In this episode of Talking Under Water, the hosts discuss recent industry news, including President Trump’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, which amounts to $4.2 billion in a total funding reduction across the entire agency in 2026 compared to 2025 for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Additionally, the hosts discuss recent U.S. Geological Survey grants to 12 state agencies to support landslide risk reduction and hazard mitigation projects; and the EPA’s latest strategy update on addressing PFAS chemicals. Finally, the hosts share news on the EPA extending compliance deadlines for PFOA and PFOS and rescinding the Hazard Index.

• White House proposes $2.4B in SRF cuts for 2026
• California moves forward with Right to Clean Water Act bill
• USGS awards $1 Million in grants for landslide risk reduction projects
• Trump administration breaks silence on PFAS
• How PFAS regulations have changed in the Trump administration, so far
• EPA extends compliance deadlines for PFOA and PFOS, rescinds Hazard Index

• Host introduction & summary | 0:48
• White House proposes $2.4B cut to water SRF programs | 1:26
• USGS awards $1 million for landslide risk reduction | 5:01
• California committee passes Right to Clean Water Act | 5:40
• A concentrated month for PFAS regulatory changes | 6:35
• Housekeeping — nominate a top project | 15:45

• SWS Top Projects Nominations
• WaterWorld Top Projects Nominations
• Wastewater Digest Top Projects Nominations

Talking Under Water is the premier podcast for the water industry, including municipal water and wastewater, residential water treatment, storm water management and erosion control. It is produced in coordination between Wastewater Digest (WWD), WaterWorld and Storm Water Solutions (SWS). The podcast covers topics under the One Water movement including the municipal and industrial water and wastewater, residential, storm water and erosion control markets. Talking Under Water highlights news, trends, new technologies, industry discussions and interviews with experts across the municipal water industry. New episodes of the podcast are released every other week. Logo Images: Anatoly Tiplyashin / Romolo Tavani / stock.adobe.com.  

Contact the Talking Under Water podcast editors by emailing talkingunderwater@endeavorb2b.com engaging with them on Twitter @TUWpodcast. Join the conversation by commenting or using the hashtag #talkingunderwaterpod on social media. 

In this episode of Talking Under Water, Co-host Mandy Crispin speaks with Frederick Johnson, cybersecurity practice lead at Stantec. Johnson helps utilities, government agencies, and private sector clients prepare for technological challenges. The cyber-attack on Wichita, Kansas, was about a year ago, and the cybersecurity issue in Arkansas City, Kansas, was about six months ago. Considering these events, the interview sheds light on the greatest threats to cybersecurity right now, any potential changes in regulation, and how utilities can address cybersecurity.

• Stantec blog: Cybersecurity defense in the water industry: 3 steps utilities can take now
• Arkansas City water treatment facility faces cybersecurity incident
• Talking Under Water Episode Preview
• Rockwell Automation talks cybersecurity with Editor in Chief Mandy Crispin

• Introduction | 0:00
• The greatest threat to cybersecurity in the water sector | 1:16
• Why water systems are targets for cyberthreats | 3:07
• An example of a common cybersecurity attack tactic | 4:40
• What to expect from an on-site cybersecurity risk assessment | 7:33
• What lessons can be learned from notable water system cyberattacks? | 11:06
• What percentage of utilities are prepared to address cyberattacks? | 13:07
• An overview of introduced cybersecurity bills for U.S. water systems | 14:26
• Housekeeping | 17:39

• WWD webinar: Liquid stream vs. solids handling: Maximizing treatment and resource recovery
• SWS webinar: Blue Green Infrastructure – Learning from Successful Case Studies
• WaterWorld Top Projects submissions

Talking Under Water is the premier podcast for the water industry, including municipal water and wastewater, residential water treatment, storm water management and erosion control. It is produced in coordination between Wastewater Digest (WWD), WaterWorld and Storm Water Solutions (SWS). The podcast covers topics under the One Water movement including the municipal and industrial water and wastewater, residential, storm water and erosion control markets. Talking Under Water highlights news, trends, new technologies, industry discussions and interviews with experts across the municipal water industry. New episodes of the podcast are released every other week. Logo Images: Anatoly Tiplyashin / Romolo Tavani / stock.adobe.com.  

Contact the Talking Under Water podcast editors by emailing talkingunderwater@endeavorb2b.com engaging with them on Twitter @TUWpodcast. Join the conversation by commenting or using the hashtag #talkingunderwaterpod on social media. 

While many big utilities have largely implemented and installed advanced metering infrastructure for their distribution systems, medium and small systems are still making their way into that digital future.

The technology of today offers a lot of benefits for utilities as well as their customers. Custom alerts for when a leak is detected so a costly water bill can be avoided. Data on water usage throughout the year to better understand habits and improve conservation. Temperature readings to track water quality.

But each of those also results in a lot more data for the utility to process and analyze. So how have these AMI transformations impacted utilities around the U.S.? What are some of the pitfalls to avoid when planning an upgrade, and how does a water utility director identify what data points matter to them?

The sponsor for this episode is Kamstrup, which offers these AMI solutions and more to water utilities around the world. Dive into the details of AMI integration with Travis Smith, VP of North American Sales from Kamstrup.

• Learn more about Kamstrup: https://www.kamstrup.com/en-us/water-solutions

• Introduction and episode summary | 0:00
• How metering technologies have shifted water utility operations for decades | 1:55
• Critical operational aspects to review for digital metering transformations | 5:13
• How to turn common pitfalls into future benefits | 7:07
• How much metering data has changed with AMI systems | 8:14
• Stepping stones and priorities for graduating to AMI | 9:45
• Examples of data creating successful operational outcomes | 12:00
• How Kamstrup's Histogram provides use patter insights | 14:52
• What do utilities do when data is inaccurate or missing? | 16:39
• What are the causes of inaccurate or lost data? | 18:43
• What does the utility of tomorrow look like? | 21:39
• How do we make that utility of the future possible? | 24:48

• World of Water: www.waterworld.com/world-of-water
• Hot Innovations in Wastewater Treatment eHandbook: https://www.wwdmag.com/ehandbooks/wastewater-treatment/whitepaper/55281395/wastewater-treatment
• Register for StormCon: www.stormcon.com

Talking Under Water is the premier podcast for the water industry, including municipal water and wastewater, residential water treatment, storm water management and erosion control. It is produced in coordination between Wastewater Digest (WWD), WaterWorld and Storm Water Solutions (SWS). The podcast covers topics under the One Water movement including the municipal and industrial water and wastewater, residential, storm water and erosion control markets. Talking Under Water highlights news, trends, new technologies, industry discussions and interviews with experts across the municipal water industry. New episodes of the podcast are released every other week. Logo Images: Anatoly Tiplyashin / Romolo Tavani / stock.adobe.com.