The Make Water Work Podcast - Episode 42 Featuring Sarah Bucci

Episode 42: Catalyst Collab - Sarah Bucci

Water is the environmental issue Americans care about most, so why does it still struggle to break through the news cycle?

In this episode of the Make Water Work / Catalyst Collab, Isaac Pellerin and Chelsea Boozer (Executive Director, Rogue Water Lab) sit down with Sarah Bucci, Director of Strategic Communications at The Water Hub, to unpack why water coverage gets stuck in silos, jargon, and crisis-only headlines, and what it actually takes to tell a story that sticks.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why public apathy isn't the problem, water consistently polls as the environmental issue people care about most
• How siloed categories (drinking water, stormwater, wastewater) disconnect from how people actually experience water
• Findings from the Water Hub's 2025 media scan, including a 25% drop in climate-change mentions in water supply coverage
• Why trust and relationships are a core communications function, not a soft add-on
• Behind the scenes of the Water Hub's Water Infrastructure campaign, illustrations, animation, and influencer partnerships that turned funding announcements into a bigger story
• Why data center water use is opening unexpected doors for public conversation
• A first-hand account of Catalyst 2025 in Milwaukee, and what's ahead for Catalyst San Diego, August 31–September 3, 2026