Welcome to The Outfall – a podcast that explores the backstories of our water world and its infrastructure through unique stories. Whether you’re a curious learner or simply looking for an engaging listen, this podcast is designed to cater to a diverse audience. We aim to deliver short and engaging episodes for our audience, have a blast creating them, and uncover the fascinating tales about our water world.
Episodes
Tuesday Feb 18, 2020
Tuesday Feb 18, 2020
David brings us a personal 5-minute water short about his home town, Silver City, New Mexico. Silver City is in a big bowl that sets the stage for us to learn about its ditch. Yes, one of the town’s most endearing and characteristic features is a ditch. Not just any ditch, it’s a BIG ditch. In fact, that’s the official name: the Big Ditch. We hear directly from Silver City’s mayor, Ken Ladner. Enjoy.
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Thursday Jan 16, 2020
Thursday Jan 16, 2020
In this episode, we share a story about a series of pictures. These pictures were not ordinary. In three days they spread around the world. The story starts deep in the sewers of Charleston, South Carolina. It's pitch black and divers are feeling for an obstruction. Mike Saia, communications manager with Charleston Water System, tells us the story.
We appreciate all the positive feedback so far. Thank you! Please subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Want to contact the show? Reach out at feedback@theoutfall.com.
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOutfall
Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_outfall/?hl=en
Thursday Nov 14, 2019
Thursday Nov 14, 2019
It’s been a while since we produced one of our 5-minute water shorts. Well, the wait is over. This short begins with a discovery. We found out during one of our recording sessions that David has a treasure trove of water jokes he has been posting online. You can visit it here.
Thanks again to @scotty_NoNo for joining us and teaching us a little about comedy!
We appreciate all the positive feedback so far. Thank you! Please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. Want to contact the show? Reach out at feedback@theoutfall.com.
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOutfall
Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_outfall/?hl=en
Tuesday Oct 15, 2019
Tuesday Oct 15, 2019
In this episode, we are hunting water unicorns with Dr. Piers Clark. Piers is the founder and chairman of Isle Utilities. They have offices all over the world and what they do is help water utilities identify and adopt new technology and innovation.
Some of the companies discussed in this episode:
- Mango Materials
- Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc.
- NVP Energy
- Graphene Enhanced Filtration - G2O Water Technologies]
- Biobullets
- Untapped
Learn more about Piers and Isle Utilities here.
We appreciate all the positive feedback so far. Thank you! Please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. Want to contact the show? Reach out at feedback@theoutfall.com.
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOutfall
Tuesday Sep 24, 2019
Tuesday Sep 24, 2019
We talk with George Greene, President of Water Mission, about the Bahamas. Water mission is unique in the world of NGOs with a powerful story. They are a nonprofit Christian engineering organization that designs, builds, and implements safe water solutions.
Water Mission is on the ground providing emergency safe water solutions to communities that were devastated by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. In the midst of this heartbreaking tragedy, we not only hear about the unique and costly challenges of providing clean, safe water to these communities, but how volunteers, engineers, and corporate partners are working to make a difference.
Sunday Aug 18, 2019
Sunday Aug 18, 2019
"A dubious solution that plays fast and loose with Occam's razor. The prudent manner abides by the weather glass" - Mark Malsick, SCDNR
Many in the Carolinas and throughout the world know Mark Malsick by his severe weather email. His email is wildly popular and gets forwarded around offices every time he sends one out. We discover who he is and his secret to his growing email list. We also discuss some of the tools he uses for his predictions and why sometimes he does not agree with the National Weather Service. Thanks again to Mark Malsick for making severe weather special. Sign up for Mark's Email's Here.
Want to contact the show? Reach Robert at osbornerr@gmail.com
Tuesday Jul 16, 2019
Tuesday Jul 16, 2019
In the summer of 2017, a group of residents and environmental activist Erin Brockovich challenged Mount Pleasant’s water system claiming that the town’s water contained pesticides that might be causing brain cancer in children. Listen to Clay Duffie, General Manager of Mount Pleasant Waterworks, explain how the events unfolded, how they responded and his lessons learned.
Wednesday Jun 19, 2019
Wednesday Jun 19, 2019
When David Werth started this lab over five years ago he literally bet the house by maxing out his credit cards and getting an instrumental loan to start the lab. His bet paid off. David is one of those guys that is full of passion when he is describing the lab. This is one of only a few labs in the world that conducts hundreds of physical hydraulic model studies for a variety of water intake and pump stations.
This episode explains why physical models are still important, why a dimensionless number holds a secret to scaling a model, and why water doesn’t always behave the way we think it will.
Wednesday May 29, 2019
Wednesday May 29, 2019
Our second water short has us searching for the mysterious Blue Ghost Firefly. This Firefly is found nowhere else in the world, but the Southern Appalachians and the largest population is in Western North Carolina. While all other species of firefly blink on and off as a mating ritual, the Blue Ghost emits a steady glow lasting from 30 seconds to a whole minute with a glow intensity so bright that they illuminate a circular patch of light on the ground beneath them. You can only see them from late May to early June when the males are looking for the females.
Special Thanks to David Hart for the story idea and the Cradle of Forestry for the tour.
Monday May 06, 2019
Monday May 06, 2019
Dr. Ladner had a chance to talk with Layne Carter from NASA recently. During his 28 years at NASA, Mr. Carter has worked on the development, design, delivery, and operation of the ISS Water Recovery System (WRS), which includes the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). His current role is the ISS Water Subsystem Manager, for which he is responsible for the ongoing operation of the water management and WRS on ISS. In addition, he is the co-Lead for NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Wastewater Processing and Water Management team, which has the responsibility for developing the technologies to be used for NASA’s future manned missions.
On this episode, you will learn,
1. How urine is recycled so astronauts can drink it. Yes, drink it.
2. How the Russians are helping with the Station’s overall water balance, and
3. How urine brittle, not to be confused with peanut brittle, was a problem NASA had to overcome.