The Water Data Podcast

Why is water never just a technical problem? Who gets water, who loses access, and who gets to decide?In this episode of the Water Data Podcast, Professor Margreet Zwarteveen, an internationally recognised scholar of water governance, irrigation, gender, and the politics of natural resources, joins host Veena Srinivasan, Executive Director at WELL Labs.Margreet Zwarteveen is Professor of Water Governance Education at IHE Delft and Professor of Governance and Inclusive Development at the University of Amsterdam. Trained first as an irrigation engineer and later as a social scientist, her work has shaped how we understand water as a deeply social and political resource.In this conversation, Margreet explains why every water intervention – whether it is a dam, canal, borewell, drip irrigation system or water market  , all make political choices. Technical designs decide who gets access to water, whose labour is recognised, whose land and water rights matter, and whose knowledge is ignored.The episode explores irrigation resettlement schemes, farmer participation, water titling, gender in irrigation engineering, the risks of narrow efficiency metrics, and the hidden politics behind “wise” water use. Margreet also discusses why women’s water work is often invisible, how borewells and infrastructure reshape water access, and why water governance must learn from everyday practices on the ground.The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water, hosted by Veena Srinivasan.For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-margreet-zwarteveen/ Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Nanditha Gogate and Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Vraj Acharya. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar and Kanishka Goyal. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

How can a satellite measure water buried deep underground? What can space-based observations tell us about groundwater depletion across the world? And how is this data shaping the future of water policy and governance?Professor Jay Famiglietti, a leading hydrologist and former NASA scientist, joins host Veena Srinivasan on this episode of the Water Data Podcast to discuss the revolutionary GRACE satellite mission.Jay is a Global Futures Professor at Arizona State University and is widely known for developing methods to detect groundwater depletion from space. His work has reshaped how scientists and policymakers understand global water systems.In this episode, Jay and Veena unpack how GRACE measures tiny changes in Earth’s gravity to detect gains and losses in water mass. They explore how this technology has revealed major groundwater depletion hotspots across the world, including India, California, the Middle East, and China.The conversation also examines the complex relationship between climate change and human water use, and why these forces are deeply intertwined. Finally, they reflect on how satellite data is influencing policy from drought monitoring systems to groundwater governance and what the future holds for global hydrology.The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water, hosted by Veena Srinivasan.For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit here. Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Vraj Acharya and Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Nabina Chakraborty. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar and Kanishka Goyal. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

Listen to host Veena Srinivasan as she continues to talk to researchers, innovators, government officials and business leaders working on the forefront of water systems. The show features rich conversations on the science, systems, and stories that shape our water future. Episodes drop every other Tuesday. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more updates. Watch episodes from season two here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrHB5gd1QIB8Tc2zlGRrz5QCxxP70FNBh&si=oQ-hH87g7IB5MhCG

What does water have to do with power, caste, labor, and economic policy?In this episode of the Water Data Podcast, Professor Trevor Birkenholtz (Penn State University) explains how political ecology helps us understand groundwater, irrigation, and large-scale water infrastructure in India.Trevor Birkenholtz is a political ecologist and development geographer with regional interests in South Asia and the United States. His empirical interests are in water-supply development, water infrastructure, wetlands and the politics of environmental change.This conversation explores how water systems are shaped not just by engineering, but by power, history, caste, labor, and policy decisions. How do subtle reservoir rule changes dispossess farmers? And why is urban “drinking water” often an industrial demand?This episode is essential listening for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners working at the intersection of water, agriculture, and development.For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-trevor-birkenholtz/ The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app – and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Vraj Acharya and Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Vraj Acharya. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar and Kanishka Goyal. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

