One of the startups selected for this year’s The Water Council’s BREW Accelerator program was on display last week outside the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District headquarters.

Menomonee River water was being sucked up into the CORNCOB demonstration model – picture a water heater tipped on its side. A gleaming metal barrel connected to pipes and valves is being monitored by a sophisticated computer system.

Inside 60 discs covered with a membrane are spinning away and cleaning the water that enters the system.

CORNCOB co-creator Dick Davie explains the demo unit has been put to the test in locations around the country, cleaning everything from winery waste water to discharge water from a laundry.

“Now we’re back here doing this on river water to demonstrate we can take river water and discharge drinkable water, potable water,” Davie said

Read or listen to the full story by WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio