West Basin General Manager Discusses Water Scarcity, District Programs on National Podcast

On August 21, West Basin General Manager Patrick Sheilds was the featured guest on the Talking Under Water podcast. During the broadcast, Sheilds discussed water scarcity, recycled water, desalination, stormwater, conservation, and the District’s ongoing public outreach and education efforts.

Much of the interview centered around West Basin’s recycled water program, which has produced more than 225 billion gallons since 1995. These efforts have saved enough drinking water to meet the annual water needs of nearly 8.3 million people.

“That’s 225 billion gallons of partially treated sewage that didn’t go into Santa Monica Bay,” Sheilds said during the podcast. “It’s 225 billion gallons of imported water that we did not have to be worried about.”

The Talking Under Water podcast is the premier podcast for the water industry, including municipal and industrial water and wastewater. It is produced in coordination between Water & Wastes Digest (WWD), Water Quality Products (WQP) and Storm Water Solutions (SWS).

The entire podcast recording is available at https://www.wwdmag.com/talkingunderwater.

Sheilds’ interview begins at the 14-minute mark.