AquaDiary: Water Mysteries, Science & News

Ally Berry
  • 4.6 (10)
  • Natural Sciences
  • Updated Weekly

AquaDiary is a science podcast about the hidden stories, strange mysteries, and real-world risks lurking in our water. Hosted by environmental scientist Ally Berry, each episode breaks down fascinating water-related events — from toxic algae blooms and disappearing lakes to environmental headlines, hydrology, contamination, and bizarre aquatic phenomena — in a way that’s gripping, understandable, and actually relevant. If you like science, environmental mysteries, water disasters, lake science, or the kind of stories that make you look at the world differently, AquaDiary is for you.

  1. 1d ago

    Smoke on the Water: How Canada's Wildfires Change Lakes

    In 2023, Canada's wildfires turned the sky over New York the color of a traffic cone. In July 2026, it's happening again. Everyone covers the smoke in our lungs. Almost nobody covers what that same smoke does to our drinking water and lakes. This episode traces the whole chain: the light-blocking, algae-fertilizing double effect of ash on a lake surface, the "lake that turns to tea" carbon browning problem, the neurotoxin that works its way up the food chain into the fish on your plate, and what all of it means for the water coming out of your tap. I also talked to a silvicultural forester with the U.S. Forest Service (speaking personally, not for the agency) about the century of fire suppression policy sitting underneath all of this, and about a genuinely strange soil chemistry mechanism that turns a burned hillside into a mudslide waiting to happen. And yes, we go there on the oil and gas question: how much of this traces back to Alberta's oil sands, what the actual peer-reviewed attribution science says, and where that research runs out.If 2023 felt like a freak year, 2026 is making a strong case that this is just what North American summers look like now. For us, and for our lakes.// AquaDiary is an independent water science and investigative podcast that aims to teach people about water resources 🎙️ All sources cited on Patreon, full scripts for $3/mo - patreon.com/c/TheAquaDiaryPodcast📌 YOUTUBE MEMBERS — early access and monthly live Q&A🧪 NEWSLETTER – Free PDF on how to read your annual drinking water report [https://substack.com/@aquadiarypodcast]📩 SPEAKING + CONSULTING inquiries: aquadiary.podcast@gmail.com,New Website!

  2. Jul 10

    Lead, Tested: Inside the Rochester, NY Water Bureau

    Rochester, NY has thousands of lead water service lines and a plan to replace all of them by 2030, years ahead of the federal deadline, at virtually cost to residents.How did they do it? And is the water in Rochester, NY safe to drink?In this episode, I go inside the Rochester Water Bureau's in-house lab to see exactly how lead testing works, down to the part-per-billion level. Then I sit down with the Director of the Water Bureau and the Manager of Water Production to talk about how Rochester's replacement program actually got built and what puzzle pieces are still moving. This is Part 1 of a Rochester, NY series where we will dig into where your water comes from, and how exactly it is managed.Thank you to the Rochester Water Bureau for the access and time that made this episode possible and for all the work you do for your customers.If you live in Rochester and would like your water sampled for lead, please email gettheleadout@cityofrochester.gov or call 585 866-9258.//🎙️ AquaDiary is water science for people who want to understand what's actually in their water.📌 SUBSCRIBE to support the channel🧪 PATREON: / theaquadiarypodcast 📩 FREE NEWSLETTER: https://substack.com/@aquadiarypodcast🌊 Inquiries: Send me a photo of your bloom, ask about your water, or invite me to speak at your next event: AquaDiary.Podcast@gmail.com.

  3. Jul 3

    Reflecting Pool Algae Pt. 2: A Silver Bullet Solution? Scientist Reviews Everything.

    Last week's reflecting pool video hit 400,000 views on YouTube. The most common question in the comments: is there actually a fix for algae? Copper sulfate. Silver. Hydrogen peroxide. Ultrasound. Aeration. I went through every tool, and gave you an honest verdict on each one.Is there a silver bullet for algae? What actually kills a harmful algal bloom? What are cyanobacteria toxins and how dangerous are they? How do you tell if a bloom is toxic just by looking at it? What do lake managers actually do differently? I'm Ally, an environmental scientist. I manage lakes and algae professionally, and I'm giving you the honest version of what works, what doesn't. Full disclosure. 32 citations from EPA, NALMS, and peer-reviewed toxicology and limnology journals. Full reference list on Patreon.🎙️ AquaDiary is water science for people who want to understand what's actually in their water. 📌 FOLLOW for new episodes every week 🧪 PATREON — full citations: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheAquaDiaryPodcast 📩 FREE NEWSLETTER: https://substack.com/@aquadiarypodcast 🌊 Inquiries: Send me a photo of your bloom, ask about your water, or invite me to speak at your next event: AquaDiary.Podcast@gmail.com.

  4. Jun 26

    $16 Million, Dead Ducks, and Algae: The Reflecting Pool Explained by a Scientist

    Why did the Reflecting Pool get an algae bloom? Why did thepaint peel off? Is the Reflecting Pool safe? What killed the ducks? Why did the $16 million renovation fail? I'm an environmental scientist and work professionally inlake and algae management, and this is my professional breakdown of what actually happened, why it was completely predictable, and what the science says about the decisions that were made, including the species identification thatmay have been inconclusive before workers poured chemicals into the water. The pool has had algae since 1922. This is not a newproblem. It is a physics and biology problem that no renovation has ever solved, and this episode explains why. All sources cited on Patreon for $3 a month: patreon.com/c/TheAquaDiaryPodcast🎙️ AquaDiary is water science for people who want to understand what's actually in their water.📌 YOUTUBE MEMBERS — early access and monthly live Q&A🧪 NEWSLETTER – free PDFS on how to read your water report or analysis [https://substack.com/@aquadiarypodcast]📩 SPEAKING + CONSULTING inquiries: aquadiary.podcast@gmail.com

