 and welcome to my show. I certainly hope you enjoyed our show about getting the kids back to school, back to normalcy. I had a lot of comments about that show because it's front page news every day, they're talking about on the Today Show. How do we get our kids back to normal? Well, I'm gonna switch topics today to something as important to you as anything in your life. And the person I'm gonna talk to is about one of the most important people in your day-to-day life. We know that in our lives, there are three things that we need to survive. Shelter, food, and water. And according to most survival shows that you watch, we find out that probably the most important one is water. And yet here in Portland, here in Maine, we take it ever so granted. We take it for granted, we take showers at last an hour, washing cars, watering our plants. Whereas in other parts of the world, water is so sacred that even a glass is worth a ton of money. Today, I have a neighbor of mine. I was walking through the woods a couple days ago this week, and I ran into these people with Farmington shirts on. We start talking, and when this gentleman told me what he did for a living, I said, you've gotta be on my show. Paul Thomas Hunt, how are you? I am doing great today, how about you? I'm doing fine, Paul, so good to have you on the show. Paul, will you please tell the audience what your title is and exactly what you do on a day-to-day basis for the Portland Water District? My title is Environmental Services Manager, and what that essentially means is leading the group of people who are responsible for sort of all the environmental affairs of the company. So that includes monitoring, it includes lake protection, it includes security around the system, things like that. So I'm very blessed to have a very talented group of people who do all this work for the district and have for many years. And Paul, how many, approximately how many employees does the Portland Water District have total all over the place? We have 190 employees across the whole company, and it's an interesting company because we're sort of a construction company, a design company, an operations company, because we have a lot of facilities that are operated every day, and a finance company, and then we're also an environmental services company. So it's a very diverse group of people working on kind of all aspects of drinking water and wastewater treatment. Paul, I have to tell you that most of us here that take water for granted, and we do, I have to say, it's amazing that people will pay $3 for a gallon of gas, they'll pay a whole bunch of money for soda, and yet the water that they get for free, that they can just go to the tap and get the best drinking water. By the way, Paul, Sobego Water, is there a rating system throughout the country as to how high this water really is? There's a lot of different ways to answer that question because water quality, believe it or not, is not a simple thing. There's a lot of different ways to measure water quality, but to give you a sense of how fortunate we are in Portland, there are about 13,000 public water supplies in the United States that use either a lake or a river as the source. The other ones are groundwater, I'm not gonna talk about those, but the surface water supplies of 13,000, there are only 50 of them or so that are clean enough that the water doesn't have to be filtered first to remove particles before it's disinfected, and we're one of the 50, so to be in an exclusive group of 50 out of 13,000 is pretty impressive. Paul, I'm sitting here, I've never discussed this topic with anybody. I've been on the air for 20 years now, and you just gave a fact to me, because people love statistics, top 50, top whatever. I run Senior Track and I tell people I'm one of the top 15 in the country, but to be in the top 50 for surface water, which means that Paul, essentially a person could go to the Tobago Lake if they had to, put a glass in there and drink the water, and they're probably gonna be okay, right? I hope so, maybe not? I would not recommend that because we do disinfect the water, disinfect it three different ways. What we don't have to do is filter it first, almost every other supply, there's enough algae and sediment kind of floating in it, because these are lakes and rivers, and so they tend to have floating particles or suspended particles, and those have to be filtered out so that the disinfection can be effective. We have, Tobago Lake has so few suspended particles that there's really nothing to filter out. You can just go right to the disinfection step, but no, don't suggest to anybody that they drink lake water untreated. Paul, thank you for your candor and not letting me get away with that, but what you are saying is that if a person puts the glass in the water and looks at it, they're not gonna see a whole bunch of stuff floating around and that is spectacular, isn't it? Quite a thing. It is spectacular. There are, you know, the one measure of lake water quality is the transparency of the water. The more transparent it is, the less that's floating around in it, the better. And a typical, you know, Maine is blessed with thousands of beautiful lakes that you would swim in, that you would buy property by, and those typically have a transparency. You draw, the way you measure it