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A nonprofit news outlet exploring solutions for sustainability and equity in water.

10/21/2026

SewerAI’s testing ground for new AI tools starts inside its own office.

Employees use AI for number crunching, planning, and writing, then share what they’ve built during Friday sessions every two weeks. Those experiments help identify approaches that could be useful to customers, explains Seth Nickinson, Principal Product Manager at SewerAI

The engineering team also tests emerging AI models on specific tasks, evaluating where they perform well and where they struggle before incorporating them into products for sewer system management.

Keeping pace with AI means continually testing what the technology can actually do—and where it can make customers’ work easier.

Episode at waterloop.org and wherever you listen to podcasts.

10/20/2026

The next leap for utility data may be less about collecting more of it and more about being able to ask better questions.

Seth Nickinson of SewerAI says utilities are increasingly consolidating information in the cloud and connecting it with GIS and other data sources. The challenge is making sense of all of it.

AI is beginning to change that by letting people interact with data in a more flexible way… asking broader questions, looking across different datasets, and uncovering information that might otherwise require significant analytical work.

For utilities already sitting on years of inspection, asset, and mapping data, that could make existing information far more useful in daily decision-making.

As Nickinson put it, AI is helping “liberate the data” and expand the questions utilities can ask of it.

Episode at waterloop.org and wherever you listen to podcasts.

10/19/2026

After years of collecting and organizing data, the water sector appears to be reaching a turning point: AI is helping utilities put that information to work proactively.

In this episode, Seth Nickinson, Director of Product at brings the perspective of a software developer responding to what utilities need from AI—and what still makes them cautious.

He sees adoption accelerating as people bring personal experience with tools like ChatGPT into the workplace, along with firsthand knowledge of their limitations.

That puts trust at the center of the conversation: an AI tool needs to understand the questions utility staff are asking and work reliably with their system’s records.

The practical opportunities often involve time-consuming work, such as analyzing inspection histories or preparing the same findings for different audiences. SewerAI’s new Command Center offers one example, letting users ask questions about their inspection records and digital maps in everyday language.

AI is also shortening the path from a customer’s request to a new software capability, changing how quickly developers can respond to local needs.

An equally important challenge is preserving the knowledge of retiring employees who understand why their particular sewer system behaves the way it does. Protecting those records raises questions about where data goes and whether outside AI providers can use it for training.

Looking ahead, Nickinson expects more analysis to happen directly inside inspection robots and sensors rather than on distant servers. His vision is an assistant that helps utilities adapt a maintenance schedule when a storm arrives or equipment fails, connecting accumulated knowledge to the decisions crews face that day.

Episode at link in bio, on , and wherever you listen to podcasts.

10/16/2026

In Greeley, a water leak that once could go unnoticed for weeks can now show up in the data within minutes.

John Goyen, a civil engineer with Greeley Water and Sewer who managed the city’s meter replacement project, explains the difference between the old system and Advanced Metering Infrastructure, or AMI.

The previous meters essentially provided one snapshot of water use each month. If a pipe started leaking between readings, a customer might not discover it until a much higher bill arrived weeks later.

The new cellular meters transmit water-use information every 15 minutes. That gives the utility and its customers a much clearer view of when water is being used—and when an unusual pattern could signal a leak.

The upgrade was substantial. Greeley needed to replace about 29,000 aging meters across homes and businesses, turning a routine maintenance problem into a major infrastructure investment.

Two Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART grants provided about $3.5 million toward the broader effort. WaterNow helped Greeley compete for federal funding by reviewing grant materials and providing guidance based on successful projects in other communities.

For Greeley, the meter is no longer simply a device for calculating a monthly bill. It has become a tool for finding water loss faster, giving customers better information, and managing demand with much greater precision.

Resilience In The Rockies is a waterloop series produced in collaboration with WaterNow and made possible in part by a grant from the CO Water Conservation Board, with support from PCL Construction, Norris Design, ENG+ARCH+GEO, and the Greeley, Colorado

10/15/2026

At a golf course in Colorado’s high desert, drought is changing where every gallon goes.

John Atencio, head golf professional at Cattails Golf Course in Alamosa, says the old back-nine irrigation system was more than 40 years old, leaking badly, and forcing maintenance crews to spend much of their time simply keeping it operational.

The replacement system gives staff far more control. During severe drought, they can reduce irrigation on roughs and areas outside normal play while directing limited water to fairways, tees, and greens.

That precision is part of a $1.3 million overhaul that replaced more than 10,000 feet of leaking pipe. The project eliminated an estimated 18 percent system water loss and is expected to save roughly 12 to 18 acre-feet annually.

A $500,000 Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grant helped Alamosa close the funding gap. WaterNow worked with the city through its Grant Help Desk to pursue the federal funding.

The result is not simply a greener golf course. It is a public irrigation system that can respond to drought by putting scarce Rio Grande water where it delivers the most value—and avoiding water loss before it ever reaches the grass.

Episode at waterloop.org and wherever you listen to podcasts.

Resilience In The Rockies is a waterloop series produced in collaboration with WaterNow and made possible in part by a grant from the CO Water Conservation Board, with support from PCL Construction, Norris Design, ENG+ARCH+GEO, and the Greeley, Colorado

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