In this episode of The Water Data Podcast, host Veena Srinivasan speaks with Dr. Himanshu Kulkarni, hydrogeologist and co-founder of ACWADAM, about groundwater science in India – from basalt aquifers and rural irrigation to springshed revival in the Himalayas and participatory groundwater management.This episode was recorded in November 2025 on the sidelines of a two-day event celebrating the life and work of Dr. Himanshu Kulkarni, marking his recognition with the 2025 International Water Prize by the University of Oklahoma. Because the conversation was long and deeply insightful, we’re releasing it in two parts – this is Part 2.In this episode, Dr. Kulkarni explains how participatory groundwater management (PGWM) evolved in India, and why aquifers must be treated as common pool resources. He shares field-based examples of PGWM “models” in practice — from borewell bans and drinking water protection zones to borehole pooling and crop planning. He also reflects on the biggest external forces shaping groundwater outcomes, especially energy policy and market incentives. Through this conversation, he explains why urban groundwater remains “hidden”, and why cities must treat recharge as a public service, not just an individual mandate. Finally, he highlights the major unanswered questions in groundwater today — contamination and depletion — and why groundwater science will always remain a field science.The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-himanshu-kulkarni-pt2/Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app – and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Vedant Ambrule and Tippana Chaitanya. Video editing by Nabina Chakraborty. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar and Kanishka Goyal. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

In this episode of The Water Data Podcast, host Veena Srinivasan speaks with Dr. Himanshu Kulkarni, hydrogeologist and co-founder of ACWADAM, about groundwater science in India – from basalt aquifers and rural irrigation to springshed revival in the Himalayas and participatory groundwater management.This episode was recorded in November 2025 on the sidelines of a two-day event celebrating the life and work of Dr. Himanshu Kulkarni, marking his recognition with the 2025 International Water Prize by the University of Oklahoma. Because the conversation was long and deeply insightful, we’re releasing it in two parts – this is Part 1.In this episode, Dr. Kulkarni traces the origins of his groundwater journey – from early memories of the first wells and springs he encountered, to studying geology and being mentored by an exceptional hydrogeology teacher Vilasrao Salunkhe. He then takes us into his landmark field research in Pabal in rural Maharashtra, where detailed well surveys and long-term measurements revealed how basalt aquifers behave, why groundwater availability varies sharply across the same landscape, and how farming decisions around wells, pumps, and crops change when water availability and markets shift together. Along the way, the conversation unpacks key hydrogeology ideas in accessible ways, including layered basalt aquifers, heterogeneity, anisotropy, transmissivity, storage, and why some wells are productive only seasonally while others sustain longer.They also discuss groundwater decline, cropping pattern changes, watershed development, spring revival programmes, community water governance, urban groundwater challenges, and why trust and local knowledge cannot be scaled like physical infrastructure. The episode reflects on groundwater as a shared commons and introduces the broader arc of Dr. Kulkarni’s work – from the watershed movement and the emerging groundwater crisis to the practice-driven approach that later shaped ACWADAM’s capacity building efforts and participatory groundwater management in India.The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-himanshu-kulkarni-pt1/ Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app – and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Vedant Ambrule and Tippana Chaitanya. Video editing by Nabina Chakraborty. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar and Kanishka Goyal. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

How can simple models explain the complexity of rivers, landscapes and water systems?  Why does hydrology sometimes struggle to connect theory and reality?In this episode of the Water Data Podcast, Veena Srinivasan speaks with Prof. Hubert Savenije, Emeritus Professor of Hydrology at TU Delft and one of the most influential thinkers in modern hydrological science.They discuss Hubert’s early journey in hydrology and how intuition shaped his scientific thinking, the importance of embracing uncertainty in water science, and why catchments behave like complex adaptive systems. They explore emergent hydrological behaviour, the limits of top-down and bottom-up modelling approaches, the role of vegetation and root systems in storing water and shaping landscape memory, and the difference between evaporation and transpiration in driving water loss. The discussion also covers large-scale water balance patterns such as Budyko curves, the challenges of modelling hydrology under climate change, the risks of over-parameterisation and data-heavy modelling approaches, and practical advice for young researchers on building intuition, spending time in the field, and connecting theory with real-world observation.This episode offers a rare philosophical and practical perspective on hydrology- bridging theory, observation, and imagination.The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-hubert-savenije/Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app – and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Vraj Acharya, Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Vraj Acharya. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

