pat Sinicropi is the executive director of the WateReuse Association, the only national organization dedicated solely to advancing policy, technology and innovation, and public acceptance for water reuse. Sinicropi has nearly two decades of experience as a policy expert and advocate on water-related issues in Washington, D.C. To learn more about the WateReuse Association, visit https://watereuse.org. Mike Collignon is the executive director of the Green Builder Coalition, an organization he co-founded in 2010. He engages in national- and state-level advocacy and publishes regular content for Greenbuilder Media. To learn more about the Green Builder Coalition, visit https://www.greenbuildercoalition.org.

This is part one of a two-part series where we'll continue our conversation on plumbing resiliency, expanding a little bit more into the weeds on drought prevention and water reuse with Sarah Porter, Director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy; Micah Thomas, Senior Director of Program Development and Compliance at the Green Building Initiative, also known as GBI; Pat Sinicropi, Executive Director at the WateReuse Association; and Mike Collignon, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Green Builder Coalition. Sarah Porter is director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University's Morrison Institute for Public Policy. Established in 2014, the Kyl Center promotes research, analysis, collaboration and open dialogue to build consensus and support of sound water stewardship solutions for Arizona and the West. To learn more about the Kyl Center, visit https://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/content/kyl-center-water-policy. Micah Thomas is GBI's primary content expert and heads the development of the Green Building Initiative's user-friendly assessment tools and rating systems. As senior director of program development and compliance, Thomas refines the assessment, rating, and certification processes, and develops customized tools and processes to meet the specific and unique needs of federal guiding principles compliance users. To learn more about the Green Building Initiative, visit https://thegbi.org. Pat Sinicropi is the executive director of the WateReuse Association, the only national organization dedicated solely to advancing policy, technology and innovation, and public acceptance for water reuse. Sinicropi has nearly two decades of experience as a policy expert and advocate on water-related issues in Washington, D.C. To learn more about the WateReuse Association, visit https://watereuse.org. Mike Collignon is the executive director of the Green Builder Coalition, an organization he co-founded in 2010. He engages in national- and state-level advocacy and publishes regular content for Greenbuilder Media. To learn more about the Green Builder Coalition, visit https://www.greenbuildercoalition.org.

Welcome to this week's episode of The Authority Podcast: Plumbing a Mechanical. This is part two of our two-part series where we'll continue our conversation about plumbing resiliency and sustainability with Emma Hughes, Project Manager in the LEED Department at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC); Mike Cudahy, Regulation and Sustainability Specialist for the Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association (PPFA); Susan Kapetanovic-Marr, Principal, Sustainability Specialist at Morrison Hershfield; and Daryn Cline, Director of Environmental Technologies for EVAPCO. If you missed part one, we suggest you go back and listen to that episode before continuing here. To learn more about the USGBC, visit https://www.usgbc.org. To learn more about PPFA, visit https://www.ppfahome.org. To learn more about Morrison Hershfield, visit https://morrisonhershfield.com. To learn more about EVAPCO, visit https://www.evapco.com.

Welcome to this week's episode of “The Authority Podcast: Plumbing & Mechanical.” This is part one of a two-part series where we're going to continue our theme of plumbing resiliency and discuss sustainability issues with Emma Hughes, Project Manager in the LEED Department at the U.S. Green Building Council, also known as USGBC; Mike Cudahy, Regulation and Sustainability Specialist for the Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association, also known as PPFA; Susan Kapetanovic-Marr, Principal, Sustainability Specialist at Morrison Hershfield; and Daryn Cline, Director of Environmental Technologies for EVAPCO. Emma Hughes, a LEED AP BD+C and true advisor, is a project manager in the LEED Department at the U.S. Green Building Council and a proponent of integrated holistic approaches to sustainable design and development. At USGBC, she collaborates with industry stakeholders and networks of diverse volunteer experts to evolve and refine the LEED green building rating system. To learn more about the U.S. Green Building Council, visit https://www.usgbc.org. Mike Cudahy, Regulation and Sustainability Specialist for the Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association, works on building and plumbing codes, sustainability and regulation issues for the piping industry and has served on numerous green building and code committees for the past 15 years, including USGBC's LEED program. His background is in chemistry and forensics and he lives in south Florida. To learn more about PPFA, visit https://www.ppfahome.org. Susan Kapetanovic-Marr is a sustainability specialist at Morrison Hershfield, an international engineering consulting company with offices throughout Canada, U.S. and India. Located in Calgary, Alberta, Susan has over 12 years of experience managing sustainability-focused projects and providing guidance to successfully achieve green building certification targets. She's also the practice lead for green building rating systems and a team lead on third-party LEED projects assessments for Canada Green Building Council. To learn more about Morrison Hershfield, visit https://morrisonhershfield.com. Daryn Cline, director of environmental technologies for EVAPCO, is responsible for the sustainable application of EVAPCO'S energy-efficient and water-saving products in the industrial, building and power markets. He's been at EVAPCO for 31 years. He's a member of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED water efficiency technical advisory group. He's a voting member of ASHRAE standard 191. He's a member of the ASHRAE Standard 514, and a voting member of ASHRAE Guideline 12-2000. He has his bachelor's of science and physics from West Virginia University and an MBA from the University of Baltimore. To learn more about EVAPCO, visit https://www.evapco.com.

