Experience Leads to Progress With Leland Myers

Leland Myers is the Executive Director of the Wasatch Front Water Quality Council, a collaborative research organization focused on protecting Utah Lake, the Jordan River, and the Great Salt Lake ecosystem. With more than 35 years of experience — including leadership of the Central Davis Sewer District and guidance on more than $2.5 billion in treatment plant upgrades — he has helped reduce nutrient pollution and shaped Utah's cost-effective wastewater standards, ecosystem management strategies, and sewer collection rules. Leland's work has earned national recognition, including an EPA award for outstanding wastewater operations.  In this episode… Wastewater systems are often judged by what comes out of the pipe, but the smartest decisions begin much earlier. Utilities weigh regulations, ratepayer costs, infrastructure conditions, and ecosystem outcomes before committing to major upgrades. How can wastewater leaders make progress without spending more than the science can justify? The answer is using research and data to guide practical, adaptive decisions. Leland Myers brings decades of wastewater leadership and ecosystem research experience, and he explains why utilities should understand nutrient sources, treatment impacts, and watershed conditions before accepting new requirements or investing in costly upgrades. Rather than chasing the lowest possible pollutant levels, Leland emphasizes aligning improvements with measurable ecosystem benefits, maintaining public trust through cost-conscious planning, and using collection system data to guide maintenance frequency, capacity planning, and inflow and infiltration strategies. The result is a more disciplined approach to compliance, infrastructure renewal, and long-term environmental stewardship. In this episode of Saving Our Sewers, Eric Petersen sits down with Leland Myers, Executive Director at Wasatch Front Water Quality Council, to discuss how science-based wastewater research can shape smarter sewer management. Leland shares why nutrient rules need ecological justification, how data support affordable upgrades, and what collection systems need to do to stay ahead of failure. He also touches on PFAS, regulatory oversight, and lifelong learning.