Water Buffs

On this episode of Water Buffs, we examine how drought can harm human health, specifically how dramatic flucutations in water availability can lead to increasingly toxic water supplies. Dr. James is an award-winning epidemiologist and engineer specializing in environmental and climate risk factors and their connection to health in vulnerable populations. She is an associate professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, one of three institutions that make up the Colorado School of Public Health. Dr. James recently spoke to journalist Melissa Bailey for a Water Desk-supported article, “Once 'paradise,' parched Colorado valley grapples with arsenic in water.” The article, originally published by KFF Health News, centered around Dr. James' community-based research projects that investigate exposure to heavy metals, in particular a rise in carcinogenic arsenic in drinking water in Colorado's drought-stricken San Luis Valley.

Brad Lancaster, author and expert on water harvesting, talks to Water Desk Director Mitch Tobin about how individuals and communities can make the most of rainfall and greywater to stretch local supplies.  Brad Lancaster is the subject of a new documentary, Water Harvester: An Invitation to Abundance, that was produced by David Fenster, a journalist at Arizona Public Media and Water Desk grantee. Take a deep dive into water news, check out the Water Desk's FREE multimedia library, and find more Water Buffs Podcast content at https://waterdesk.org/  

Climate change, extractive industries and population growth threaten New Mexico's water supplies, especially for indigenous communities. We talk to advocate and director of the Pueblo Action Alliance, Julia Bernal, about potential solutions to these inequities and the legacy of colonialism in the state. Take a deep dive into water news, check out the Water Desk's FREE multimedia library, and find more Water Buffs Podcast content at https://waterdesk.org/

Laura Paskus, a journalist with New Mexico PBS, talks to Water Desk Director Mitch Tobin about her water reporting and her book, At the Precipice: New Mexico's Changing Climate. Take a deep dive into water news, check out the Water Desk's FREE multimedia library, and find more Water Buffs Podcast content at https://waterdesk.org/

The Green River is the most significant tributary of the Colorado River. Journalist Heather Hansman floated the Green in a pack raft to explore water issues in the American West and then wrote a fascinating book about her journey. We also talk to Heather about her reporting on water issues on the Navajo Nation. Take a deep dive into water news, check out the Water Desk's FREE multimedia library, and find more Water Buffs Podcast content at https://waterdesk.org/

About one-third of Navajo Nation residents lack running water in their homes and water pollution remains a serious issue in the region. We talk to Kaitlin Harris of DigDeep's Navajo Water Project about solutions to these pressing problems. Take a deep dive into water news, check out the Water Desk's FREE multimedia library, and find more Water Buffs Podcast content at https://waterdesk.org/

Journalist Geoff McGhee talks to Water Desk Director Mitch Tobin about how still images and video footage captured through aerial tours and drone flights can help explain water issues.   Check out The Water Desk’s FREE multimedia library (https://waterdesk.org/multimedia), which offers photos and videos of key rivers and water-related locations in the Colorado River Basin and beyond.   NOTE: This episode was recorded before the pandemic forced Lighthawk to shift to pilot-only flights, but we are now using mounted GoPros to capture imagery.    

Water Desk Director Mitch Tobin talks to Noah Molotch, Director of the Center for Water Earth Science & Technology (CWEST) at the University of Colorado Boulder, about the importance of snow to our water supply and what the future may hold for the American West’s snowpack. Visit waterdesk.org for more!

Water Desk Director Mitch Tobin talks to Fay Hartman, Conservation Director of the Colorado River Basin Program at American Rivers, about a new American Rivers report that examines the economic value of rivers and our nation’s crumbling water infrastructure. The report calls for Congress to invest $500 billion over 10 years on water infrastructure and river restoration.

We delve into water news with Heather Sackett, managing editor at Aspen Journalism, which is covering a variety of issues in Colorado. Topics include an investigative series that explores how investors are banking on the West’s water scarcity, a proposed new reservoir that would export water from the Western Slope to the Front Range, and whether cloud seeding can actually increase snowfall.

We discuss innovative water solutions with Cynthia Koehler, executive director of the Water Now Alliance, a nonprofit that works with water providers to help them address climate change and other challenges facing our water systems. Topics include water conservation, green infrastructure, tiered water pricing, big data and new technologies. Koehler is currently serving her 4th term as a board member of the Marin Municipal Water District, north of San Francisco.

Maps, charts, graphics and other data visualizations can be a fantastic tool for explaining water issues. Data visualization is one of the types of journalism that The Water Desk is focusing on as we seek to strengthen water-related coverage. In this episode, we talk with Water Desk consultant Geoff McGhee about some of the ways that data visualizations can help journalists tell stories about water. We discuss four dashboards on our website, waterdesk.org, that allow users to track and analyze data on drought, precipitation, the snowpack and major dams/reservoirs. Dive deep into water issues at waterdesk.org