David Balsar

LinkedIn

Company: Mekorot

A lawyer and economist with a MBA from INSEAD (France) and a MA in Philosophy.

David has experience working in different business development roles for international corporates such as FOX (Newscorp) and Endemol Shine in London.

Later he became an entrepreneur who founded two start-ups, acted as CEO including fund raising, management and execution.

Currently is the General Manager of Innovation and Ventures in Mekorot (Israel’s National Water Company). For the last 4 years, he has been managing the company’s investment strategy and execution. Screening hundreds of startups from which Mekorot has invested in 10 companies.

A former professional athlete with passion for doing good. He was an Intern in the UN DESA in NYC and a volunteer in the World Food Program (WFP) in Africa.

Larissa Balzer

LinkedIn

Company: Ocean Sewage Alliance

Location: Oklahoma

A mixed Mary Poppins bag of project management and development, coordination and creation of digital content for web and social media marketing.

The Ocean Sewage Alliance aims to reduce the threat of sewage and wastewater pollution in our oceans and in doing so, increase the health and well-being of humans and nature. We will achieve this mission by collaborating across sectors, synthesizing and sharing knowledge, developing solutions, and raising awareness.

Larissa Balzer

LinkedIn

Company: Ocean Sewage Alliance

Location: Oklahoma

A mixed Mary Poppins bag of project management and development, coordination and creation of digital content for web and social media marketing.

The Ocean Sewage Alliance aims to reduce the threat of sewage and wastewater pollution in our oceans and in doing so, increase the health and well-being of humans and nature. We will achieve this mission by collaborating across sectors, synthesizing and sharing knowledge, developing solutions, and raising awareness.

Dan Bena

LinkedIn

Company: PepsiCo (previously)

Dan Bena founded his Corporate Purpose and ESG consultancy after a long career with PepsiCo, where he served in leadership roles as Corporate Water Steward, Head of Sustainable Development, Food Safety and Quality specialist, and Head of the company’s first-ever corporate function for Occupational Health and Safety. In addition, he is Senior Consultant for Antea Group USA, and Chair of their Strategic Advisory Board, Advisor to Grimley Capital, Honorary Professor for Glasgow Caledonian University, and Board Trustee of its New York College, which houses the Center for Social Impact and Innovation. Bena advocates for the power of the private sector as a force for good in society. He was recently Senior Advisor to Paul Newman’s charity, Safe Water Network, and serves/has served on the Water Leadership Group of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD); Steering Board of World Bank’s 2030 Water Resources Group; Steering Committee of the United Nations CEO Water Mandate; the Global Agenda Council on Water Security of the World Economic Forum; US Water Alliance; and Creative Visions Foundation, a non-profit whose signature program, Rock Your World, engages middle and high school students from over 70 countries in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

He serves on the Board of the United Nations Association Westchester Chapter, and on the Advisory Boards for Conrad Challenge, SuperYou Fundation, Artistic Circles, Environmental Leader publications group, and the journal, Water Security. Bena was selected as a mentor for the ThreeDotDash.org Global Teen Leader program; a judge for the University of Notre Dame Corporate Adaptation Prize; and the Penn State Sustainability Case Challenge. He delivered the keynote address at the Swedish Royal Gala, the Our Food, Our Future Summit, in Dublin, Ireland, provided testimony to the US Senate, spoke at the United Nations NGO Conference, “”Sustainable Societies; Responsive Citizens,” and keynoted the United Nations Youth Assembly to over 1,000 youth delegates from over 100 countries. He received the Light Up the Night Award for youth advocacy and engagement, was honored to have October 24th proclaimed “Dan Bena Day” in New York State; and was recently named a “Global Goals Local Leader” by the UN Association for his role in the partnerships which have provided over 55 million people with access to safe water.

Learn more: www.Linktree.com/danbena and www.danbena.com

Steve Bender

LinkedIn

Company: Earth X

Location: California / Texas / Panama

I am an experienced and successful leader in non-profit development and have founded or served on the boards of more than fifteen organizations and volunteer initiatives. I not only have the vision to recognize opportunities to help others, but I understand the business side of establishing sustainable volunteer organizations from charter creation to fundraising to marketing. It has been my pleasure to focus on needs in my local Newport Beach community and find ways to export our successful models to other communities both in the United States and internationally. Causes I support include:

◆ Community and business development

◆ Sustainability and conservation (I’m a certified Naturalist Volunteer with Orange County)

◆ Dental and health care for those in need

◆ Veterans

◆ Special Olympics

◆ Education

A realtor with twenty-five years’​ experience, I use the same skills that have brought me professional success to envision, create, develop, and expand these local and international non-profit organizations. My most ambitious project is the “Doc-in-a-Box”​ series, which sends affordable health care microclinic facilities to countries in need. I serve as President of the Newport Beach Rotary Club.