is you lower a disc into the water on a tape measure and you measure when you can't see it anymore, and the bigger that number is, the better. And in Maine, a typical Maine lake, any of which you'd be proud to live next to, they typically have a transparency of five or six meters. So almost 20 feet down before the disc disappears, Subego Lake is double that, you know, is more than double that. Our average is 10.5 meters over the last 40 years and we've seen numbers over 15 meters, which is almost 50 feet down that you can still see this little disc. So Subego is, when we show our water quality data to people in other parts of the country, they think we're faking it. They think that cannot be raw lake water. That has to be not real, and it is real. Paul, what an amazing comment that they think you're faking. And by the way, another thing is the color of water. Poor people, some people in this country, God bless them. They got water, they pour it from the tap and it's got a color to it. I mean, we're fortunate that if you drink a glass of water, you look at it, it looks like water as opposed to something else, something you wouldn't want to drink. That's one way that we are so fortunate in Greater Portland is that our water is so clean, even to begin with, even before we begin the treatment process. But almost as important as that is how much, because there are communities in the country, especially when you go west of the Mississippi, where the demand for water is greater than the available water. And they might have a reservoir that has a few years at best of water, like in reserve. And of course they need rain to happen so that they can continue to provide water to their customers. Tobago Lake has over 800 billion gallons of water in it right now. And we use, our customers use about eight billion gallons in a year. So that means we have over 100 years in supply sitting there. As you and I are talking, there's 100 years worth of water sitting over there, waiting for us to use. So we're sort of the Saudi Arabia of water and it's outstandingly clean. Rarely, unlike almost any place else in the country. So the important thing though, is that we have an obligation to future generations to make sure that it stays that way. I guess I don't lay awake too much and worry about the quantity of water. There is so much there. But the quality of it, it's up to us to make sure that we keep the quality high for future generations. Paul, I've got a trivia question for our audience and I know that you're going to know it. And I'm going to ask the audience, you just gave them some, give us some numbers. I'm going to say to the audience, take a guess folks, there are 22 million gallons of water, 22 million gallons of water used by Portland area residents every A, year, B, every month, C, every day. Think about it. Every year, every month, every day, 22 million gallons, Paul's got the answer. Paul, what is it? That's how much our customers use in a day, 22 million in it. And the interesting thing is that you would expect, when you project ahead, a water utility is always doing, utilities are always doing master plans where you look 10 years ahead, 20 years ahead, because you don't want to be caught unprepared. Looking ahead, you'd expect the amount used to go up every year. So that 10 years from now, it would be 10% more or something. We've had pretty flat demand for water. I've been at the district 22 years. And that number, that 22 million gallons per day has not changed very much over that time. And even though we have seen some population growth, and so that's really attributed to people are more careful with water. There's a lot more low flow faucets and shower heads and things. People are more careful with water, which is a good thing because you said earlier that water's free. It's not exactly free. It actually, you pay a water bill. It's inexpensive given how important it is, but it is not free. And so it's good that people are more careful with it than maybe we were up 25 years ago. Paul, you bring up a point that I wanted to ask. I mentioned about the bills that we get every month, the water bill, the oil bill, the electricity bill, all the things that people complain about. I'm going to ask you, I'm going to say, well, I'll ask you, do people actually complain to you folks about that water bill? Do you ever get people complaining about it? No, I don't think we're moderately to low price, but compared to other water, and one thing is your bill is both water and sewer. So we can see that number that when you get a bill from, most of our customers are both water and sewer. So that bill is combined. But the number, I mean, I think on the average, a typical family of four would pay maybe $100 a month for those services. I don't know about you, but I've since kind of quit my TV, but I used to pay more than that just for my TV internet connection at the house. So to pay less for your water and wastewater service than for your TV and your internet is pretty shocking, really. It's shocking, Paul, because I do pay. I have spectrum, and I get all this stuff, HBO, or CineMax, all that stuff, and I pay a ton. More than the number you just said, by the way, one of the things that I wanted to ask you, you mentioned the water and the rainwater. I saw a thing on your internet website that about