When a lake turns green with algae, or nitrate shows up in drinking water, the most obvious question would be: Why can’t we fix this quickly?In this episode of the Water Data Podcast, Veena Srinivasan speaks with Professor Nandita Basu from the University of Waterloo about nitrogen and phosphorus legacies – the hidden nutrient stores in soils, groundwater, and sediments that keep polluting waterways for decades.They unpack how the Haber-Bosch process transformed agriculture, why nitrogen use efficiency stays low, and how drained agricultural landscapes can rapidly transport nitrates from fields to major river systems and even the Gulf of Mexico. They also explore why phosphorus behaves differently - sticking to soils and sediments, fuelling algal blooms, and creating stubborn feedback loops when lakes turn low-oxygen.Finally, they discuss what can still be done: turning the ‘easy knobs’ like phosphate in detergents, targeting livestock manure hotspots, using small ponds and wetlands as high-impact interventions, and why India urgently needs far more empirical measurement to diagnose problems and track solutions.The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit ________Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app – and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Vraj Acharya, Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Vraj Acharya. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

How do forests shape our water security? Why do rivers need to flow? And what happens to fish, turtles and gharials when dams shut off water?In this episode, host Veena Srinivasan speaks with Jagdish Krishnaswamy to explore the science that connects hydrology, ecology, and the people who depend on India’s rivers and landscapes. From the Western Ghats to the Himalayas, from springs to large reservoirs, this episode dives into decades of pioneering field research, where data collection meets cutting-edge science. Jagdish Krishnaswamy joins host Veena Srinivasan on Season 2, Episode 10 of the Water Data Podcast. In this episode, they further discuss the complex "sponge" effect of forests in the Western Ghats and how exotic plantations impact water infiltration. They travel to the Eastern Himalayas to understand the drying of springs and the nuances of restoration beyond simple tree planting. The conversation also highlights the concept of "Hungry Water," the critical importance of sediment, and the struggle for survival of the Gharial in the face of flow alterations.Dr Krishnaswamy is one of India’s most respected ecohydrologists, integrating engineering, statistics, and ecology to understand how water and ecosystems co-evolve. His work has informed restoration, protected species, and reshaped water policy debates in India.The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-jagdish-krishnaswamy/Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app – and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Vraj Acharya, Nanditha Gogate and Pavan Srinath. Video editing by Nabina Chakraborty. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

In this episode, host Veena Srinivasan speaks with Henk Ovink who is often called the world’s first “Water Diplomat” for a deep and wide-ranging conversation on trust, global cooperation, imagined redundancy, and the future of water governance around the world.Henk Ovink, joins host Veena Srinivasan on Season 2, Episode 9 of the Water Data Podcast. Henk has had an extraordinary career shaping water diplomacy and resilience - from serving as the Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, to leading Rebuild by Design under President Obama after Hurricane Sandy, to co-chairing the Global Commission on the Economics of Water. He is also the Chair of the Board at IWMI.In this episode, they discuss why trust is the foundation for any collective action and why “everything moves at the speed of trust.” Drawing from his experiences such as Rebuild by Design in the US, Water as Leverage in Asia, and global water negotiations at the UN, Henk illustrates how durable, community-owned solutions emerge.The conversation highlights how the Global Commission on the Economics of Water reframed the hydrological cycle, equity, and valuation for policymakers worldwideThe Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-henk-ovink/Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app – and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Vraj Acharya, Nanditha Gogate and Pavan Srinath. Video editing by Vraj Acharya. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

How should we understand groundwater in a warming world? Why has groundwater become the climate resilience resource for millions of people and what do we now know about how fast recharge can occur? What does new data tell us about the future of groundwater across Africa and Asia? And how can communities and governments manage groundwater without falling into the trap of over-extraction?In this episode, host Veena Srinivasan speaks with Richard Taylor who has spent decades studying groundwater systems across East Africa, West Africa, South Asia, and the UK, and has helped reshape how scientists understand recharge, resilience, and climate impacts underground.Professor Richard G. Taylor, a leading global expert on groundwater and climate change from University College London (UCL) joins host Veena Srinivasan on Season 2, Episode 8 of the Water Data Podcast. Richard has spent decades studying groundwater systems across East Africa, West Africa, South Asia, and the UK, and has helped reshape how scientists understand recharge, resilience, and climate impacts underground.In this episode, they discuss why groundwater is our largest and most crucial distributed store of freshwater and serves as a critical buffer against climate change. They explore how a warming world leads to fewer but heavier rainfalls, and what this means for increasing groundwater recharge, especially in the tropics. Professor Taylor further explains the science behind rapid recharge, a concept derived from his work in East and West Africa, where water travels through "macropores" to reach deep aquifers in just hours or days. They also touch upon the "Sahelian paradox," a curious case in places like Niger where groundwater levels are rising due to changes in land use.The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-richard-taylor/Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app – and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Nabina Chakraborty and Nanditha Gogate. Video editing by Nabina Chakraborty. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

