AquaDiary Podcast

139 Million Gallons a Day: The Seneca Lake Power Plant That Wants to Run AI

3K views · 4d ago · 22:18

A power plant on Seneca Lake in Dresden, NY is permitted to pull up to 139 million gallons of water out of the lake every day. It used to burn coal, then it mined Bitcoin. Now its owner, Vulcan Infrastructure and Power (formerly Greenidge), wants to turn it into an AI data center. Does that change what goes into Seneca Lake, and what comes back out? I read the plant’s state water permit so you don’t have to.

Topics: Greenidge power plant · How does plant cooling work? · Water permits and discharge limits · Water withdrawal vs. consumption · What are harmful algal blooms? · Seneca Lake bloom trends

Ithaca, NY Voted to Protect a Lake Monster. I Investigated.

2.8K views · 2w ago · 44:44

In 1804, a newspaper claimed two fishermen shot and killed a 100-foot serpent in Cayuga Lake. Over 200 years later, the city of Ithaca has an official resolution protecting it. In this episode, I team up with Kenny Biddle, Chief Investigator at the Center for Inquiry, to dig through the old newspaper trail, measure the monster, and talk to the people keeping the legend alive.

What is an Atmospheric River, and Where Will It Be in 2026?

7.8K views · 1mo ago · 29:06

There's a river in the sky carrying up to 15x the flow of the Mississippi River. You've heard the term atmospheric river in the news — this episode is the explanation nobody gave you.

Topics: What Is an Atmospheric River? · How Water Vapor Becomes Rain (IVT & Orographic Lift) · Soil & Compound Flood Factors · The AR Category Scale (AR1 to AR5) · Historic Floods & California's ARkStorm · What Is a "Water Year"?

The 7-Minute Warning: Why Nobody Saw Nepal's Mountain Collapse Coming

27K views · 1mo ago · 19:26

How does a mountain collapse cause a flood when there is almost no rain? In August 2026, a rock-and-ice avalanche collapsed from the northern face of Langtang Lirung in Nepal, sending an enormous volume of material down the Himalayan valley and generating a seismic signal equivalent to a magnitude 5.2 earthquake.

Topics: What happened in Nepal? · Glacier Physics · Pre-Event Warning Signs · Hanging Glaciers vs. Lake Outburst Floods · Scale, Volume & Where the Water Came From · Second Landslide & Early Warning Challenges

How Rochester, NY Manages Algae Before It Touches Your Tap

5.6K views · 2mo ago · 46:50

What happens when algae show up in the water that eventually becomes your drinking water? In this episode of AquaDiary, we go behind the scenes again with Rochester, NY to find out how the city monitors for algae, where and how they collect samples, what they're looking for in those samples, and how they ensure algae toxins never become a drinking water concern.

Is Fluoride Lowering Your IQ? I Read the Studies So You Don't Have To.

5.4K views · 2mo ago · 26:16

Fluoride is under a federal microscope right now. RFK Jr. told the CDC to drop its fluoridation recommendation, Utah already banned it, and the EPA fast-tracked a new toxicity review. So, is your tap water lowering your kid's IQ?

Topics: The History of Fluoride Conspiracy Theories · Important Vocabulary: What is Fluoride? · Neurotoxicity vs. Dental Benefits · Common Myths of Fluoride Sources · The "Concerning" Fluoride Studies · Fluoride and Maternal Exposure

120 Homes, 40 Years, One Radioactive Story: Niagara County

5.2K views · 2mo ago · 23:40

Radioactive material has been found in the yards of over 120 homes in the Town of Niagara, NY, and four families have been relocated. But is this just a soil problem, or could it reach the water too? In this episode, I break down what's actually been found, why officials reportedly knew about radioactive hotspots in this area for nearly 40 years, and what the peer-reviewed science says about whether thorium contamination can migrate into groundwater.

70X Higher PFAS: What's Really in Lake Foam?

9.1K views · 2mo ago · 1:04:59

Guest: Rick Smith

There's a beach on one of the cleanest lakes in America with foam sitting on the shoreline, and it just tested over 70x higher for PFAS than the lake water two feet away.

Topics: Is Lake Foam Toxic? · Meet Rick Smith · Bridging the Gap: Science and Community Engagement · How Do the Finger Lakes Compare? · The Growing Threat of Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs) · Why are algae blooms getting worse?

