Claim OwnershipTap Talk
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Everyone has a role to play in protecting public health. Tap Talk, the Drinking Water in Rural America Podcast, connects professionals across the drinking water community with ideas to extend and enhance our work.
74 Episodes
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In this episode we're concluding a two-part series exploring PFAS and their impact on private well users. Our conversation with Dr. Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson and Jennifer Hoponick Redmon dives further into their research efforts and potential applications. Together these episodes offer important foundational understanding as well as new insight on PFAS exposure via well water. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode.
In this episode we're kicking off a two-part series exploring PFAS—also known as “forever chemicals”—and their impact on private well users. Jennifer and Steve are joined by Dr. Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson and Jennifer Hoponick Redmon, two leading experts in environmental health and water quality. Together, they break down the science behind PFAS, discuss how these chemicals enter our water supplies, and share new research on exposure risks for private well users. Our conversation explores the challenges, health implications, and ongoing efforts to protect drinking water in rural communities. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode.
In TT064, we bring you another private well-focused episode. Our guest is Cindy Brookes, a seasoned technical assistance provider at the Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, a division of RCAP. In this role, Cindy has assessed over 300 private wells and counseled well owners on how to proceed with their well challenges, and made significant use the of the Private Well and Spring Assessment Tool that our team developed in conjunction with RCAP. Cindy tells Jennifer and Steve about the ins and outs of the job, as well as the importance of these assessments in the quest to more widely educate well owners. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode.
This week on Tap Talk, we are beyond pleased to welcome two of our colleagues on our Water & Public Health team at the Illinois State Water Survey to the show: Sallie Dolan and Erin Huggett, who are the main forces behind running our Private Well Class Help Center and phone hotline. Launched in the spring of 2024, these services have assisted over 65,000 well owners in finding answers to their well questions or solutions for well problems. As Sallie and Erin discuss, our team looks forward to helping many more as the program grows and develops! Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode.
If you've ever been to WEFTEC, you know about Operations Challenge. The annual showcase of the top operations teams in the country is the Olympics of the industry, and it's impossible to miss in WEFTEC's exhibit hall. WEFTEC 2025 is just around the corner, and to mark the return of the world's largest water quality exhibition to Chicago, we welcomed Steve Harrison and Jeff Sober to the podcast. Steve, a WEF senior manager, and Jeff, Director of Water Services at Garver, are both members of the Operations Challenge Community. Their passion for the event makes clear its singular value to the industry! Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode.
To kick off Tap Talk's sixth season, today we bring you a special early episode to mark the 13th annual celebration of SepticSmart Week! Jennifer and Steve welcomed Jim Starbard and Andrew Evans, technical assistance providers at RCAP Solutions, to the show to discuss some of stories of onsite wastewater and septic system challenges they have faced in Massachusetts and around New England. Sometimes, even the most basic septic system guidance — like regularly pumping tanks and not flushing any sort of wipe — can make a huge difference in the health of a system, its users, and the surrounding environment! Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode. Tap Talk Season 6 will resume in late September, following SepticSmart Week, which is September 15-19, 2025.
And now for the final episode of Season 5! To wrap up this great season, we have the second installment of our conversation with Glenn Barnes, the director of Water Finance Assistance — a consulting agency that provides finance-focused training and technical assistance to water systems. This episode focuses on the role of technical assistance providers in performing water audits and how to develop useful recommendations for water systems' stakeholders. Thank you for listening with us this season, and we will be back again with Season 6 before you know it! Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode.
For the penultimate episode of our fifth season, Glenn Barnes joins us for the first episode of a two-part series. Glenn is the director of Water Finance Assistance, a consulting agency that provides finance-focused training and technical assistance to water systems. Our discussion focused specifically on water auditing at utilities, or the process of identifying and minimizing the loss of non-revenue water — also known as water loss. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode!
In Tap Talk's 58th episode, Dr. Andrew Whelton of Purdue University visits to discuss plumbing and water system safety in buildings. Dr. Whelton is the lead of Purdue's Center for Plumbing Safety, and among many duties, he explores solutions at the intersection of water infrastructure and public health. Listen to learn about how plumbing affects water quality, how the COVID pandemic rocked the water systems of unpopulated buildings, how to keep your office's water system safe, and more. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode!