How do we balance the science of water flows with the spiritual and social lives that rivers sustain? What does it mean to define “environmental flows” in a country where rivers are sacred? How can data, stories, and citizen science come together to restore river health?In this episode, host Veena Srinivasan and guest co-host Nirat Bhatnagar of Dalberg Advisors are joined by two remarkable guests: Dr. Sejal Worah, Programme Director at WWF India, and Dr. Kate Brauman, Lead Scientist at the Global Water Security Center, University of Alabama.Together, they explore the evolution of environmental flows, the quantity, timing, and quality of water flows needed to sustain ecosystems and human well-being. Dr. Worah reflects on WWF India’s 18-year journey from pioneering environmental flow assessments in the Ganga to mobilizing citizen scientists through “Ganga Mitras” to monitor river health. Dr. Brauman, meanwhile, shares insights from Latin America and the U.S. on how data and narrative intersect - how communities, governments, and ecosystems co-create meaning around water.The conversation ranges from the challenges of gathering hydrological data in India to the cultural significance of the Ganga, from payments for ecosystem services in South America to inefficiencies in canal systems in India. Both guests share how values, relationships, and adaptive management are as critical as data itself in governing water.For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-brauman-worah/Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app - and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Dalberg. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

Nitrogen has been feeding billions, but it is now overloading our soils, waters, and air. Why is the fertilizer that fuels our food supply also creating a massive pollution problem? How do India's large fertilizer subsidies fit into this, and what are the long-term health risks of "legacy nitrogen" already in our groundwater?Esha Zaveri, Senior Economist at the World Bank joins host Veena Srinivasan on Season 2, Episode 7 of the Water Data Podcast.Esha Zaveri is trained as an environmental economist. Her core work addresses issues at the intersection of environmental health, agricultural impacts, water resources, climate change, and development policy, spanning  global to region- and country-level assessments in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.  In this episode, Esha and Veena zoom into India’s use of urea for agriculture, large fertilizer subsidies, low nitrogen use efficiency, groundwater exposure, and the challenge of legacy nitrogen that slows water-quality recovery. Further Esha also lays out how to cut pollution without cutting yields.Esha explains why only a fraction of fertilizer reaches crops, why the rest leaks into groundwater and coasts, the health risks (from methemoglobinemia or blue baby syndrome to emerging low-level exposure links), and the policy levers that work—precision agronomy, enhanced-efficiency fertilizers, extension services, and redirecting subsidies to support farmer transitions.The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-eshazaveri/ Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app – and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Nabina Chakraborty and Ritik Pathak. Video editing by Nabina Chakraborty. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

What makes the Indo-Gangetic Basin one of the most important aquifers in the world? How do stable isotopes, CFCs, and even traces of pharmaceuticals help us understand where groundwater comes from and how old it is? Can satellites like GRACE and InSAR give us new insights into groundwater depletion and recharge in South Asia?Alan M. MacDonald, Head of Groundwater at the British Geological Survey, joins host Veena Srinivasan on Season 2, Episode 6 of the Water Data Podcast.Alan is a hydrogeologist with over 30 years of research experience in Africa and South Asia, and has published widely on groundwater, climate change, and aquifer systems In this episode, Alan and Veena dive deep into the Indo-Gangetic Basin, exploring how its young sediments and complex geology shape groundwater availability, why salinity and depletion can exist side by side, and how historical canal records still influence water levels today.Alan explains how tracer studies and isotope hydrology reveal the origins of groundwater, and how modern tools like satellites are transforming our understanding of recharge, depletion, and salinity.The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-alanmacdonald/ Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app – and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Nabina Chakraborty and Nanditha Gogate. Video editing by Vraj Acharya. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