  5. Jun 19

    Microplastics in Your Water: What Scientists ACTUALLY Know

    Microplastics have been found in 83% of tap water samples tested worldwide, and yes, that includes yours. But here's what almost no one covering this topic will actually say: as of 2026, peer-reviewed science does not yet have a definitive answer on what that means for your health. I'm an environmental scientist, and this episode gives you the honest version; the research, the real gaps, and the practical steps that are actually supported by evidence. We cover what microplastics are and why different studies report wildly different numbers (the range between studies is 400,000-fold — and that tells you something important), what the newest human health research actually concludes versus what it's still working on, why bottled water is measurably worse than tap water for microplastic exposure, and which water filters have the independent certifications to back up their claims (including an honest breakdown of the one I personally use and exactly where its certifications do and don't hold up.) No panic. No dismissal. Just the science, the uncertainty, and what's actually worth doing about it. Sign up for the email list to get free guides: https://substack.com/@aquadiarypodcastConsider supporting the show on Patreon for early access to scripts and full citation lists: https://www.patreon.com/c/TheAquaDiaryPodcastIn need of help? Email me at: aquadiary.podcast@gmail.comResources: NSF filter certification lookup (verify any filter's actual certifications): https://www.nsf.org/consumer-resources/water-qualityEPA on microplastics: https://www.epa.gov/trash-free-waters/microplastics Microplastic filter recommendations (affiliate): Countertop RO: https://amzn.to/3QvlmsgBerkey: https://amzn.to/4oD8i0xUltrafiltration: https://amzn.to/4eSbja8

  6. Jun 12

    Micron Is Coming to Clay, NY. What Does That Mean for Your Water?

    Micron Technology is building the largest semiconductor fabrication complex in U.S. history in Clay, New York, and its wastewater will carry ( mostly unregulated) PFAS, the "forever chemicals," into a river system that connects to drinking water for half a million people. I'm an environmental scientist, and today we're doing the math the press releases aren't doing: what a $100 billion megafab and a projected 60% population boom in Onondaga County actually means for Central New York's water supply. This episode covers PFAS in semiconductor wastewater (what the science actually shows, including a Cornell study that found 133 PFAS compounds in fab effluent), the demand math for 250,000 new residents on a drought-stressed water system, and the specific concern the Skaneateles Lake Association has formally raised about the region's most critical (and most vulnerable) drinking water source. Skaneateles Lake feeds 220,000 Central New Yorkers unfiltered. Its 18-year water retention time means that by the time a problem shows up in the water, the cause is years in the past. The planning window is now. This is not a "stop Micron" episode. The jobs are real, the economic case is real, and this region has been waiting for a growth driver like this for decades. It's a planning story. And right now, the planning is not matching the scale of what's being built.

  7. Jun 5

    PFAS & Poisoned Water: Hoosick Falls, NY

    In 2014, a man in a small New York town did something almost no one does: he tested his own tap water. What he found, PFOA, a “forever chemical,” at hundreds of times the level regulators consider safe, would expose a national scandal and take roughly 18 months to be officially acknowledged. This is the story of Hoosick Falls, the frying-pan chemistry that poisoned a town’s drinking water, and why the same invisible contaminant may be sitting in your tap right now. I’m Ally, an environmental scientist in the Finger Lakes region — and on AquaDiary I turn everyday people into the kind of person who can read a water-quality report and know when to actually worry. This episode breaks down PFAS and PFOA in plain language: what “forever chemicals” are, how they got into drinking water, what they do to the human body, how one ordinary resident (Michael Hickey) cracked the case before any agency did, and — most importantly — the concrete steps you can take to check and protect your own water at home. If you’ve seen the movie Dark Waters, this is the same chemical. That’s not a coincidence. It’s a pattern. And once you can see it, you can’t unsee it. Check your own water: EPA — Find your local Consumer Confidence Report (annual water quality report): https://www.epa.gov/ccrEPA — PFAS in drinking water (the federal limits & why): https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/drinking-water-regulations-pfasEPA — Drinking water lab certification (find a state-certified lab for private wells): https://www.epa.gov/dwlabcert/learn-about-laboratory-certification-drinking-waterCDC / ATSDR — PFAS and your health, in plain language: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/NSF — Look up filters certified to reduce PFOA/PFOS (NSF/ANSI 53 & 58): https://www.nsf.org/consumer-resources/water-quality/water-filters See the whole script and today's sources on Patreon:

  8. May 29

    Update: City Tracks Me Down. I Drink Radioactive Water

    A few weeks ago I was at a conference when someone from the City of Rochester's water bureau found me in person to ask for a follow-up deep dive into their water supply. On the drive home, I stopped in Saratoga Springs, and tried the water. I later learned that peer-reviewed science has found it contains radium isotopes and radon gas. The state tests the popular one. Not all of them. I want to solve that issue. This general update episode covers where the show is going this summer, the Onondaga Lake investigation, and why I need your help to fund independent water testing in Saratoga Springs. Please consider supporting the show on Patreon: The AquaDiary Podcast | Podcast for water science, news and mysteries. | Patreon

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4.6
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AquaDiary is a science podcast about the hidden stories, strange mysteries, and real-world risks lurking in our water. Hosted by environmental scientist Ally Berry, each episode breaks down fascinating water-related events — from toxic algae blooms and disappearing lakes to environmental headlines, hydrology, contamination, and bizarre aquatic phenomena — in a way that’s gripping, understandable, and actually relevant. If you like science, environmental mysteries, water disasters, lake science, or the kind of stories that make you look at the world differently, AquaDiary is for you.

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