Water Break

Heather Jennings, PE
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Bridging the gap between water plant operators and engineers

  1. 11/19/2025

    The Water Break Podcast, Episode 48: Wanda-ring Through Water

    Welcome to “Water Break”, where we try to bridge the gap between Water Operators and Engineers! Today’s episode is our 48th and to celebrate, we have brought back Wanda Baustert of “Wanda’s Water Tidbits”. Typically, our Tidbits are little bits of trivia or articles that are unusual and sometimes even brilliant about water that my mother, Wanda, has sent to me and has asked for my opinion on. Today, you get to hear her opinions directly.

    19 min

  2. 09/30/2025

    The Water Break Podcast, Episode 47: Operator Ethics and Why They Matter

    Welcome to “Water Break”, where we try to bridge the gap between Water Operators and Engineers! In today’s episode, we are going to talk about “Operator Ethics and Why They Matter”. We would like to welcome back John Schwartz, who is the Senior Technical Support Representative/Technical Training Manager, and Loyd Rawlings, who is the Technical Training Manager for USA BlueBook. John brings over 40 years of water and wastewater experience to the training room, including roles as a water system operator, a lead/senior operator for both water treatment and distribution systems, and a water treatment and distribution system manager. He also served as a circuit rider, trainer and technical advisor for the California Rural Water Association. John is certified in Water Treatment and Distribution in California and Montana and holds a Utility Management Certification (UMC) for Water and Wastewater Management from NRWA’s Water University. Loyd has over 30 yrs of experience and has worked for Missouri Department of Natural Resources as a certification trainer and compliance assistance operator. With Missouri Rural Water Association, he led EPA Water Quality Action Specialists (WQAS) trainings, worked as a USDA Wastewater Technician, served as a circuit rider, and taught numerous water and wastewater certification classes. Loyd holds certifications in Water Treatment, Wastewater Treatment and Distribution systems in Missouri. He holds a Utility Management Certification (UMC) from NRWA’s Water University.

    52 min

  3. 07/28/2025

    The Water Break Podcast, Episode 46: Package Plant Retrofit From Failure to Success

    “Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In today’s episode, we are going to talk about a challenging packaged sanitary wastewater treatment plant retrofit. We are thrilled to welcome back our guest Ibrahim Teres, a senior process engineer at EMCO group with 10+ years in the water and wastewater treatment systems design field. Ibrahim was recently elected as the vice chairman for the AZ Water Association’s water treatment committee and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences and a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering. Ibrahim has successfully designed, executed, and started up numerous municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment projects. His expertise spans across diverse sectors including beverage, food processing, and oil & gas industries. Before moving to Arizona, Ibrahim worked on projects located in the middle east and Africa, thus bringing in a wealth of international experience and a proven track record of delivering innovative and effective water treatment solutions to his new role.

    1h 16m

  4. 03/24/2025

    The Water Break Podcast, Episode 45: Source Water Protection!

    “Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” Matt Casto Jordan Jackson In today’s episode we are going to talk about “Protecting Source Water.” Our guests are Matt Casto and Jordan Jackson of  North Carolina Rural Water Association. Matt’s unconventional journey into the water industry began with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture, where he developed an improvisational problem-solving mindset that he’s carried into 14 years of hands-on experience in water operations. He’s worked as a surface water plant operator and superintendent, Circuit Rider, and he now serves as a Source Water Protection Specialist with the North Carolina Rural Water Association. Matt enjoys both the technical aspects of water treatment and the hands-on work of system repairs, feeling equally at home in the field or the boardroom. Outside of work, he is an avid saltwater aquarist, ornamental gardener, and recreational hockey player. Born and raised in North Carolina, Jordan has 12 years of water and wastewater utility experience with expertise in source water protection, cross connection control, wastewater laboratory and pretreatment programs. She obtained a Masters of Water Resources from the University of New Mexico and holds NC Biological Wastewater Grade IV certification in addition to Utility Management Certification issued by National Rural Water Association.

