In a press release issued by the White House today leading up to the 1st White House Water Summit, Milwaukee is recognized with five measurable commitments to advance water innovation. The Water Council, City of Milwaukee, Alliance for Water Stewardship – North America, and ThinkWater were included in the White House Fact Sheet: Working Together to Build a Sustainable Water Future, joining more than 150 organizations nationwide.
The White House Water Summit was created to raise awareness of water issues in the United States, and to catalyze ideas and action plans to build a sustainable and secure water future through innovative solutions. Dean Amhaus, President & CEO, The Water Council, is attending the White House Water Summit in Washington, D.C. as the representative of Milwaukee’s Water Technology Cluster.
The following commitments were accepted by the Administration for inclusion in the official White House Water Fact Sheet that was distributed at today’s Summit:
City of Milwaukee
Setting the standard for water-centric cities
The City of Milwaukee is announcing that the International Water Association (IWA) will be establishing its first North American Regional Office in Milwaukee. In addition, the City is announcing a new formalized partnership with The Water Council, the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and Marquette University. Together, these institutions will:
Read the full announcement from the City of Milwaukee.
Alliance for Water Stewardship – North America
Promoting industrial and agricultural water stewardship
The Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS)-North America, a program of The Water Council, is promoting corporate water stewardship in the United States through implementation of the AWS International Water Stewardship Standard (AWS Standard) across U.S. industrial and agricultural sectors. Today, AWS is committing to working with 200 large industrial and agricultural water-using sites to implement the AWS Standard, to provide a framework to help sites use water more strategically and identify and mitigate internal and external water-related risks. AWS expects this effort to save more than one billion gallons of freshwater over the next decade.
The Water Council – BREW Accelerator
Commercializing innovative technologies to address global water issues
BREW (Business Research Entrepreneurship in Wisconsin), a water-technology accelerator program of The Water Council, is committing to help 75 new water-technology start-ups get their ideas launched into successful businesses over the next five years through a mentorship and intensive 6-month, strategic training program. In addition, The Water Council is announcing an expansion of its BREW Corporate Accelerator Program, with A. O. Smith Corporation and Rexnord joining Veolia in the program to support start-ups in water technology.
The Water Council – Small Business Development
Enabling public data access to Federal Labs water and water-related technologies
The Water Council, working with the Innovation Exchange, has launched the Global Water Port, an online research tool which enables access to thousands of real-time water-data sources. Today, The Water Council is partnering with the Federal Lab Consortium (FLC) and the U.S. Water Partnership to make data from Federal labs more accessible through the Global Water Port.
ThinkWater
Encouraging systems thinking around water
ThinkWater is a national campaign supported by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and led by University of Wisconsin-Extension and Cabrera Research Lab to help people think differently, and care more deeply, about water. Today, ThinkWater is committing to work over the next two years to build a national coalition of at least six state-based networks to engage water researchers, educators, and extension agents in solving water-related problems through better systems thinking. This effort will begin this spring with the Wisconsin Water Thinkers Network. ThinkWater expects to directly engage approximately 200 experts and practitioners directly involved with water issues through the Wisconsin network, and approximately 1200 once all networks in the coalition have been established. In addition, ThinkWater is announcing that this spring it will launch “Systems Thinking Made Simple,” a free, interactive online course designed to introduce systems thinking concepts, tools, and resources to water researchers, educators, extension agents, and citizens across the country.
View the official White House Press Release or watch part of the Summit online.