Water Break

Water Break is a water and wastewater podcast hosted by Heather Jennings. Most episodes in the recent run are built around guests from inside the trade, and the questions stay practical. The roster is varied: technical training managers John Schwartz and Lloyd Rawlings, laboratory analyst Jane Leatherland, source water protection specialists Matt Casto and Jordan Jackson of the North Carolina Rural Water Association, and Ibrahim Teres of Emco Engineering, Inc. Several of them are return visitors. The subject matter is the machinery and chemistry of treating water. In the package plant retrofit conversation, the number one challenge named is plant hydraulics: rely on gravity wherever possible, because every pump means electricity, repairs and cost. When tank levels sit too close together for water to flow on its own, existing pumping lifts the water high enough for gravity to carry it downstream. The taste-and-odor discussion covers chloramination, the analyzers that help track water age and nitrification in long lines, and the trichloramines behind much of the unpleasant flavor. Those guests call themselves math nerds and argue that a little arithmetic solves a lot of operator problems. Jane Leatherland's lab episode covers nutrient removal, TKN and total nitrogen, handled biologically rather than with added chemicals. Magnesium hydroxide gets a warning of its own: it sets like concrete in the lines. The source water protection episode weighs the appeal of a private well against what might sit nearby, from farms to manure pits to septic tanks. It also notes that municipal protection plans often skip ordinances in favor of education. Matt Casto's route into the field, a fine arts degree in sculpture before years in water operations, is a small surprise in the introductions. The ethics conversation brings in the workforce: veteran operators retiring, training classes where few hands go up for under five years in the industry, and the idea of recruiting operators as early as high school. Then there is Wanda Baustert, the host's mother and the source of Wanda's Water Tidbits, the offbeat water stories she sends her daughter for an opinion. On her return visit, the talk runs to jellyfish fitted with sensors, and whether removing the hardware leaves them unharmed. Show notes collect links and videos, from water bears and their tattoos to something called the finger of death. The show is sponsored by Huma Environmental, formerly Probiotic Solutions, which offers biostimulant and nutrient products for bioremediation. The result is technical shop talk that does not take itself too seriously, with Poseidon invoked for luck at least once.