Why Water Utilities Need Support With Odor and Other "Basic" Operations with Louisville MSD CIO Kimberly Reed

In this Interview, we meet Kimberly Reed who is the Chief Innovation Officer at Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD), a Water Utility based in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville MSD provides wastewater, stormwater, and flood protection services to the community, with a strong focus on innovative approaches to address challenges.

ONE-LINER: "We try to encourage everyone to think again outside the box and come up with new ways to solve the various challenges that we have in our organization."

Pitch/Reverse Pitch: Don’t miss Kimberly's Overview of Louisville MSD and its approach to innovation, which you can find on the video from [2:19] to [3:04].

Discussion: After the overview, we discuss:

• The specific challenges Louisville MSD faces, particularly in addressing odor issues within its combined sewer system.
• The importance of innovation in utilities and how Louisville MSD is developing a proactive odor strategy.
• The impact of climate change and decreased water consumption on the utility's operations and how they are adapting.

Insights: At [21:08], Kimberly talks about the need for startups to engage with utilities, emphasizing that there is an opportunity for better partnerships and pilot testing within the utility sector.

Advice: At [40:25], Kimberly advises startups to focus on understanding the specific challenges of utilities and to offer solutions that are practical and address immediate needs, rather than only presenting the latest technology.