This podcast will focus on a variety of water resources related topics and the interrelationship of water to our environment and society. The Podcast will be hosted by Tom Bellinger, and Joe Lyons. Dr. Thomas Bellinger, a professionally certified hydrologist and professor has over 40 years in the water science field with the Department of Interior and is currently on the faculty at the University of Colorado - Denver and the Metropolitan State University of Denver. Joe Lyons is an experienced Hydraulic Engineer/Hydrologist who has worked in the water science field with the Department of Interior. Tom and Joe have bee colleagues and friends for over 38 years. Podcasts will touch on issues such as climate change, water use and distribution, ground and surface water, water law, rivers, glaciers, snow, wetlands, etc. The Podcast format will vary from a host to host discussion to a discussion the between the co-hosts and invited guests with expertise on a variety of topics. Eventually, listeners may be invited to call in with questions. The podcast will run 25-40 minutes on a bi-weekly basis. Note that season one was a pilot season with Tom Bellinger as host. Season two began the co-hosting format with Tom Bellinger and Tom Cech. The third season in 2024 was be co-hosted by the ”two Toms” and Greg. Our 4th Season, starting in January 2025 will be hosted by Tom Bellinger, Joe Lyons with a variety of new topics on water. Stay Tuned! The co-hosts can be contacted through email at h2otalkpodcast@aol.com.
Listen on:
Joe Lyons is now a permanent co-host starting in Season 4. Tom Cech will be departing the podcast due to a heavy schedule. However from time to time Tom Cech and Greg Dewey may join in as guest hosts or as guests. We miss them both!
Sunday Sep 10, 2023
Sunday Sep 10, 2023
This week, the Two Toms will discuss a "covert crisis" in the US: Groundwater. A recent New York Times article outlined the situation with over drafting this valuable and non-replaceable (at least in the near future) natural resource. To view this article, listeners are encouraged to use this link:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/28/climate/groundwater-drying-climate-change.html?unlocked_article_code=nQccMP1Jzv6A-2UDd6z79toIJSh7ONj_bBk-O5Td5yPaRP5Je5xpcG1tEAm1OyturGBiilZaMIh2_CZXemwTPP0ew83DtazUJKsyPbmvpdCqd3axgZbM3ARHwjBVcPAJibn-KP7EQNJjU4bHLHBdTc_GNHUV8e9xWBiHmkdWd6-pN9gE9F2AH9uLfECKxyhKAVcjZEIu7Q0ZEbtEza8fFAo_oRbOZM8Y-1AxGAglPuGMhqcdCxrdTIijPHmxj-AUfh2JRuYuoZvaY4EEh-vgvITawRK6V5lEIEEKtXkI2pvip7HVJgED2-6U67OrNe35nAS87xQZSttEh5DY2aued-yJ7N3qlq8e3JtFyZ34zFJTF47cRwlpXAPwRw&smid=em-share
Sunday Aug 27, 2023
Sunday Aug 27, 2023
This week the Two Toms will discuss some recent water news followed by a discussion of building a dam with their guest Greg Dewey, an engineer with the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, also known as Northern Water. Greg has been involved in the permitting process to construct a new dam and reservoir that will augment the District's supply. Greg's description of his experience in this process brings to light the complexity of planning and building such a project.
Some history:
"In 1937, the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District was created to jointly operate and maintain the federally-owned Colorado-Big Thompson Project, with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The C-BT Project collects supplemental water west of the Continental Divide for delivery to approximately 1,021,000 people and 615,000 irrigated acres in Northeastern Colorado for agricultural, municipal, domestic and industrial purposes.
In addition to the original C-BT infrastructure, Northern Water has worked cooperatively with local water users and municipalities to create water activity enterprises to finance and build additional water infrastructure, including the Southern Water Supply Project and the Pleasant Valley Pipeline. The Northern Integrated Supply Project is in the design and permitting phase.
In 1970, Northern Water’s Municipal Subdistrict was created by six Front Range municipalities to build the Windy Gap Project. The Subdistrict constructed the Windy Gap Pump Plant in 1985 and is currently constructing Chimney Hollow Reservoir near Loveland, the main component of the Windy Gap Firming Project.
While current and future projects drive day-to-day operations, Northern Water also provides regional leadership through water efficiency programs, data collection and delivery, source water protection and interagency cooperation." (Northern Water, 2023)
Source:
Northern Water. (2023). Delivering water to northeastern Colorado. Retrieved from: https://www.northernwater.org/
Sunday Aug 13, 2023
Sunday Aug 13, 2023
This week the Two Toms will discuss recent water news followed by Tom Cech discussing his travel to India with the One World One Water Center at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Sunday Jul 30, 2023
Sunday Jul 30, 2023
In this episode the Two Toms present a little water news followed by a discussion of the Mekong River, which is being extensively developed for hydropower. Already, this important natural resource is changing. Tom B will present his experiences on a recent effort to assess the river with regard to dams, and their effect on the region economically, environmentally, and socially.
Sunday Jul 23, 2023
Sunday Jul 23, 2023
This episode will discuss recent news regarding flooding in Vermont followed by a discussion of Tom Cech's experience in the early 2000's dealing with drought and its effects on Colorado water law and water rights. The Two Toms will delve into this critical period in Colorado water law history, how it affected farmers, and provide a hint of what could happen in the future as droughts are expected to deepen in the western US.
Sunday Jul 09, 2023
Sunday Jul 09, 2023
This episode will begin H2OTalk's second season introducing our new co-host Tom Cech - a water resources professional, author and professor with over 40 years experience!
The two Toms will talk about Tom Cech's background and experiences in the water resources field among some personal tidbits. Tom will be an exciting addition to this podcast - so stay tuned to future episodes with "the two Toms of water!"