Welcome to this week's episode of The Authority Podcast: Plumbing & Mechanical. As we have all season long, we're going to continue our conversation of plumbing resiliency. On today's talk, we're going to focus on the overlap between water efficiency and well-being with Rodolfo Perez, Senior Director, Standard Development, for the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), and Dan Cole, Senior Director of Technical Services at the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO). Rodolfo Perez leads the Water and Materials concepts on the Standard Development team at IWBI. Before joining the International WELL Building Institute, Perez worked for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene after a career in startups, bringing nanoparticle based technologies from lab experiments to prototypes. He holds MS and PhD degrees in Environmental Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and undergraduate degrees in Industrial and Chemical Engineering and Aesthetics from the Catholic university of Chile. To learn more about IWBI, visit www.wellcertified.com. Daniel Cole is the Senior Director of Technical Services at IAPMO. He was a licensed journeyman plumber in the state of Illinois and is currently a member of the American Society of Plumbing Engineers. He received the ASPE scientific achievement award in 2018. He has published several articles on Hunter's Curve and the fixture unit methodology. His research focus is on the plumbing investigations performed at the National Bureau of Standards, now NIST, with a particular interest in the work of Roy B. Hunter. He also has a focus on promoting water efficiency standards for the built environment. To learn more about IAPMO, visit www.iapmo.org.

This is part two of our two-part series where we'll continue our conversation about plumbing resiliency and drought prevention with Cynthia Campbell, water resources management advisor for the City of Phoenix; Terrence McCarthy, water resources policy manager for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power; and Doug Bennett, conservation manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority. If you missed part one, we suggest you go back and listen to that episode before continuing here. Cynthia Campbell, water resources management adviser for the city of Phoenix, manages the city's water portfolio and advises the city manager and Water Services Department on policy issues relating to long-range water planning and strategy. She's the city's liaison with the state of Arizona Central Arizona Project, Salt River Project, and other organizations on water resource issues. Prior to accepting the role of water resources management adviser, Cynthia served the city of Phoenix as assistant city attorney for five years. She also spent five years as a compliance manager of the Water Quality Division of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and three years as assistant attorney general at the Arizona Attorney General's Office. She's a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law, and has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. To learn more about Phoenix Water, visit www.phoenix.gov/water. Terrence McCarthy, water resources policy manager for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, is a licensed professional civil engineer in California, and his current responsibilities include management and development of water conservation programs; monitoring and evaluating regulatory and legislative issues; pursuing external funding and support for programs participating in statewide and nationwide organizations to leverage opportunities; and coordinating with many regional partners for water sustainability in Los Angeles. Terrence spent a portion of his career doing capital project management on everything from sludge digesters at wastewater treatment plants to baggage handling systems at airports before moving to LA DWP Water Resources Division, where he has managed things like a climate change study on the Eastern Sierras and a water conservation potential study to assess the remaining water savings potentials moving into the future in Los Angeles. To learn more about the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, visit www.ladwp.com. Doug Bennett, conservation manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, began his career "in the trenches" in 1980 as a landscape maintenance and irrigation technician working his way through college. Armed with a bachelor's degree in agriculture and a master's degree in business, he served eight years as an assistant professor for New Mexico State University, where he specialized in urban horticulture and promoted water-efficient landscape and efficient irrigation techniques. In 1995, Doug developed and managed a variety of water efficiency programs for the city of Albuquerque, including landscape conversion rebates, water waste enforcement, residential retrofit audits, appliance and fixture rebates, and landscape industry education. Since 2000, Doug has been conservation manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, managing one of the nation's leading conservation incentive programs and coordinating regional water efficiency efforts for the Las Vegas, Nevada, area. To learn more about the Southern Nevada Water Authority, visit www.snwa.com.

This is part one of a two-part series where we'll be speaking about plumbing resiliency, and drought prevention with Cynthia Campbell, water resources management adviser for the city of Phoenix; Terrence McCarthy, water resources policy manager for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power; and finally Doug Bennett, conservation manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority. This week, we're going to focus on the concept of drought prevention and drought preparation. Cynthia Campbell, water resources management adviser for the city of Phoenix, manages the city's water portfolio and advises the city manager and Water Services Department on policy issues relating to long-range water planning and strategy. She's the city's liaison with the state of Arizona Central Arizona Project, Salt River Project, and other organizations on water resource issues. Prior to accepting the role of water resources management adviser, Cynthia served the city of Phoenix as assistant city attorney for five years. She also spent five years as a compliance manager of the Water Quality Division of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and three years as assistant attorney general at the Arizona Attorney General's Office. She's a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law, and has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. To learn more about Phoenix Water, visit www.phoenix.gov/water. Terrence McCarthy, water resources policy manager for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, is a licensed professional civil engineer in California, and his current responsibilities include management and development of water conservation programs; monitoring and evaluating regulatory and legislative issues; pursuing external funding and support for programs participating in statewide and nationwide organizations to leverage opportunities; and coordinating with many regional partners for water sustainability in Los Angeles. Terrence spent a portion of his career doing capital project management on everything from sludge digesters at wastewater treatment plants to baggage handling systems at airports before moving to LA DWP Water Resources Division, where he has managed things like a climate change study on the Eastern Sierras and a water conservation potential study to assess the remaining water savings potentials moving into the future in Los Angeles. To learn more about the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, visit www.ladwp.com. Doug Bennett, conservation manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, began his career "in the trenches" in 1980 as a landscape maintenance and irrigation technician working his way through college. Armed with a bachelor's degree in agriculture and a master's degree in business, he served eight years as an assistant professor for New Mexico State University, where he specialized in urban horticulture and promoted water-efficient landscape and efficient irrigation techniques. In 1995, Doug developed and managed a variety of water efficiency programs for the city of Albuquerque, including landscape conversion rebates, water waste enforcement, residential retrofit audits, appliance and fixture rebates, and landscape industry education. Since 2000, Doug has been conservation manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, managing one of the nation's leading conservation incentive programs and coordinating regional water efficiency efforts for the Las Vegas, Nevada, area. To learn more about the Southern Nevada Water Authority, visit www.snwa.com. To learn more about “The Authority Podcast” and to subscribe on your podcast app of choice, visit www.iapmo.org/theauthoritypodcast