To determine U.S. policy, research and response to health crises, the country turns to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some local leaders want to see a similar center here in Milwaukee — for water. Although the idea is far from reality, “We would love to ultimately be that national center,” Mayor Tom Barrett told the Milwaukee Business Journal Tuesday. In July, Barrett and a delegation of private, public and academic officials visited Washington, D.C., successfully pitching Milwaukee as a “ regional water technology cluster” and — possibly — a CDC-style water center.
Representatives included Barrett; Badger Meter Inc. chairman, president and CEO Rich Meeusen; Rexnord Corp. president and CEO Todd Adams; Greater Milwaukee Committee president Julia Taylor; Marquette University presidentMike Lovell; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee interim chancellor Mark Mone;A.O. Smith Corp. chief engineer Charlie Adams; A.O. Smith lobbyist Tim Hannegan; and Dean Amhaus, president and CEO of The Water Council.