The Water Plant Almost Nobody Gets to See: Rochester, NY (Full Tour)

9.3K views · 3mo ago · 1:00:11

Rochester, New York has been voted the best-tasting water in New York State twice. In this episode, I go inside the Hemlock Filtration Plant with the Rochester Water Bureau, for a complete walkthrough of how drinking water treatment actually works.

Topics: Is tap water more tested than bottled water? · How do we get water from the lake to the plant? · Why is monitoring algae so critical? · Why is carbon dioxide added to raw water? · How does your shower affect the whole system? · The dry well - finished water storage

Smoke on the Water: How Canada's Wildfires Change Lakes

5.4K views · 3mo ago · 32:36

In 2023, Canada's wildfires turned the sky over New York the color of a traffic cone. In July 2026, it's happening again. Everyone covers the smoke in our lungs. Almost nobody covers what that same smoke does to our drinking water and lakes.

Topics: The 2023 Wildfire Season · What Starts Wildfires? · Why Is the US Suppressing Wildfires? · How Does Smoke Impact Lakes? · Does Wildfire Smoke Add Nutrients to Lakes? · Lake Browning: Why Wildfires Turn Water to "Tea"

Lead, Tested: Inside the Rochester, NY Water Bureau

2.3K views · 3mo ago · 48:45

Rochester, NY has thousands of lead water service lines and a plan to replace all of them by 2030, years ahead of the federal deadline, at virtually cost to residents. How did they do it? And is the water in Rochester, NY safe to drink?

Topics: Can you trust that the lead problem is being handled? · How does a water quality chemist test for lead? · Why did Rochester decide to certify its own lab? · Who is managing the Rochester Water Bureau? · Why don't we hear about the pipes that don't break? · Is lead paint a bigger risk than lead water?

Reflecting Pool Algae Pt. 2: A Silver Bullet Solution? Scientist Reviews Everything.

32K views · 4mo ago · 26:22

Last week's reflecting pool video hit 400,000 views. The most common question in the comments: is there actually a fix for algae? I went through every tool and gave you an honest verdict on each one. Is there a silver bullet for algae? What actually kills a harmful algal bloom? What are cyanobacteria toxins and how dangerous are they? How do you tell if a bloom is toxic just by looking at it? What do lake managers actually do differently?

Topics: Why should we care about algae blooms? · Why are algae blooms dangerous? · How to identify toxic algae?. · Algaecides, do they work? · Does pond or lake mixing help with algae? · How do professionals manage algae blooms?

$16 Million, Dead Ducks, and Algae: The Reflecting Pool Explained by a Scientist

519K views · 4mo ago · 24:27

Why did the Reflecting Pool get an algae bloom? Why did the paint peel off? Is the Reflecting Pool safe? What killed the ducks? Why did the $16 million renovation fail?

Topics: The Reflecting Pool Algae: A Synopsis · Reflecting Pool Flaws · No-Bid Contracts for the Pool · Dark Blue vs. Gray: The Thermal Mistake · Was the Algae in the Reflecting Pool Toxic? · Dead Ducks in the Reflecting Pool

Microplastics in Your Water: What Does Science ACTUALLY Know?

4.6K views · 4mo ago · 30:31

Microplastics have been found in 83% of tap water samples tested worldwide, and yes, that includes yours. But here's what almost no one covering this topic will actually say: as of 2026, peer-reviewed science does not yet have a definitive answer on what that means for your health. I'm an environmental scientist, and this episode gives you the honest version; the research, the real gaps, and the practical steps that are actually supported by evidence.

Topics: Microplastics Are Everywhere · How Microplastics Enter Our Homes · Tap Water vs. The "Last Mile" (PEX & Pipes) · The Bottled Water Purity Myth · Health Risks: What We Know (and Don’t) · Which Filters Actually Work?

📚 Books mentioned: Buy the book · Buy the book · Buy the book · Buy the book

$100 BILLION Chip Factory Coming to Syracuse: Scientist Answers All Water Questions

43K views · 4mo ago · 34:01

Micron Technology is building the largest semiconductor fabrication complex in U.S. history in Clay, New York, and its wastewater will carry ( mostly unregulated) PFAS, the "forever chemicals," into a river system that connects to drinking water for half a million people.

Topics: Syracuse's Unfiltered Water · Core Questions about Micron · Explaining Semiconductors · The PFAS Issue · EPA Sampling Gaps · Micron's Wastewater