Kate Bennett

LinkedIn

Company: Brownee

Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Passionate and determined sustainable development specialist with national and international experience across a wide range of sectors and industries.

Professional objective to promote the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to enhance capacity, capability and collaboration across private sector, public sector and civil society locally, nationally and internationally to ensure SDGs are achieved by 2030.

Committed to the empowerment of individuals and communities through facilitated self realisation, strategic community engagement, self-sourced solutions, and inclusive and tailored business models such as social enterprises and micro-industries.

Relationship-oriented with a compassionate, empathetic leadership approach and the ability to deliver quality outcomes that satisfy the diverse interests of multiple stakeholders.

Passion for stakeholder engagement with a demonstrated ability to communicate fluently and effectively in multiple languages (English, French and Spanish) and to successfully manage and deliver projects in diverse cultural settings.

Strong believer in the power of cross-sectoral collaboration for the promotion of social development, and in the importance of impact investment mechanisms to transform the private sector’s approach to sustainability from risk-mitigation to opportunity-optimisation.

The Weekly Dive #21

Celebrating World Water Day, March 22, 2023! 374Water’s revenues jump 6,000%. An underwater mountain is discovered by the world’s largest uncrewed ocean mapping vessel. DuPont, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, invest in water. Floatovoltaics are a new source for solar energy. Astronomers say water’s origin may predate our Sun. PFAS are now found in our toilet paper. This week, we are highlighting Nathan Allen, one of HydroDAO’s key advisors. Learn about his impressive background and why he is passionate about water.

Your weekly Bonus – We asked an AI about water and this is what we learned.

This week’s quote:

A drop of water, if it could write out its own history, would explain the universe to us


Happy World Water Day 2023!!

WORLD WATER DAY – 22 MARCH 2023 ACCELERATING CHANGE

This World Water Day is about accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis. And because water affects us all, we need everyone to take action. That means you!


What’s New with Our Portfolio Companies?

374Water Drives 2022 Revenue Increase Over 6,000% while Charting Progress Toward a World Without Waste

374Water’s revenue for 2022 was $3.02 million compared to $48,100 in 2021, an increase of 6,169%.


What’s New with Water Innovations?

Just discovered: An underwater mountain taller than Burj Khalifa 

Saildrone Surveyor SD 1200, the largest uncrewed ocean mapping vessel in the world, has discovered a previously unidentified seamount greater than Earth’s tallest building.

The benefits of floatovoltaics: Putting solar panels on reservoirs

The group describes the many benefits of using existing reservoirs to host floatovoltaic farms.

WateReuse celebrates 2023 award winners 

The association announced the winners for Excellence, President’s Awards and Service Awards.

Mycofiltration for Urban Storm Water Treatment Receives EPA Funding 

It will foster a novel technology for removing bacteria from storm water runoff.


What’s New in the Industry?

Five Ways to Invest in Water

Anyone with sustainability or longevity in mind for their portfolio might want to dip a toe into investing in water, an essential commodity.

DuPont Joins Collective Investment to Increase Global Water Access 

DuPont joins Starbucks, Ecolab, Gap, Reckitt, and the Development Finance Corporation.

The Coca-Cola Foundation and Imagine H2O’s Water Innovation Fund

The Sustainable Access Solution Fund will pilot innovative technologies for communities.

PepsiCo Beverages announces $3.3 million for water replenishment

Projects aim to advance PepsiCo’s effort to become Net Water Positive by 2030.


What’s New in the Science?

Astronomers Traced The Origins of Water to a Time Before The Sun 

A star 1,300 light-years from Earth might have just revealed one of the Solar System’s best-kept secrets.

Catalyst That Purifies Herbicide-Tainted Water And Produces Hydrogen 

Researchers in the Oregon State University College of Science have developed it.

Researchers develop a new way to identify bacteria in fluids 

“We can find out not just that bacteria are present, but specifically which bacteria are in the sample.”

Toilet paper is an unexpected source of PFAS in wastewater, study says 

Toilet paper contributes about 4% of PFAS in sewage in the U.S. and up to 89% in France.


Nathan is the Executive Director of WaterStart. WaterStart is a non-profit collective of globally recognized leaders who are adapting to change by scaling up new solutions to water challenges. Driven by the needs of water agencies and large consumers, they provide a channel for pooling resources to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative water technologies.