Professor Murugesu Sivapalan shares how the field of hydrology has evolved over the past few decades, on Season 2, Episode 5 of the Water Data Podcast.Prof Murugesu Sivapalan is the Chester and Helen Siess Endowed Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr Sivapalan is an award-winning academic and was founding chair of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) Decade on Predictions in Ungauged Basins (PUB) initiative. His work on Predictions in Ungauged Basins as well as in socio-hydrology have shaped the discipline of hydrology as we know it today. Host Veena Srinivasan talks to Dr Sivapalan about his rich career of starting out with hydrological modeling, and early explorations into collecting and analysing hydrological data to infer how complex catchment and river basin systems functioned. Hydrology is the science of the movement, distribution and management of water. Dr Sivapalan walks us through how the ‘Predictions in Ungauged Basins’ decade pushed people to better understand the physical processes around the hydrological cycle, beyond statistical analyses and calibrated models. He shares how catchments co-evolved with the biology they sustained, and how they shaped each other. Dr Sivapalan goes on to talk about socio-hydrology, and how human activities also shape river basins and water systems, and vice versa. He explores how it is impossible to understand water systems today without paying close attention to human behaviour and human actions.The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-sivapalan/ Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app - and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Nabina Chakraborty. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

Host Veena Srinivasan sits down with Dr. Tom Gleeson, renowned hydrologist and Professor at the University of Victoria, Canada. Dr. Tom Gleeson shares his journey from a small-town experience with groundwater contamination to becoming a global leader in groundwater research. The conversation explores Tom’s early fieldwork in fractured rock aquifers, the challenges of modeling groundwater systems, and his pivotal role in developing global groundwater sustainability frameworks. Tom and Veena discuss the importance of context in water management and the need for both local and global perspectives.This is Season 2, Episode 4 of the Water Data Podcast, a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. Veena Srinivasan is an award-winning socio-hydrologist as well as the founder and Executive Director of WELL Labs, a water systems research and innovation centre based in Bengaluru, India.Dr Gleeson also delves into his recent work on community-based watershed monitoring and the power of citizen science, highlighting innovative projects that blend science, policy, and indigenous data governance. The episode concludes with a thought-provoking discussion on integrating art and emotion into science communication, emphasising that real change comes from engaging both the mind and the heart.Subscribe to the Water Data Podcast for more conversations at the intersection of data, science, and society!For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-gleeson/ Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app - and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Nabina Chakraborty. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

How and why does flooding take place? How are flood risks evolving with climate change and large-scale human alteration of riverscapes and watersheds? Does it even make sense to measure a ‘100-year-flood’ any more?Stockholm Water Prize 2025 winner Dr Guenter Bloeschl shares a masterclass on the science and management of floods on the third episode of Season 2 of the Water Data Podcast. The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. Professor Guenter Bloeschl is a hydrologist, engineer and academic from Austria. Dr Bloeschl is Head of the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management, Director of the Centre for Water Resource Systems of the Vienna University of Technology as well as Chair of the Vienna Doctoral Programme on Water Resource Systems.He is also the 2025 recipient of the Stockholm Water Prize, awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Stockholm Water Foundation. One of the highest honours in the water sciences, Dr Bloeschl received it for his extensive work on flood risk reduction, water resource management, flood scaling, and regional process hydrology. In this episode, Dr Bloeschl talks about the science of flooding, what research shows about the evolving causes and impacts of floods in Europe, and flood mitigation and management lessons for India and the world.For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-bloeschl Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app - and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Vraj Acharya. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

