What happens when a trillion-dollar infrastructure gap collides with rising standards, shrinking federal support, and a workforce exodus? We invited Jim Good, CEO of Parkview Advisors and veteran of both investor-owned utilities and global operators, to unpack how private water companies are shaping reliability, affordability, and innovation across the United States. From Capitol Hill to plant operations, Jim’s career offers a rare 360-degree view of how money, regulation, and field reality interact to keep water safe and wastewater compliant.

We dig into the mechanics of private capital: why the largest investor-owned utilities consistently invest billions each year, how that scale translates into fewer failures and faster upgrades, and where rate design and customer assistance help soften inevitable increases. Jim walks through the regulatory “dance” with state commissions—why pilots must prove prudence, how staged rollouts earn trust, and which technologies actually curb operating costs without compromising safety. We also tackle the silver tsunami head-on, exploring certification portability, veteran pathways, and how contract operators bridge local talent gaps by moving expertise where it’s needed most.

Water quality sits at the heart of the conversation. From MTBE to today’s PFAS, private utilities often deploy treatment early and pursue polluters to recover capital, blending public health protection with accountability. We close with a candid look at consolidation: the benefits of rolling fragile small systems into well-capitalized networks, the risks of over-concentration, and three forecasts for the next two decades—including a shift toward private ownership of wastewater assets and a potential doubling of investor-owned service footprint.

If you care about clean, reliable, and affordable water—and how we’ll pay for it—this is a must-listen. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review with your take: should private capital play a bigger role in your community’s water future?

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Turn yesterday’s wastewater into tomorrow’s supply—safely, affordably, and at scale. That’s the promise of water reuse, and we go deep with Bruno Pigott, Executive Director of the WateReuse Association and former Acting Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Water, to explore how it’s reshaping utilities, industry, and policy across the United States.

We start by clarifying what water reuse is and why it matters now: tightening supplies in arid regions, rising industrial demand from data centers and semiconductor plants, and nutrient challenges that make traditional discharge costly. Bruno lays out how indirect and direct potable reuse move beyond conventional treatment, using advanced membranes, reverse osmosis, and UV to deliver water that meets rigorous quality targets. Real-world examples from San Diego, Los Angeles, and Monterey show how cities are securing resilient, local supplies while keeping rivers and aquifers healthier.

Costs and policy are pivotal. We trace the shift from “exotic” to mainstream technology, explain when reuse already beats alternatives, and detail the funding stack that makes projects real—State Revolving Funds, WIFIA, and proposed 30% federal tax credits for industrial reuse that could accelerate private and public adoption. We also confront what can stall progress: unclear state permitting, fragmented oversight between drinking water and wastewater rules, and the ever-present need to build and maintain public trust. Bruno shares how model regulations, operator training, and proactive community education turn skepticism into confidence and ensure safety stays front and center.

Looking ahead, we map a One Water future where reuse helps reconnect systems that policy once split apart. Big-city utilities may move fastest, but with technical assistance and industry partnerships, small communities can benefit too. If you care about water resilience, sustainable industry growth, and practical adaptation, this conversation offers a clear playbook for action. If it resonates, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a review to help others find these insights.

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We talk with Cynthia Giles about why environmental legal requirements may underperform and how a smarter future design—monitoring, e-reporting, and transparency—can make water compliance the default. The conversation moves from pathogens and “sampling out” to climate-driven adaptation and a future reimagined federal–state data relationship. Cynthia offers thoughts on:

• the gap between public health goals and actual outcomes
• beliefs about widespread compliance and enforcement’s primacy
• how rule design may create incentives to evade or delay
• pathogen risks in drinking water and “sampling out”
• the cost of weak monitoring and reporting penalties
• continuous monitoring as behavior change, not just detection
• electronic reporting and shared, real-time data access
• plain-language transparency that answers “is it safe”
• enforcement as a platform for innovation and SEPs
• federalism retooled for open data and state innovation

Cynthia's book is available free at nextgencompliance.org

#water #WaterForesight #strategicforesight #foresight #futures @Aqualaurus