The Stream (with Will & Tom)

In the final episode of The Stream season 6, Will and Tom are joined by Jerry Gunderson, a 4th generation rancher and businessman from Colorado. It was great to bring in the voice of agriculture and cattle into the conversation in this episode. Often, it’s a voice that doesn’t get an invite to these types of discussions. Jerry talks openly about life as a rancher, including anticipating water challenges and measures he’s taking to ensure there’s a water reserve available during times of water scarcity. As a 4th generation rancher, Jerry has seen it all, from family feuds to drought and beyond. He takes us through his journey with water. We hope you enjoy the episode! Special thanks to this season’s sponsor Raymond James: https://www.raymondjames.com/ And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water: https://www.britishwater.co.uk/ WWF: https://www.wwfca.org/en/our_work/water/ Water Alliance: https://wateralliance.nl/en/water-all... DCU Water institute: https://dcuwater.ie/ SurplusWater25: https://surpluswater2025.com/ Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab: https://eesa.lbl.gov/ Water Foundry: https://www.waterfoundry.com/ Atlantean Media: https://www.atlanteanmedia.com/

This week Will and Tom are joined by James Eklund, Water & Natural Resources Practice Lead, Sherman & Howard. Known as the architect of Colorado’s first strategic water plan, he was the Director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board. James talks about why involving all stakeholders, effectively democratising input on the future of their supply, was a central to the success of the plan. He discusses his origin story – he’s a fifth generation Coloradan from the Western Slope of Colorado, where his parents operate a ranch homesteaded by his great, great grandparents in 1888. He’s often consulted on implementing what has been considered the “gold standard” of water plans in the Western US. Enjoy the episode! Special thanks to this season's sponsor, Raymond James. And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water Institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.

In this episode, Will and Tom are joined by Newsha Ajami, Chief Development Officer for Research, Earth & Environmental Sciences Area, Berkeley Lab. They talk about the role of water demand reduction to help increase water security across the Colorado River Basin. Newsha discusses what’s needed to move from a centralised, aka the conventional water systems, to the decentralised model and the role of engaging community ambassadors. She believes spurring the first movers is really important in the decentralised movement, and talks about policy developments and leading cities such as San Francisco There is also talk, believe it or not, on pizza! That’s right, we discuss how digital innovation has given people insights on their pizza’s being cooked and delivered. Why is it that people have a more positive relationship with their local pizzeria than their water company? It was great to have Newsha back on The Stream – we’re a big fan of her vision for the future of water. We hope you enjoy the episode! Special thanks to this season's sponsor, Raymond James. And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water Institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.

In this episode, Will and Tom are joined by Aaron Tartakovsky, co-founder and CEO of Epic Cleantec. He talks about the company genesis, and going back to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Reinvent the Toilet challenge. With a background in politics and one of four co-founders of the business, Aaron talks about the challenges of carving out an entirely new market: onsite, water reuse within commercial buildings. Although leading a recycled water beer campaign that went viral, the scaling of the business has not been without its challenges. During early events, Aaron was told by senior utility teams that he’s the guy putting them out of business! Aaron is one of the leading entrepreneurs in this space, and we hope you enjoy his story as much as we did. Enjoy the episode! Special thanks to this season's sponsor, Raymond James. And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water Institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.

In this episode, Will and Tom are joined by Dave who gives context on Southern Nevada, providing water in the desert and meeting the needs of a population that booms from tourism and the attraction of Las Vegas. As one of the Leading Utilities of the World, he discusses why they’re sharing lessons with like-minded water companies around the world on their 20-year demand management journey and also the long term, water resource strategy. We also talk about grass, or turf, and the limiting of the Colorado river for the irrigation of non-functional turf, naturally refraining from breaking into the Tom Jones’ song, The green green grass of home. And finally, Dave discusses an innovation on water footprinting with Southern Nevada’s tool being used to evaluate potential water use from incoming businesses. Plus much much more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Special thanks to this season's sponsor, Raymond James. And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water Institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.

We've been looking forward to this one... This week, Will and Tom are joined by one of the founders of the sustainability movement, the great John Elkington. A founding partner and chief pollinator at Volans, and also the co-founder of ENDS (Environmental Data Services), John talks about the triple bottom line (people, planet and prosperity) vision, and why this ended up being recalled and revised. Plus, John talks about the joint responsibility of younger and older generations when it comes to sustainability. And John takes an interest in Will’s model spitfire in his office, telling an awesome story of his father flying planes during the war. Plus much, much more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Special thanks to this season’s sponsor Acciona. And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.

