In this episode of Make Water Work, Isaac Pellerin and Megan Glover sit down with Anne Mushow, CEO of Subeca, to explore how smart metering, IoT, and new business models are transforming water utilities.

Anne shares her journey from electrical engineering to leading one of the most innovative startups in water tech, and breaks down how Subeca is helping utilities modernize without massive capital investment. The conversation dives into Amazon Sidewalk, metering-as-a-service, and why flexibility and interoperability are key to unlocking digital transformation across 40,000+ small utilities in the U.S.

What you’ll learn:

• Why most water utilities still rely on decades-old technology

• How Subeca is making legacy infrastructure “smart” with plug-and-play IoT

• The role of Amazon Sidewalk in reducing infrastructure costs

• What “metering as a service” means for utilities and ratepayers

• Why small and rural utilities are the biggest opportunity in water

• How better data can improve efficiency, leak detection, and sustainability

• The importance of interoperability and partnerships in water innovation

Key moments:

00:00 The future of metering and disruption in water

03:00 Anne’s journey into the water industry

05:30 What Subeca does and the problem it solves

10:00 Amazon Sidewalk and the power of existing infrastructure

15:00 How Subeca is different from traditional smart metering

21:00 Metering as a service and new utility business models

24:00 Building a startup in the water sector

31:00 The future of water data and global expansion

About the guest:

Anne Mushow is the CEO of Subeca, a smart water metering company focused on making digital transformation accessible for utilities of all sizes. With experience at Sensus and Amazon Web Services, she brings deep expertise in metering, infrastructure, and scalable technology solutions.

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What does it take to actually scale innovation in water?

In this episode of Make Water Work, Isaac Pellerin and Megan Glover sit down with Simon Olivier, leader of Cycle H2O, an impact fund focused on accelerating water technology.

Simon shares the personal moment that pulled him into the water space...and how it led to building a venture fund designed to solve one of the industry’s biggest challenges: getting real solutions to scale.

The conversation dives into what makes water different from other industries, why progress can feel slow, and how the right combination of capital, partnerships, and strategy can unlock faster adoption.

They also explore:

• Why Simon invests in “aspirin, not vitamins” — solving urgent, critical problems

• The role of strategic investors in helping startups scale beyond just funding

• Why water innovation is lagging — and how other industries offer a roadmap forward

• The growing importance of water security, reuse, and decentralized systems

• How data centers, energy, and manufacturing are quietly reshaping water demand

• What separates successful founders — and the mistakes to avoid early

Simon also highlights emerging technologies in areas like real-time water monitoring and PFAS treatment, and shares why Canada is becoming a global hub for water innovation.

In this episode of Make Water Work, Isaac Pellerin and Megan Glover sit down with Glenn Barnes to unpack one of the biggest challenges facing the water industry today: affordability.

Glenn brings deep expertise from his work helping utilities navigate funding, rates, and long-term infrastructure planning. This conversation goes beyond the headlines to explain why water rates are rising, why small communities face outsized challenges, and what needs to change to build resilient systems for the future.

What you’ll learn:

• Why water utilities are not funded by taxes and how the “enterprise fund” model works

• The hidden history of federal grants that kept rates artificially low for decades

• Why small and rural communities face the toughest financial challenges

• The real reason water rates are rising faster than other utilities

• How programs like SRF and USDA loans actually work (and where they fall short)

• The growing infrastructure funding gap and what it means for public health

• Why asset management, regionalization, and consolidation are becoming critical