buying rain barrels. Do you folks sell rain barrels? The Portland Water Districts, one of our logos anyway, is from Subego to the sea. We provide water services from the watershed of Subego Lake, all the way to Casco Bay, and so it's the same drop of water, of course, that's landing on the ground in Bethel, Maine, and flowing down the river to Subego Lake, and then being drawn into your system, it goes to your tap, and then we don't sell you the water, we loan it to you, because you give it back to us in the form of wastewater, and then we treat it again, and then it gets discharged to the Brzezinski River or Casco Bay, depending on where you live. We care about, we're protecting public health and the environment, and I will tell you, I know quite a few of the 190 people who work for the Water District, because I've been there for quite a number of years, and one of the most impressive things is the ethic. There's really a sense of we're doing something important, it matters to people, and they expect us to do it well, and no one wants to hear about their water, by the way, you don't want to, exciting water is not good, it's boring water is what everybody wants. So we're trying to be sort of good stewards of public health and the environment, sort of from cradle to grave, I guess to look at it that way, and so rain, you know, the water that falls, the rain that falls here in Greater Portland runs off into Casco Bay and can have an impact on Casco Bay because it's gonna be scouring contaminants off the roads and off our yards and carrying that to Casco Bay. So rain barrels are a way to slow the water down because our houses and our streets speed the water up. So a rain barrel is a way to like pull the water that's coming off your roof and hold on to it, and actually you can use it in your garden, you can use that water. So even though we don't, you know, we're a non-profit anyway, but what we do is by, we don't sell the rain barrels exactly, we're kind of a middleman where the company that sells them, we buy them in bulk so we get a lower price, and then we pass that savings on to people in Greater Portland, anybody that wants one, you just sign up for it. I think they cost something like $60 in that range, but they would be over $100 if you bought the retail, and we're just doing that because we're trying to be part of the bigger picture of water management in Greater Portland. And Paul, I had a vision of watching cowboy movies where they're saving the barrels of water, that's the only water they can drink, and that was the vision, and what you just explained to me was no, Derry, it's not to save the water, and put your cup in, it's to stop the runoff. Now I want to get to a topic that's very important to you, it's what you talked about on the trails, and that is forever forest for Tobago Lake. That's a project that you feel very warm to your heart. Tell us about that. When I got the job 22 years ago, I was very proud of course, and I said, I've got a water job, I'm going to be testing water, I'm going to be protecting water, and it is a water job, but what I learned over the first several years is that the quality of water in Tobago Lake is essentially a function of the land that drains into Tobago Lake, or better known as the watershed of Tobago Lake. Every water body in the world has a watershed, which is the land that drains to it. And if we care for the land around a lake, then the lake is going to produce clean water. And so I've learned over time, and we learned together as a company that the forests around Tobago Lake are the key to water quality in Tobago Lake. About 20 years ago, we started working with the land trusts that operate in the watershed, helping them to do their job, because land trusts are organized to conserve forest. So by helping them to do what they're trying to do, our customers benefit. And in the last 20 years working together, there have been almost 6,000 acres of forest in the Tobago Lake watershed protected for all time, and they're being managed now by the land trusts that operate there. Our customers are benefiting every day. The water you drank today moved through those protected forests, which is in forest naturally treat water. So the Forever Forest Initiative, Tobago Clean Waters is the name of the partnership of organizations. Our goal is to conserve the forests in the watershed so that water quality will be protected for future generations. Paul, I want to give a quote. I want to read a quote to you and see if you know who said it. The quote says, We work with willing landowners who want to see the forest stay forest forever. The result is we get cleaner drinking water to help Maine, to help keep Maine looking like Maine. Do you recall who said that? I have to say that sounds a lot like me. That was you, Paul. I read that quotation on your website. And I thought to myself, if there's one thing that Maine prides itself on being, it's every ad, the shots of Portland headlight, the shots of the pine trees. And you just said in two sentences why people are loving and moving to this area. Why lawyers from other cities and doctors and professionals have now chosen Portland in the Portland area, Wyndham, Scarborough, all the people who drink your water. And that comment was exactly what we would want for someone who is actually keeping