This week on #TheStream, Will and Tom are joined by Manuela Zoninsine, CEO & Founder of Kadeya, a closed-loop water vending service powered by digitally-connected reusable water bottles and mini bottling stations. Find out about Manuela’s early experience as a journalist, being based in China ahead of the Olympic Games and why this helped to harness her critical thinking. Plus: Manuela talks about the need to rethink hydration, particularly in workplaces around the world and the reason to couple this with increased data The need to develop a business model to eliminate single-use plastics And finally, Manuela talks about investment, how the multinationals are viewing potential disruption to their market and also scaling. And much, much more! We hope you enjoy the episode. Special thanks to this season’s sponsor Acciona. And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.

This week, John Matthews, Executive Director at Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), joins Will Sarni & Tom Freyberg to #TheStream to talk about his origin story as a butterfly biologist, work with the WWF and a life-changing trip to India where he was given a sobering case on the spiritual value of water. Plus: And, the three of them talk about popular narratives, such as: “climate change is the shark and water is the teeth.” However, as you’ll hear from John, this is a huge oversimplification, and he provides a suggested alternative! We hope you enjoy the episode! Special thanks to this season’s sponsor Acciona. And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.

In this week’s episode, Will and Tom were delighted to be joined by Brendan Tierney, Managing Director and Head of Global Water Practice at Raymond James. He talks about his origin story: being attracted to Wall Street as an investment banker, before being made redundant and eventually joining Raymond James in 2016 to build out the water portfolio. Plus, Brendan talks about: And much, much more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Special thanks to this season’s sponsor Acciona. And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.

This week, Will and Tom, are delighted to be joined by Meena Sankaran, Founder & CEO Ketos, a vertically integrated water quality and monitoring platform. Meena talks about the importance of crafting a culture in this episode and the importance of maintaining the attitude of a start-up. Plus hear about: It was an absolute joy to have Meena on the podcast, a true passionate visionary who has built a company and culture that crosses industries and the water-energy-food nexus. We know you will enjoy this episode! Special thanks to this season’s sponsor Acciona. And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.

This week, Will and Tom were delighted to be joined by Karina Peña, Co-founder & CEO of Dutch start-up, Field Factors. Karina talks about her origin story, moving from the Dominican Republic to being attracted to the Netherlands, with a background as an architect evolving into an urban water entrepreneur. Hear about how: Plus, Karina talks about evolving financially, from bootstrapping the organisation to grow a team of 10 people to opening the door to VC financing to grow further. And much, much more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Special thanks to this season’s sponsor Acciona. And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.

Episode four of the Stream is now live! This week Will and Tom are delighted to be joined by one and only Joel Makower, chairman and founder of GreenBiz Group. Joel has been called the “guru of green business practices” by the Associated Press and has spent over 3 decades writing, speaking, advising and influencing companies to align pressing environmental and social issues with business success. Listen to them chat about: And finally looking at what Joel has achieved as an entrepreneur, journalist, events organiser, author, speaker and podcaster has been, and will continue to be a north star for me in the world of water. Trust us, this is a great episode! We hope you enjoy! Special thanks to this season’s sponsor Acciona. And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.

This week, Melissa Meeker, CEO of The Water Tower, joins Will Sarni and Tom Freyberg to talk about her 25 years of experience in water resources management. Plus hear about: How Mellissa previously served as the CEO of The Water Research Foundation, helping it to merge with two other associations, as well as serving as the executive director of the South Florida Water Management District The latest updates on The Water Tower and the “living laboratory” How Melissa's journey led her to become the CEO to help establish and open The Water Tower The potential of franchising the model from Gwinett County across North America but also international partnerships in Spain and even Australia The coming “silver tsunami” – a term used to describe the potential skills gap, resulting from highly experienced water operators and engineers that are due to retire soon. And Will and Tom finish by asking Melissa if she could go back in time and give her 17-year-old self advice, what would it be? Thankfully, she didn’t say it would be to decline an invitation to be on this podcast! And much, much more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Special thanks to this season’s sponsor Acciona. And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media. #water #podcast #innovation #waterindustry #research

This week on #TheStream, Will and Tom are joined by the incredible Sunny Wang, Water Resources Manager at City of Santa Monica. Sunny talks about his journey from being a private consultant, working in the UK and being admittedly amused by the imperial-metric measurement mix, to taking up the role in Santa Monica. Since then he’s been involved in one of the most progressive projects, with the city set out to be “water self-sufficient” by 2023 using the One Water approach. Plus hear about: And listen to why Sunny says when it comes to water infrastructure, you can’t afford to get it wrong... All this and more! We hope you enjoy the episode!

