PFAS Mitigation, infrastructure & more news
By Dean Amhaus, President & CEO
You don’t have to work at The Water Council to know that water has been front and center this month. Congress finally passed the long-awaited infrastructure bill, with huge implications for lead pipe removal, wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, PFAS remediation and much more. We are planning a webinar in December to help our members navigate the bill and the opportunities it offers, so stay tuned.
Applauding Water Champions
That’s not the only news we’re tracking at The Water Council. We announced our new Water Champion membership opportunity Nov. 1 with SCS Global Services as our first member. This category is for non-water technology companies that want to support our mission of solving global water challenges by driving freshwater innovation and advancing water stewardship.
Just in our first two weeks, we have added Black & Veatch, Donohue & Associates, Ecolab and Riverwater Partners to the roll of Water Champions, with more in the works. Visit our website or contact Laura Mullen, member engagement manager, to learn more.
Collaboration to Combat Contamination
We also followed Cimbria Capital’s recent announcement of a new partnership with Fixed Earth Innovations, a Canadian company focused on remediating PFAS pollution and other contaminants. What does that have to do with The Water Council? Fixed Earth won our Tech Challenge in fall 2020, and we helped connect them to Cimbria, a private equity firm focused on the water economy. Now, Fixed Earth is opening a satellite office in Madison, Wis., to concentrate on expansion in the Great Lakes states. It’s a perfect example of The Water Council’s ability to boost new technologies and make connections that spur economic development and innovative water solutions.
Growing Innovation Programming
Our most recent Tech Challenge just closed, and we received a record number of applications from a whopping 17 countries. Now our corporate sponsors – A. O. Smith, Badger Meter, Watts Water Technologies and Xylem – will do the hard work of sifting through the applications to choose finalists, who will present their solutions to the sponsors, and a winner.
Another one of our innovation programs, BREW 2.0, is now open for applications. BREW 2.0 is a next-stage post-accelerator created to help young companies build connections and grow their company’s capacity. This virtual and in-person hybrid program, sponsored by American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate & Social Impact, Beckhoff Automation and Thales Water Advisors, focuses on expert-led sales and growth training tailored for water tech businesses. Visit our website for more information and check out our new BREW 2.0 FAQs to help you decide if the program is right for you.
Stewardship Update
We have been making lots of updates to our website (you might have noticed our reorganized homepage), especially around water stewardship. Check out our new stewardship landing page to learn more about our offerings. If you’re looking to learn the basics of water stewardship, read this blog by Dylan Waldhuetter, our director of water stewardship solutions.
Welcome New Members
Finally, we’d like to welcome new members of The Water Council:
- AdvaSec
- Oceanus Water & Energy Recovery Systems LLC (OWERS)
- Vienna Water Monitoring Solutions (ColiMinder)
Welcome to the hub where water works!
Members News & Opportunities
- News: A. O. Smith Corporation achieves record sales with 50% water heater price increase.
- News: Ecolab acquires ion-exchange resin manufacturer Purolite.
- News: Julia Taylor looks back on 19 years as president of the Greater Milwaukee Committee
- News: Glanris CEO Bryan Eagle named part of Meaningful Business 100
- News: The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Student Water Council hosted a clean-up of the Kinnickinnic River Trail
- Opportunity: The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation is planning a virtual trade venture to Africa in December and to Mexico in February. Water technology is a focus of both ventures.
- Opportunity: PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, is hosting a Carbon Zero Grand Challenge seeking to incentivize innovative solutions that can help PUB achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century and scale to water facilities around the globe.
- Opportunity: Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) has invited expressions of interest for the development of three independent sewage treatment plants.