our water clean. Now, one of the things that I also read in your website is that your company gets like the strangest awards like for the best budget, the AAA bond ratings. And I'm now realizing that we have so many politicians that run for office and say, I want to run this country, this state like a business. And yet I'm watching you folks, a public entity, you are a governmental entity, that seems to be running your business like a business. I mean, it's amazing. You get tons of awards. And you also have received some awards. Have you not, Paul? The environmental division of your company. Yeah, my colleagues, I'm just fortunate enough to, I often say I hang out with the smart kids. The group of employees that make up environmental services are dedicated. They know what they're doing, they work hard and have been recognized a number of times in the last 10 or 20 years for the work that they do. And I'm proud to work with all of them. It really is, it's a job, I often tell people, you have to go to work for 40 years, no matter who you are, you've got to do something. Why not do something that feels good every day? And if you're going to protect a natural resource, Svego Lake is quite a gem to be, you know, there are people, I have colleagues who are working to restore natural resources that have declined in quality and they're working really hard to bring them back to what they were. We're in this very, very unusual, but beneficial position where what our job is, is to maintain what is, which is much cheaper and much easier than trying to restore a degraded resource. Yeah, it really is, and the last point I'll make is that protecting forests in order to protect water quality does so many other things all at the same time. You know, it does protect water quality, it's treating our water while we sleep, those forests, but it provides wood's jobs and wood products because often it's working for us. Kayaking, you mentioned kayaking. Provides trails and outdoor recreation, it provides wildlife habitat, it strengthens fisheries, all those things are happening all at the same time. I don't really see how anyone couldn't see this as really what we should be doing in Maine. Maine is the most forested state in the Union and it's not surprising that Maine also has among the cleanest lakes in the whole country as well. That's for sure. By the way, when you mentioned your job, I've been an attorney for 47 years and I have to say very proud to be one, but there have been times where I've been at a party or something like that or an event or on a cruise ship and I tell people I'm a lawyer and they had bad experiences with a lawyer, bad divorce, whatever, they're all a lawyer, but I assume not too many people go, oh, water district. Listen, I want to ask you something, Paul. The Joseph DiPetro scholarship, tell us about that. Well, Joseph DiPetro, the DiPetro family is sort of has been in this area for generations and he was a trustee of the water district. Joe DiPetro was for many, many years and when he passed away, a scholarship was established in his name and each year a student, someone locally who is going to school for something related to our missions or water, public health, the board votes to contribute to that student's education. I think the amount is $1,500 a year and we've had many, many talented kids come through over the years and be given that award. Well, congratulations for that. Of course, the DiPetro family, one of the well-known names in this area. Just last night, I added DiPetro's Italian sandwich. My dear friend Helen DiPetro from South Portland, one of the best friends I've had in my life or produced many plays that Portland plays and her husband, of course, Sam DiPetro was a legislator and of course the whole DiPetro family runs all the way from the top to the bottom. Interesting about that scholarship. One of the things I read, Paul, is that you folks provide these water bottle filling fountains and how many of those are around the area where somebody just goes up, fills a bottle up with water? So you've kind of stumped me because I don't have that number in my head. I tried to memorize the statistics so that I can answer questions like this. Every year we have our public relations manager puts the word out that we are looking for places where water fountains can either be replaced or installed so that people will have access to our water and they're set up for water bottles, have information on them. And I think we do several a year and been doing it for more than a decade. So there must be 30 or 40 of them out there but I gotta admit that that's a guess. Okay, Paul, the reason why I mention that is because my wife, bless her, goes to the store and buys water. And I have said to her, well actually it's water ladies and gentlemen, not water. And I've said to her, hon, listen, you got the best water coming out of the tap and you're buying water from some plant, Arkansas, whatever. By the way, Penn and Teller did a show on water quality and they like bottled water and they took water off the roof of this restaurant and they had people test it. And the people that thought the water that was best was the water they took off the roof of the building. So I have to say to you folks, if you've got the opportunity, by the way, these fountains are free, they're not