    59 min

  5. 01/23/2025

    The Water Break Podcast, Episode 43: What’s That Taste in My Water

    “Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In episode 43 of the Water Break Podcast, Heather Jennings, PE, discusses interesting details about water with our guests, John Schwartz, Senior Technical Support Representative/Technical Training Manager, and Loyd Rawlings, Technical Training Manager for a leading MRO company. John brings over 40 years of experience in water and wastewater to the training room, including roles as a water system operator, lead/senior operator for both water treatment and distribution systems, and manager of water treatment and distribution systems. He also served as a circuit rider, trainer, and technical advisor for the California Rural Water Association. John is certified in Water Treatment and Distribution in both California and Montana and holds a Utility Management Certification (UMC) for Water and Wastewater Management from NRWA’s Water University. Loyd has 30 years of experience in water and wastewater. He has worked for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as a certification trainer and compliance assistance operator. With the Missouri Rural Water Association, he led EPA Water Quality Action Specialists (WQAS) trainings, worked as a USDA Wastewater Technician, served as a circuit rider, and taught numerous water and wastewater certification classes. Loyd holds certifications in Water Treatment, Wastewater Treatment, and Distribution Systems in Missouri. He also holds a Utility Management Certification (UMC) from NRWA’s Water University.

    1h 4m

  6. 12/19/2024

    The Water Break Podcast, Episode 42: WW Laboratory with Jane

    “Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In episode 42 of the Water Break Podcast, Heather Jennings, PE, discusses wastewater laboratory testing with Jane Leatherland. Jane was born in Yorkshire, England and started her career at a coal testing facility that also conducted water, gas, and air analysis. Jane emigrated to the USA in 1986 and worked for Metro Denver Wastewater for 16 years as a lab analyst. She then moved to Michigan and later to Tennessee, where she was employed by Humboldt Utilities. Jane earned her Grade 4 WWTP certification within one year and her Grade 2 water certification four years later. Now semi-retired, she enjoys traveling with her husband of 38 years.

    1h 9m

  7. 11/26/2024

    The Water Break Podcast, Episode 41: Go! Fight! Win! Operations Challenge Experiences

    “Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers” In episode 41 of the Water Break Podcast, Heather Jennings, PE, is discussing the Operations Challenge with actual participants: Kevin Wegener and Skyler Edmison of Clean Water Services. Operations Challenge is a premier event for wastewater operators, testing skills in process control, maintenance, laboratory procedures, and more. The Challenge happens first at the State level and then winners of the State Competitions go to the “Super Bowl” of Operations Challenge at WEFTEC where you face 50+ other teams. These events simulate real-world challenges faced in the operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment facilities. Today we want you listeners to hear from the challengers what they learned, the challenges they faced, and how the experience impacted their skills and career.

    58 min

  8. 10/30/2024

    The Water Break Podcast, Episode 40: Nice Color, Nasty Contaminants, Lots of Water

    “Where we bridge the gap between water plant operators and engineers.” In Episode 40 of the Water Break podcast, host Heather Jennings, PE, is in conversation with Ibrahim Teres from Emco Engineering Inc. to dive into an intriguing case study involving a tannery in the United Arab Emirates. Ibrahim is a water solutions expert who serves as the head of the industrial division at EMCO group. Ibrahim holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences and a Masters degree in Environmental Engineering from UoB. Over the past 10+ years, Ibrahim has successfully designed, executed, and started up numerous municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment projects covering beverage, food processing, and oil & gas industries. Before moving to Arizona, Ibrahim worked on projects located in the middle east and Africa, thus bringing in a wealth of international experience and a proven track record of delivering innovative and effective water treatment solutions to his new role.

    56 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Bridging the gap between water plant operators and engineers

Information

  • Creator
    Heather Jennings, PE
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    44
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2023 by Huma, Inc.
  • Show Website
    Water Break

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