This week we are pleased to welcome another deeply knowledgeable guest from the state of Minnesota: Vanessa Demuth, a geologist and well inspector from Dakota County, Minnesota's Environmental Resources Department. Dakota County is one of a set of Minnesota counties that has stricter standards for well water pollutants than the state. Vanessa tells Steve and Jennifer how these stricter standards benefit the well owners of Dakota County, other well care tactics the county undertakes, unique pollutants, and more! Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode!
U.S. EPA's WaterTA program is an umbrella for a range of services that directly serve the regulated community. In this episode we're chatting about how the program is reducing barriers to capacity development, including funding accessibility, by matching water system requests with local technical assistance providers. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode!
This is an exciting week for Tap Talk: Our newest episode is our first fully dedicated to decentralized wastewater and septic systems! Steve and Jennifer welcome Dr. Sara Heger, an industry expert, researcher, and trainer from the University of Minnesota's Onsite Sewage Treatment Program. Whether you're a water professional or a homeowner with a septic system, listen for an introduction to the recent progress, needs, and issues in the decentralized wastewater industry. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode!
We're officially halfway through Tap Talk's fifth season! This week, we welcome some guests from our state's neighbor to the West: Mindy Uhle, Bureau Chief of Environmental Health at the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, and Erik Day, a Senior Environmental Specialist at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Mindy and Erik work on Iowa's Private Well Grants Program, a cross-agency effort to provide Iowans with free or discounted well services. (See more from HHS and DNR). The program was established through the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act, and bolsters relationship between all areas of Iowa's private well community in addition to saving well owners money. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode!
In our latest episode of Tap Talk, our guest is Molly Sullivan, a Program Engineer at Community Engineering Corps (CECorps), a partnership that provides pro-bono engineering and consulting services for infrastructure projects to communities in the United States, the US Territories, and tribal lands. A significant portion of CECorps' projects center on water and wastewater infrastructure, and Molly chats with Jennifer and Steve about their approach to helping underserved communities find and implement the solutions they need to thrive. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode!
Next up on Tap Talk, Steve and Jennifer welcome Dr. Sidney Innerebner of Colorado-based Indigo Water Group to the show. Sidney is certified as an engineer and as both a wastewater operator and industrial operator in Colorado, and has been working in various aspects of the environmental services field since 1990. At Indigo, much of her work revolves around operator training, both in-person and online. Best practices in online training to enable meaningful learning is a particular passion, which she explores in depth on the show. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode!
This week on Tap Talk, Jennifer and Steve chatted with Dr. Andrea Albertin and Dr. Yilin Zhuang of the University of Florida Extension's Florida Well Owner Network (FWON). From intensified hurricanes to rising sea levels to eroding coasts, climate change has brought a number of significant environmental challenges to Florida. The state's millions of well and septic users — common in urban areas as well as the typical rural ones — face unique struggles in equipping their properties to face these challenges and responding to the damage they wreak. FWON works to provide education, resources, and support to these homeowners as Florida's landscape evolves. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode!
Tap Talk hits 50 episodes! For this landmark episode, we welcome Matt Jones to the show. Matt is the manager of the Continuing Education Credit Program for the Water Environment Federation (WEF). Steve and Jennifer discuss with him the complexities of certifying and delivering continuing education credits to operators and engineers in all 50 states, particularly for large in-person events like WEFTEC and other WEF conferences. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode!
In the premiere episode of our fifth season, Steve and Jennifer welcome Terry Morse to Tap Talk. Terry is the CEO of the National Ground Water Association, as well as its charitable arm, The Groundwater Foundation. Last year, the foundation launched Water Well Wish, an endeavor to make sure that every American has access to clean, safe water by funding the construction of wells for families in need. Steve, Jennifer, and Terry discuss the success of Water Well Wish and the commitment of the groundwater industry to bringing water to everyone who needs it. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode!
In the final episode of our fourth season, Steve and Jennifer welcome Travis Loop to Tap Talk to discuss how to use solutions-focused journalism and storytelling to address our various water problems. Travis is the founder of waterloop, a nonprofit media outlet exploring the progress and successes in tackling water challenges in the United States through podcasts, videos, and social media content. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode!
The latest episode of Tap Talk delves back into the topic of how to develop and train the newest generation of the water workforce. Jennifer and Steve talk with Matt Maas, the director of the Environmental Resources Training Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The ERTC is a one-of-a-kind facility with working pilot plants and laboratories that allow students to experience hands-on training throughout the entire certification program. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode!
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