Prior to the co-host discussion, some recent water news will be presented.
Sunday Jul 02, 2023
Sunday Jul 02, 2023
This episode will discuss the issue of "forever chemicals" in our environment/water. Current water news articles will also be highlighted.
Sunday Jun 18, 2023
Sunday Jun 18, 2023
In this episode we will discuss recent water news and then dive into the subject of "Pea Soup" or what is known as eutrification of water bodies. Think pond scum!
Dr. Tom will be taking next week off for vacation, but stay tuned as we introduce our first guest and co-host in early July 2023.
Sunday Jun 11, 2023
Sunday Jun 11, 2023
This episode will begin with water news, and then discuss the concept of biomes (A biome is a large area characterized by its vegetation, soil, climate, and wildlife) and how they may be shifting due to climate change; impacting water, weather, wildlife and other natural resources in various regions around the planet.
Sunday Jun 04, 2023
Sunday Jun 04, 2023
This episode will continue the discussion on the interrelationships between water and forests. We will discuss current water news (climate change and insurance coverage - an evolving crisis) and how forests can be manipulated to assist in the management of water and other related natural resources.
Dr. Thomas (Tom) R. Bellinger is a certified Professional Hydrologist (Emeritus) through the American Institute of Hydrology. He was formerly a Visiting Professor and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Environmental Science at the Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) in the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS) and Engineering and Engineering Technology (EAET) Departments. He teaches Environmental Science, Planning, Environmental Policy, Water Resources, Snow Hydrology, Water Law, Engineered Water, Environmental Policy and Planning, and a Senior Design Project class. He is also a member of the Industry Advisory Board for the EAET Department.
Tom retired as Principal Hydrologist with the Department of Interior Bureau of Reclamation. Prior to this position, he served as a hydrologist/ Branch Chief of Refuge Hydrology for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Since retiring, Tom has remained active in the water resources community. He currently serves as a Technical Advisor (Hydrology) with the Department of Interior/USAID International Technical Assistance Program (ITAP). He was a team member working with the Lao PDR government in the Mekong River Valley.
Tom is Past President/ Board Member of NecroSearch International (NSI) a non-profit multi-disciplinary forensic group that assists law enforcement on cases with a focus on the location of clandestine evidence and graves. He currently serves as a hydrologist with NSI. His specialty is in hydrologic forensic analysis. Tom is an Affiliate with the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC) and is a member of the newly formed Aquatic Scene Processing Standards Task Group.
Tom is a former member of the Metro Basin Roundtable, a collaborative team assisted in developing the Colorado State Water Plan. He recently retired from the Board of Directors (3 terms) for the Metro Waster Recovery District, an entity serving nearly 2 million wastewater customers in the Denver Area. Tom also recently retired from the Board of Directors for the Bancroft-Clover Water and Sanitation District in Lakewood, CO (2 terms), which serves over 65,000 customers.
Tom holds a B.S. (Resources Management/Environmental Science) from the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF)/Syracuse University and M.S. (Hydrologic Sciences/Forest Influences) degrees from SUNY ESF. He holds a doctorate in Organizational Management /Leadership from the University of Phoenix with an emphasis/ dissertation on collaborative processes in the water resources field. Tom has authored a variety of journal articles, research papers, and government reports on several aspects of the water sciences.
A “mustang” naval officer, Tom served in both the enlisted and officer ranks of the US Navy retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He specialized in the analysis of operational intelligence.
Tom is an emeritus member of the American Institute of Hydrology, and a current member of the American Geophysical Union and the Explorers Club (National Fellow).
One of Tom’s passions is music – he is a mandolinist with the Denver Mandolin Orchestra, played bass and mandolin for the Bluegrass Bandwagon, and mandolin/fiddle for various local jam bands. Tom also played bagpipes with Michael Collins Pipes and Drums. Tom and his wife Anita reside in Colorado.
Joe Lyons is an experienced hydrologist/hydraulic engineer with over 30 years experience. A graduate of Colorado State University and the Oregon State University Joe's career has covered several years with the Department of the Interior (Bureau of Reclamation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service).
Joe is joined the Podcast in Season 4.
Tom Cech is an experienced water resources professional with over 40 years of experience. Tom was born and raised on a farm near Clarkson, Nebraska, graduated from Kearney State College with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Math Education, and later received a Master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning (MCRP) from the University of Nebraska –Lincoln. He was Executive Director of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District in Greeley, taught water undergraduate and graduate level water resources courses at the University of Northern Colorado and Colorado State University, and is the founding Director of the One World One Water (OWOW) Center at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Tom has and continues to author a variety of books. He authored “Principles of Water Resources: History, Development, Management and Policy,” published by John Wiley & Sons - currently in its 4th edition and translated into Portuguese. Tom also recently published “Introduction to Water Resources and Environmental Issues,” (co-author Dr. Karrie Pennington) with Cambridge University Press and translated into Arabic, and “Colorado Water Law for Non-Lawyers,” (co-author P. Andrew Jones) with the University Press of Colorado. He has also completed histories of the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Colorado State Engineer’s Office with Bill McDonald and Dick Stenzel, respectively. Tom is currently co-authoring a book and big data and water.
Tom is semi-retired – and continues to remain active in water and environmental resources. He resides in Colorado.
Greg Dewey PE, is an experienced engineer and water manager who has worked for the the federal government (Bureau of Reclamation), as a consultant, and for the City of Loveland, CO. Greg is currently an engineer with Northern Water, a key water purveyor in northeastern Colorado.
Greg joined the Podcast in seasons 2 and 3 and will be an occasional guest/collaborator in the future.