We are back! And kicking off Season Five of The Stream, Will and Tom are joined by Victoria Edwards, Founder & CEO of Fido Tech. In the next 40 minutes, hear about how Victoria made an instant splash in the water sector and her origins starting out on local radio. Plus, find out: - Why Victoria thinks everyone in the water sector should be fired?! - How we can stop 40% of our water from being lost in leaks - Why the only way forward is by breaking down silos and working together - How Victoria believes the sector has become complacent and only motivated by fear - Why it is important for water to no longer be viewed as a safe industry and big corporations need to be allowed to fail in order to progress - 'Day Zero' is happening and sooner than we think - The importance of gamification to create community agency. - Victoria also shares the one piece of advice she would give her 17-year-old self... And so much more - we hope you enjoy the episode! -- Special thanks to this season’s sponsor Acciona. And thanks to our knowledge partners: British Water, WWF, Water Alliance, DCU Water institute, SurplusWater25, Earth and Environmental Science at Berkeley Lab, Water Foundry and Atlantean Media.

In this special mini-season, before we kick off season 5, Will and Tom pack their bags and head to WEX Global 2022 in Valencia to chat with four special guests. This week is the final episode in this mini-series and Will & Tom are joined by the fantastic Mohsen Mortada of IBI Group. Mortada talks about implementing the 'one water' approach at the Californian metropolitan water district, an over 100-year-old organisation that Mortada is looking to prepare for the next century. Plus hear about: Plus, Mortada opens up about having a heated debate with his next-door neighbour about using recycled water and his own civil disobedience... You don't want to miss this one! We hope you enjoy it!

In this special mini-season, before we kick off season 5, Will and Tom pack their bags and head to WEX Global 2022 in Valencia to chat with four special guests. This week, Pavel Policar, President of VAK HB, joins Will and Tom to talk about the work he has done turning around the fortunes of a municipality in the Czech Republic and how he got his nickname, the 'water butcher'! Plus, hear about: - Having a vision and why it is so important when it comes to transformation at a company- - - - Reducing water losses and being efficient - Changing culture and the value in it - Managing a hybrid profit model and why it has made the difference - And the challenges and benefits of being involved in so many industries. And much, much more! We hope you enjoy the episode!

n this special mini-season, before we kick off season 5, Will and Tom pack their bags and head to WEX Global 2022 in Valencia to chat with four special guests. This week, Sanmit Ahuja, Founder and CEO of Economic Impact Initiative, joins Will & Tom to chat about innovative water finance and business models. Sanmit talks about not just solving but delivering water solutions, the pitfuls of green exaggerations and getting the boardroom onside when it comes to changing a company's 'green' DNA. Plus, hear about: This was a great episode to record, and an even better conversation, we hope you enjoy it!

In this special mini-season, before we kick off season 5, Will and Tom pack their bags and head to WEX Global 2022 in Valencia to chat with four special guests. But that's not all... For the first time, Wil and Tom record an episode in person! This week, Mark Barnett, President and CEO of the National Water Commission of Jamaica, joins Will and Tom to talk about driving down Jamaica's water loss and the importance of Non-Revenue Water (NRW). Plus hear about: - What Mark thought about this year's WEX conference - What the National Water Commission has been up to in renewable energy - Mark's integrated strategy for water and energy - The only water recharge programme in the Carribian up to five million gallon system - And Will &Tom try to set up a 'work trip' to join Mark in Jamaica... What could go wrong? And much more! We hope you enjoy the episode!

It's the season finale and joining Will and Tom this week is Dr Patrick Moriarty, CEO of think-tank IRC. A civil engineer and expert in water resource management, Patrick has over 20 years experience of in a broad range of issues around water, and its use in improving human wellbeing. In our conversation, Patrick gives an honest and much-needed commentary on the reality of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, including access to all water and sanitation. Plus: - Patrick talks about one of the reasons he believes we are failing to meet the SDGs is due to the apathy toward water, particularly from a governments point of view - We discuss the need for partnerships and collective action, including an alliance with Water for People with a 2030 strategy - And we chat about the role of digital, in which Patrick describes the “data deserts” where there are gaps not only in water availability and assets but also in the skills needed to create actional insights from data. And much, much more. We hope you enjoy the episode!