Public Screening of Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong

Wednesday, December 2 | 6:30–8:15 p.m.
Magnolia Theatre, The Lincoln Center

What happens after you flush?

Join us for a free public screening of the documentary Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong, followed by a panel discussion exploring the people, careers, and infrastructure behind the systems that keep our communities’ wastewater moving.

The documentary takes viewers inside a wastewater treatment facility over the course of one year, offering a humorous, candid, and surprisingly personal look at the people who keep a critical piece of our community’s infrastructure running. As wastewater facilities across the country face aging infrastructure, growing populations, increasingly complex challenges, and emerging contaminants such as PFAS, the film follows one plant and the close-knit team working to keep it operating.

At the center of the story are Dustin, the quick-witted plant manager; Zac, his tattooed and artistic second-in-command; and Jimmy, the youngest member of the team, who works to overcome test anxiety and pass his entry-level operator exam. Set against a maze of pipes, pumps, tanks, and blinking control panels, the film blends humor and human stories with a look at the often-overlooked work that protects public health and the environment.

After the documentary, attendees will hear from local water professionals during a panel discussion on water utility careers, the challenges facing America's aging water infrastructure, and the local work underway to meet them.

Featured panelists include Craig Hibbard, Wastewater Treatment Plant Manager at Boxelder Sanitation District, along with Bethany Howell, Associate Director of the Colorado Water Center at CSU, and a plant manager or engineer from the City of Fort Collins Utilities' Drake Water Reclamation Facility.

Audience members will have an opportunity to ask the panel their own questions and learn more about the people and careers behind our water and wastewater systems.

Event Details

• Date: Wednesday, December 2
• Time: 6:30–8:15 p.m.
• Location: Magnolia Theatre, The Lincoln Center
• Admission: Free. The registration link will be shared here when it becomes available.
• Film: Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong — 73 minutes
• Sponsors: City of Fort Collins Utilities – One Water, Boxelder Sanitation District, and Colorado Water Center at CSU
• Audience: Water utility employees and professionals, students interested in water careers, local leaders, partner organizations, and the general public

Why Attend?

Wastewater infrastructure is essential to every community, yet much of the work happens behind the scenes. This event offers an opportunity to see that work from a different perspective, meet the people who make it possible, and learn more about the challenges and career opportunities within the water and wastewater industry.

Tickets are free! The registration link will be shared here when it becomes available.

Come for the documentary. Stay for the conversation—and discover what really happens after the flush.