On one of the most popular episodes of the Talking With the Experts podcast yet, host Mike Nichols welcomes two AEM colleagues, Ryan Guerrero (Product Manager, Hardware) and Chad Ballard (Senior Engineer), to explore where water monitoring is heading and what's driving innovation. They tackle the intersection of Ryan and Chad's expertise -- how to transform real-time data into actionable, reliable intelligence that local leaders can trust to make decisions -- and discuss trends in hydrometeorological monitoring.
You can watch their conversation below to get the full story:
Here’s a timestamped breakdown of the topics and themes that Ryan, Chad, and Mike explored in their conversation:
- 1:45 - Ryan and Chad discuss their backgrounds and perspectives on hydrology
- 3:20 - Mike, Chad, and Ryan identify the biggest developments of the last few years in the flood warning and hydrometeorology spaces
- 5:40 - Ryan and Chad explore how and why data sharing, accessibility, and visualization are more relevant than ever for local leaders and agencies
- 8:03 - Ryan explains why "lower-price" monitoring equipment often ends up with a higher cost of ownership over time and why data-only solutions are insufficient
- 10:29 - Chad and Ryan unpack the challenge of scaling a monitoring network to a region or community's specific needs when data is scarce and weather doesn't respect municipal boundaries
- 15:07 - Chad provides the Texas Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF) as an example of a program that's improving flood resilience by bringing local communities together to share water intelligence
- 17:03 - Chad and Ryan each offer their biggest piece of advice to anyone designing a hydrometeorological warning system right now
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