Do farmers share and sell groundwater to each other informally? Can you price water for farmers? How does new technology get adopted in agriculture? Does solar irrigation make sense for India?Dr Soumya Balasubramanya has a wide-ranging discussion with host Veena Srinivasan on the second episode of Season 2 of the Water Data Podcast.Dr Soumya Balasubramanya is a senior economist with the World Bank, and previously a Senior Researcher in Environment and Development Economics at the International Water Management Institute-CGIAR. Soumya has worked extensively on analysing informal groundwater markets in South Asia, on irrigation and solar-powered irrigation, on pricing, and on evaluating water quality interventions in Arsenic-polluted waters.This episode is co-hosted by Pavan Srinath, Managing Partner at WELL Labs.For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://bit.ly/waterdatapod-sbalaSubscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app - and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Pavan Srinath. Video editing by Nabina Chakraborty. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

How do you develop a water policy for a state like Karnataka, and how do you implement it well? How can you bring the best of science, engineering and citizen engagement to water management in government? What does it mean to build a think tank within the government?Dr Somasekhar Rao has a wide-ranging discussion with host Veena Srinivasan on the first episode of Season 2 of the Water Data Podcast.Dr Somasekhar Rao is Director (Technical) of the Advanced Centre for Integrated Water Resources Management (ACIWRM), Government of Karnataka and helped the state government start the institution in 2015. Working with the Netherlands government and later with the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Dr Rao created and ran large-scale groundwater management programmes in Andhra Pradesh: APWELL and APFAGMS. He has also worked with the Asian Development Bank, and has spent the last 15 years modernising and reforming water management in Karnataka and mainstreaming river basin management and integrated water resources management in the state. He also helped the government bring in a new Karnataka State Water Policy 2022. The episode features an expansive conversation exploring all this and more. For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://bit.ly/waterdatapod-psraoSubscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app - and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts! Recording by Vraj Acharya, Ritik Pathak and Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Vraj Acharya and Nabina Chakraborty. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. Every other Tuesday, sit down and listen to researchers, innovators, government officials and business leaders working on the forefront of water systems. New episodes out from June 22, 2025!Veena Srinivasan is an award-winning socio-hydrologist as well as the founder and Executive Director of WELL Labs, a water systems research and innovation centre based in Bengaluru, India. The Water Data Podcast features discussions on what data and research tell us about water systems, about how climate change is affecting them and how human use of water is transforming the stock and flow of water across diverse landscapes and aquifers. The show focuses on how we can collectively manage water systems better.Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app - and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.Recording by Vraj Acharya, Nanditha Gogate and Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Vraj Acharya. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

The episode focuses on the  role and use of data for corporate water stewardship. Our guests  Hari Hegde from Wipro Limited and Jason Morisson from the CEO Water Mandate and the  Pacific Institute join us to talk about  business action, how businesses can become water efficient and how data ties into these questions. They walk us through their journey with corporate water stewardship.The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. Every other Tuesday, sit down and listen to researchers, innovators, government officials and business leaders working on the forefront of water systems. This episode was originally uploaded in 2021, and is hosted by Nirat Bhatnagar, Partner at Dalberg, and Veena Srinivasan. The episode has been re-uploaded in 2025.

In this episode, Ranjiv Khush from Aquaya Institute and Dr. Sunderrajan Krishnan from INREM foundation walk us through their journey with water data and its connections with water quality and public health. They discuss why water quality is important to them, the different facets of measuring water quality, different approaches to data-driven solutions towards better public health and the bottlenecks to scaling them.The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. Every other Tuesday, sit down and listen to researchers, innovators, government officials and business leaders working on the forefront of water systems. This episode was originally uploaded in 2021, and is hosted by Nirat Bhatnagar, Partner at Dalberg, and Veena Srinivasan. The episode has been re-uploaded in 2025.

In the first episode episode, our guests Peter Gleick from Pacific Institute and Rohini Nilekani from Arghyam, join us to talk about the role and importance of water data and the trends they have observed in the sector through decades of practice. They discuss the challenges and gaps in the water data ecosystem and how we can collaborate better, learn from each other and bring about a culture of using water data in decision making.The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan. Every other Tuesday, sit down and listen to researchers, innovators, government officials and business leaders working on the forefront of water systems. This episode was originally uploaded in 2021, and is hosted by Nirat Bhatnagar, Partner at Dalberg, and Veena Srinivasan. The episode has been re-uploaded in 2025.