Make Water Work Podcast Featuring Kathy Bentz and Pal Hollywood

Episode 50: Kathy Bentz & Pal Hollywood on Making Water Local

For our 50th episode, we did something we've never done before — recorded in front of a live audience at Catalyst, inside a wine and culinary center in San Diego. Fitting, since this episode is all about terroir: how the best water communication doesn't copy-paste a playbook, it reflects the place it comes from.

Joining us are Kathy Bentz (Prince William Water) and Pal Hollywood (San Jose Water) — two communicators who've built real, local trust with the communities they serve, using some of the most creative engagement strategies we've featured on this show.

In this episode:

• How water found Kathy and Pal — from flooding on the Ohio River to falling in love with water through a tech-industry client
• Behind the Tap: how Prince William Water keeps messaging hyper-local, one hydrant flush at a time
• San Jose Water's hard-water influencer campaign — and why skipping "water influencers" for local lifestyle voices made all the difference
• H2Go Kids: how employees' own children became the voice of Prince William Water's public education videos
• The data center question that went viral at a board meeting, and the leak-alert story an influencer brought back on her own
• Why employees might be the most underused audience in water communications
• Live audience Q&A — cost, influencer vetting, employee recruitment, and more