charging people, but take the water, they're free, right? Say that again? The fountains, they're free. All right, right. Usually it's put in a school or a public place where the water is free for people who are visiting in that building, yes. Listen, Paul, I've gotta tell you one of the funniest comedians of all time. George Collins, I used to see him, I'd go see him front row. And one of the stories that he would tell, one of the, he'd go, what's this thing about everybody carrying a water bottle? He said, what is that? He says, back in the day when I was in high school, if everybody was walking around with a water bottle, he said, you'd shoot them, something like that. Anyway, people love their water. Paul, as we end this half hour, and we could have gone on for a long time, what do you see as the vision for this forest program that you've talked about? And the other thing I wanna touch on before that is you have a virtual tour of your plant planned for May, correct? Yeah, May is, every year, the first week of May is called, it's drinking water week. I'm sure you have it marked in your calendar, but we recognize it every year. It's just a week sort of established to point out the benefits of water and to help people locally to learn more about their water supply. So yes, we've done many tours of our water treatment plant, which is out on the shores of Spago Lake this year because of the pandemic, that we're not gonna be inviting the public in. But in a way, it's almost better this way because we can only have so many people go through the plant at a time, but virtually we can have as many as 500. So if you go to our website, you can, it's free, of course, and you can sign up there and then you'll be let in. And we're gonna have, there will be people in the treatment plant walking through and answering questions, but the public will be watching from Zoom. Well, the other thing I noticed on your website, that there's a day in October, October 23rd, I think it is, when they ask you to go a day without water, to try to see what it's like to go without water. Now, I've gotta tell you something. I'd like to think, I could try to do that because I like to think that oh, I drink soda mostly, whatever, but I've gotta say, I wonder how many people really participate in that and if they did, how shocked they would be that they can't have water every time they want. Do you know how many people might participate in that? Do they ever tell you how many people join in? That's a good, I'm gonna look into that because I don't know the answer to that. I've heard a saying that goes something like, we're not sure who discovered water but we know it wasn't a fish. And the idea of that is when you're immersed in something, when it's always there, when you never question it, you don't even see it. It's invisible. And honestly, water utilities work to be invisible so that no one will ever think about it. Cause generally, if I name a city that you've heard of their water supply, it's usually because they've had a problem of some sort. And so we kind of wanna stay under the radar but it is, it's hard to believe how fortunate we are and how much water we have, how clean it is. And as I said, our challenge is to keep it that way for future generations. So you asked about the Subego Clean Waters Goal. The goal is, as we speak today, about just over 10% of the area, the watershed of Subego Lake is presently conserved for us. It includes the state park and land trust properties. Our goal is to raise that to 25% over the next 20 years. So that's a lot of land but again, all of those properties will be willing landowners who are seeking to conserve their land. What we essentially try to do is bring funding sources together to help the land trust to accomplish those landowner goals. And if we can do that, then the water will be safer and cleaner and there'll be outdoor recreation opportunities for more manors and just, you know, we'll be maintaining kind of the quality of life. Why do you come to Maine? It's for rural quality, you know, the character of our landscapes. So we'll be protecting that and providing clean drinking water and all those other benefits. That's really the mission of that partnership. Well, I've got to tell you, congratulations on that. And as we begin to wind down, I'm going to ask my director how many minutes I have, give me a clue here. I've got about one minute. I just want to say, Paul, how much I've enjoyed your background because I would have thought I would have seen Subego Lake, a waterfall, whatever. I see a picture of Jimi Hendrix over your left shoulder. I'm a big rock and roll fan. I've actually been to the gravesite of Jimi Hendrix and congratulations on that. Paul, I want to thank you so much for coming on the show. I'm so glad to have you as a neighbor because I know that if there's a problem with my water, all I have to do is haul her across. Hey, Paul, my water. So thank you so much for coming on. I want to say one more thing. I want you to congratulate your fellow people, your fellow employees at the Water District for keeping us safe and keeping our water safe. And thank you very much. And ladies and gentlemen, thank you for watching The Dairy Run That Show and we'll see you next month when I'm hoping to have F. Lee Bailey on my show about his new book. Thank you.