Solving Water: A Xylem Podcast

Lindsay Birt, Client Solutions Manager at Xylem, joins the show from WEFTEC 2022 to discuss her role as a leader within InFlow, a program led by the Water Environment Federation (WEF) that helps introduce future leaders in water by engaging undergraduate and graduate students across the United States through offering in-person experiences at WEFTEC. Birt shares the process that selects scholars through application for an all-expenses-paid trip to WEFTEC, giving undergraduate and graduate students exposure to the water industry and career opportunities.Birt also explains InFlow's focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, and how the program and water industry offers students the chance to tie their passions with meaningful careers that can help solve the world's water challenges.
Learn more about WEF's InFlow program: https://www.wef.org/inflow

Joe Johnston, Xylem Vice President of Global Lifecycle Services, joins the show to share his role in building shared success and supporting customers by aiming for and achieving outcomes that help improve efficiency, sustainability and address challenges faced by utilities today.
Johnston explains the importance of lifecycle services and what it entails -- from extending the life of assets to help facilities run more efficiently, addressing non-revenue water, helping utilities reduce carbon footprints, ensuring regulatory compliance, aiding in the digital transformation process, and more.
Learn more about Xylem Service Solutions: https://www.xylem.com/en-us/products--services/services/

Xylem CEO Patrick Decker & Hayati Yarkadas, Senior Vice President and President, Europe, Water Infrastructure and Global Services at Xylem, join the show to discuss the current state of water challenges, including aging or underdeveloped infrastructure and climate change. They also share why they take an optimistic point of view when facing these challenges, the importance of building trust, and envisioning a day in a customer's life to help provide solutions. Finally, Yarkadas and Decker discuss their focus on igniting a new generation of leaders in water, approaches to empowering colleagues, and more.
Learn more at https://xylem.com/.
Recorded live at WEFTEC 2022 in New Orleans.

Annabelle M. Rayson, of Canada, was the recipient of the prestigious 2022 Stockholm Junior Water Prize for her research on how to treat and prevent harmful algae blooms. Rayson’s project, titled, Plankton Wars: An Innovative Analysis of Daphnia Genotype Biomanipulations for Algae Bloom Prevention, is a direct response to the struggles her father -- a commercial fisherman -- was facing.
This conversation, guest hosted in Stockholm by Carolina Tornesi MacKinnon, Xylem Senior Product Management Analyst and World Youth Parliament for Water President, features Rayson and Hayati Yarkadas, Senior Vice President and President, Europe, Water Infrastructure and Global Services at Xylem, as they dive deeper into the winning project and explore the importance of engaging in water challenges early from different perspectives.
For more information about the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, and to view Rayson’s winning video presentation, visit: https://siwi.org/stockholm-junior-water-prize/

Nate Mather, currently with the San Bernardino water department and former Chief Plant Operator for the wastewater treatment plant, collections and drinking water systems aboard the 29 Palms Marine Corps Base in California, joins Solving Water to share stories from the field as a Xylem customer.
Mather discusses his approach to project planning, choosing the correct pumps for the job, and experience with Xylem in developing solutions for lift station upgrades, sewer bypass projects, collections system updates and more.
Mather also shares his perspective on the benefits and importance of embracing digitization in the water utilities industry, current challenges and solutions he is working on, and why he is a big supporter of Flygt pumps. Learn more at https://www.xylem.com/en-us/.

George McGraw, Founder and CEO of DigDeep, a human rights nonprofit working to ensure every American has clean, running water forever, joins Solving Water to break down the nonprofit's latest report, “Draining: The Economic Impact of America’s Hidden Water Crisis,” released in late June.
McGraw details new information about the lack of access to clean, safe water in the United States; the importance of finding and gathering valuable Census data; the initial impact of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; and future water projects and priorities for DigDeep as they continue to work to close the water access gap for vulnerable communities and areas throughout the country.
Read the report, “Draining: The Economic Impact of America’s Hidden Water Crisis," and learn more about DigDeep and how you can get involved: https://www.digdeep.org/draining

Austin Alexander, Xylem Vice President of Sustainability and Social Impact, returns to Solving Water to take us inside the newly released Xylem 2021 Sustainability Report. Alexander shares her major takeaways from this year's report, recent updates to the company's sustainability goals and the approach Xylem is taking to realize them.
Also discussed: How sustainability goals are directly aligned with business objectives, upcoming challenges and areas of opportunity for the water sector, and more.
Learn more about Xylem's sustainability goals and download your copy of the 2021 Sustainability Report here: https://www.xylem.com/en-us/sustainability/

Randolf Waters, Xylem Senior Director of Global Partnerships and Branding, makes his third appearance on Solving Water, this time to share the personal and professional journey that brought him to his current role.
Waters shares his background, why he initially became interested in the water industry, and how a chance encounter eventually led him to Xylem. Randolf also shares the story behind changing his last name to Waters, why the water industry offers such fulfilling careers to people of all different skill sets and backgrounds, and more.
Learn more about Xylem and explore career opportunities: https://www.xylem.com/en-us/about-xylem/

Randolf Waters, Xylem Senior Director of Global Partnerships and Branding, returns to the show to discuss how the partnership between Xylem and City Football Group came to be, and how the two organizations continue to team up to address water complacency and encourage audiences around the world to get educated and involved in making a difference.
Waters also shares how Xylem sought out a major sports group to help raise awareness for global water challenges, the selection process for choosing the right partner from the sports world, and some of the activities and campaigns happening between Xylem, Manchester City FC, PUMA and more.
Part 2 of 2 in the Solving Water Power of Partnerships Series.
Learn more and get involved in the latest Xylem plogging and Walk for Water activities: https://www.xylem.com/en-us/about-xylem/partnerships/water-heroes/

According to estimates from the Department of Transportation, there are about 45,000 bridges rated in poor condition in the United States. Ken Albaugh, Xylem Director of Sales for Water Infrastructure in the United States, and Joey Guerrero, Xylem National Accounts Manager for Dewatering, join the show to discuss a specific, yet massive, portion of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: the Bridge Investment Program.
Albaugh and Guerrero outline the significant investment towards repairing and improving bridge conditions in the coming years, including $5.3 billion in 2022 alone, and how Xylem is supporting customers through the process by offering solutions that focus on improving water infrastructure and sustainability, as well as assisting the mining industry with water management, efficiency, water treatment and more.
Learn more about Xylem solutions: https://www.xylem.com/
Learn more about the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684/text