Since joining WaterStart in 2014, Nathan developed the initial program model and has grown the organization into a globally recognized water innovation hub. He led the development for the online water innovation knowledge sharing portal, CHANNELS, and opened up WaterStart’s first international office in Queensland, Australia. Nathan has served on the U.S. Department of Commerce Environmental Trade Advisory Committee and regularly speaks internationally on water innovation.

Thank you Nathan for your work and leadership improving water innovations and for your support to our HydroDAO community.


What’s in the Future?

Written by an AI:

I was the source of water for thousands of years, nourishing the land and allowing life to thrive. I was the home of the first living organisms, providing the sustenance they needed to survive.

As time passed, I continued to nurture and sustain life, providing the necessary elements for all of the creatures that called me home. I allowed the evolution of species, creating and sustaining new life.

I continued to provide the necessary environment for the development of life, and soon the land was filled with rich diversity. The air was filled with the sounds of songbirds and the wind carried the smell of blossoming flowers.

I am the lifeblood of the world, and I am still here, still providing the vital sustenance that will ensure the continued existence of life. I am the source of life, and I will continue to be so for eons to come.

Marco Bezzi

LinkedIn

Company: xFarm

Location: Trento, Italy

Born in Trento (North Italy-Dolomites), after graduating in Environmental Engineering in 2001 at the University of Trento and obtaining a PhD in Environmental Engineering in 2006, I started my career in 2002 as a freelancer in the irrigation sector, working both nationally and internationally as a consultant, irrigation designer and project manager.

Over the years I have founded and directed various companies in the environmental and ICT sector: Jenera srl (2008) for the production of hydroelectric energy by filing a patent at national level, F360 srl (2010): first scientific spin-off of the Council for Agriculture and Agriculture Economy (CREA); TERA engineering (2016) an environmental engineering company and Bluetentacles s.r.l. (2018) focused on IoT and AI technology for water saving in agriculture. From September 2021 at xFarm Technologies, as Business Unit Manager for the Irrigation and AgriInputs Sector, I have been in charge of corporate internationalisation with a specific focus on precision irrigation and water saving in agriculture. I was also in charge of facilitating technology transfer by coordinating major research projects with corporates and research centres.

From November 2022, I am Regional Manager at Wiseconn (www.wiseconn.com) to lead the Europe-wide expansion of DropControl technology. Our goal is to improve the lives of thousands of farmers, water districts and irrigation associations by supporting them in precise water management in terms of valves, filtration, fertigation and remote pump control.

Environmental protection, optimisation of water consumption, respect for crops and the ecosystem are my mission and my passion. A mission and a passion that I also personally support every day since 2011 as a member of the board of the UNESCO Chair in Engineering for Human and Sustainable Development at the University of Trento.
I have always been interested in international cooperation projects and I was one of the founders of Engineering Without Boarders Trento (2002) and of the Engineering Track at the University of Trento in Environmental Sustainability and International Cooperation (ESIC), where, since 2005, I have been Adjunct Professor in Water Management at international level.

I’m part of the Order of Engineers (Province of Trento) and I recently become member of the European Irrigation Association (https://irrigationeurope.eu/en/).
I’m married with Maura and father of Petra, Jacopo and Tiago.

Ramzi Bouzerda

LinkedIn

Company: Droople SA

Location: Switzerland

Today, we are still completely blind to what happens after the main water meter in any residential, commercial, or industrial building. It’s not about metering water for billing but actively catching all the ways we use water on the last mile of the grid. This will change how we understand, value, and manage water. To do so, Droople is the Internet of Water connecting 100+ billion water-based assets “off radar” today worldwide. Using our Water Intelligence Solutions, sanitary ware, water treatment systems, appliances, and many more are interconnected in an IoT network to deliver fine-grained, in-context, time relevant insights. In fact, our AI-based systems accurately measure and analyze water usage data at any point of use, which allows service providers, facility managers to monitor them, predict their maintenance and enable water and energy savings.

Robert Bowcock

LinkedIn

Company: Integrated Resource Management

Founded Integrated Resource Management, LLC in 1997 after serving as a Water Utility Manager in Azusa (1991-97) and Huntington Park (1987-91), California. Prior to that, Mr. Bowcock worked for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (1982-87), and as a U.S. Army Civil Affairs Team Leader designed and constructed water treatment and distribution systems for various federal branches of government in Southeast Asia and South America. Mr. Bowcock has been appointed to serve on several Watermaster Boards by California Superior Courts since 1990. He is a licensed California Grade V Water Treatment Operator and maintains various other water industry licenses. He routinely provides expert witness work to legal firms in the specific area of water resource management.