Imagining a Day Without Water
By: Stacy Stevens, VP Marketing & Communications at The Water Council
Hello! I’m new to The Water Council, so you probably won’t recognize seeing my name here before. As we look to have more of our members sharing their stories with our community, I’m not sure yet how often you’ll see me blogging. But today, it’s Imagine a Day Without Water and I have a few thoughts to share.
So, a quick tick through what I’d miss if I didn’t have access to water? Savoring that early morning cup of coffee before the day starts to hum, taking a reliable hot shower, rinsing my smudged eye glasses 5 times a day and popping into the craft brewery at the end of my street to fill a growler come to mind. Yes, I’ve been here just long enough to have heard the phrase, “No water, no beer,” and even snagged a t-shirt from our friends at The American Water Works Association while at WEFTEC. And when you call Brew City home, that’s truly unimaginable!
The upside of imagining a day without coffee, showers and beer is that it’s an exercise in gaining empathy and perspective. The reality is that in the United States, even with reliable access to water, we all face water quality issues—from the millions of American homes with lead in their water, ag run-off causing harmful bacteria in ground water to “forever chemicals” leaching into our water supply, to name a few.
And beyond our borders, water challenges only multiply. According to the United Nations, about 4 billion people, representing nearly two-thirds of the world population, experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. Whole water systems are breaking down in places like Venezuela, struggling not only with a ‘day without water’ but ongoing days without, and the water that is available is contaminated—and it’s just one of a thousand stories of water issues I could highlight.
Water innovation at work
The good news is that since joining The Water Council, I’m learning about the many unique ways our members are championing water tech innovation.
Like Water Council member KETOS, who is bringing real-time water quality analysis to the marketplace. In fact, Meena Sankaran was just recognized by Goldman Sachs’ as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2019.
And one our newest Water Council members, Hydraloop, based in The Netherlands, was just selected as one of the top 50 most innovative Dutch technology startups for their household water recycling system. I got to see their gray water recycling system in action at WEFTEC, which is cool because it doesn’t rely on filters, membranes or chemicals to process the water.
And also (on a topic near and dear to my heart), BioGill is helping beer brewers and wineries through technology that incorporates custom nano ceramic “gills” that support the growth of a healthy biomass to treat wastewater naturally. Pretty cool, right?!
What’s your water tech story?
We’re looking to share more of our member stories and how you’re contributing to water tech innovation. If you’d like to share what you’re up to, I’d welcome hearing from you. And if there’s anything else that what we can do at The Water Council to assist you, I’d welcome hearing from you about that, too. Contact me directly at sstevens@thewatercouncil.com.
Cheers,
Stacy