Here we are in February, the month of love! This pandemic Valentine's Day may be a bit different so I hope everyone can find creative, safe, and socially-distanced ways to express their love and gratitude.
As for Soquel Creek Water District, we continue our traditional February article with a "For the Love of….." theme. Over the years we've covered music, books, and movies. This year we'd like to let you know about some water-related podcasts that may enhance your own love of water! Podcasts are digital audio files available on the computer and mobile devices and can be very entertaining, educational, and even inspirational. A recent study in January 2020 identified more than 850,000 active podcasts being created, which is a pretty startling growth considering there were just 500,000 active podcasts in 2018 (Podcast Insights, 2020).
With over 70% of the U.S. population aware and listening to podcasts, we wanted to share a few water-related podcasts with you:
- The Water Values Podcast series takes you on an exploration of water issues aimed at uncovering the true value of water. Each episode (there are over 180!) covers a different aspect of water, so you can pick and choose. Subjects include Water Treatment; The Birth of the Western Water Market; Water Use in Vertical Farming, Water Reuse; and more.
- Words on Water series by Water Environment Federation features conversations with people who work on water issues and discussions about the opportunities and challenges facing one of Earth's most precious resources. Topics include infrastructure, innovation and technology, workforce, resource recovery, management, research, and public awareness. Words On Water is produced by the Water Environment Federation, a nonprofit education and technical organization with over 170 podcast episodes.
- Meet the Ocean is an educational podcast that improves science communication through storytelling. Its content is great for all ages. There are over 80 podcasts to choose from and topics and interviews provide journeys to the polar regions and other far-off destinations. A few of the highlights include Blue Whales in Antarctica; Becoming the Glacier; World Oceans Day; and The Marine Mammal Center, among others.
- Water Quality Association (WQA) Radio, from the Water Quality Association, focuses on residential, commercial, and industrial water treatment. You'll hear leading voices in the treatment industry and members of WQA. With almost 200 episodes, they have covered the Flint water crisis, women in the industry, and treating water for beer.
- Water You Talking About, is a podcast series of over 30 episodes that are produced by doctoral students researching urban water technologies. A recent episode focused on how the sewers of Paris have captured the imagination of writers, engineers and politicians; another featured stories of the water legends throughout time who have made water systems great.
Happy Valentine's Day and while we focus on keeping our social pod small during this pandemic, may we keep ourselves entertained with some podcasts.
As always, if you have any questions about this month's topic or anything else related to Soquel Creek Water District, feel free to email Community Outreach. We also encourage community members to access our 'Current and Upcoming Projects' page and to sign up for updates on the Pure Water Soquel Project.
