MILWAUKEE, WI, July 26, 2021 – The water discharged from the Wisconsin State Fair could be cleaner this summer thanks to a pilot project coordinated by The Water Council in partnership with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and the Fund for Lake Michigan.
The Water Council, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit driving economic development in water innovation, hosts an annual Pilot Program inviting water innovators to apply to test their products in real-world situations. DMR International, a plastics additive company based in Woodstock, Ill., was selected to pilot its PurAsure™ water filtration devices.
The project is designed to reduce the bacteria level in the water discharged from Wisconsin State Fair Park into the Honey Creek River and eventually Lake Michigan by strategically placing the filtration devices in stormwater catch basins at State Fair Park. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will test water samples to measure results.
“Our mission for this project is to demonstrate an economical way of controlling contaminated water that is discharged into waterways,” says Rick Latella, president of DMR International.
The project will help Wisconsin State Fair Park improve the quality of its water runoff, keep more bacteria out of local waterways and provide valuable data to DMR International as it prepares to launch its product on a larger scale, says Karen Frost, vice president of economic development and innovation at The Water Council. The Fund for Lake Michigan and MMSD are funding the project.
“Our Pilot Program not only helps innovative water technology companies validate their solutions in Wisconsin but also promotes solutions to pressing water challenges such as contaminated stormwater runoff,” Frost says. “We are excited for this project to be demonstrated during State Fair and we look forward to seeing the impact of the project to positively impact local water quality.”
About The Water Council:
The Water Council (TWC) is a global hub dedicated to solving critical water challenges by driving innovation in freshwater technology and advancing water stewardship. Built on more than a century of water innovation, TWC has coalesced one of the most concentrated and mature water technology clusters in the world from its headquarters at the Global Water Center in Milwaukee, Wis., USA. Recognizing the need for smarter and more efficient use of water worldwide, TWC also promotes water stewardship as a natural complement to water innovation in the effort to preserve freshwater resources in the Midwest and around the world. Today, The Water Council has established itself as a global leader in the water industry and one of America’s premier economic development clusters as recognized by government agencies, Brookings and the Harvard Business School.
