Heather Potters
Company: PharmaJet, Inc.
Location: Evergreen, Colorado
Former PE fund manager, founder of a medical technology company, and sometime board member and investor in other health and tech companies.
Albert Prewitt
Company: FreeWater
Location: Austin, Texas
Currently, I am a partner of an Austin based startup called FreeWater. Our water is free because we use the packaging as ad space. Our labels are blank canvases and with QR codes we can connect anything on the internet such as shopping, ordering food, collecting coupons or downloading movies, TV shows, books, video games, software, and more. Most importantly, we donate .10 cents per beverage to charity to help build water wells for people in need. When you do the math we only need 10% of Americans to save money ad drink FreeWater and we could end the global water crisis permanently. That equates to building water wells for over 800 million people around the world.
Albert Prewitt
Company: FreeWater
Location: Austin, Texas
Currently, I am a partner of an Austin based startup called FreeWater. Our water is free because we use the packaging as ad space. Our labels are blank canvases and with QR codes we can connect anything on the internet such as shopping, ordering food, collecting coupons or downloading movies, TV shows, books, video games, software, and more. Most importantly, we donate .10 cents per beverage to charity to help build water wells for people in need. When you do the math we only need 10% of Americans to save money ad drink FreeWater and we could end the global water crisis permanently. That equates to building water wells for over 800 million people around the world.
Johnny Pujol
Company: SimpleLab, Inc
Location: Berkeley, California
CEO of SimpleLab–Largest marketplace of water quality testing labs. We index all water lab certifications, methods, capabilities, prices, tats (177 labs and counting!)
Owner of US residential water quality testing service, mytapscore.com– I oversee regular composition and content strategy for blog and products for tap water testing website with 100k monthly visitors. I communicate with customers and partners in the sector, daily.
Active in the innovation side of the US environmental laboratory testing community (accreditation bodies, laboratory clients, API development).
Todd Rawlings
Company: Microsoft (previously)
Location: Redmond, Washington
A leading Career Development Coach focused on helping high performing recent College Graduates land the first job in their dream company. My unique method of focused one-on-one coaching provides the personalized guidance each of my clients deserves. I’m currently looking for a few solid candidates to participate in Coaching Curriculum Development phase; so basically, I’d coach you for free while you help me in the creation of my digital content.
Formerly a Microsoft Team Manager and Technology Leader for Datacenter Cloud Operations and Innovation focusing on advanced technology for building and operating Earth Sustainable Data Centers. A multi-patented Inventor and Motivational Speaker with Strategic and Quality focused mindset who worked at the intersection of Customer/Business needs and Technology to achieve breakthrough results. Expertise in positioning the Company, Products and Services as a credible + trusted partner to both internal and external customers.
Created significant new Intellectual Property (IP) value through patents and driving R&D of products that are or will soon have industry disruptive results including: Submerged Datacenter; Datacenter Immersed in Cooling Liquid; Datacenter Power Management System; and Networked Device Resource Enumeration, Datacenter Byproduct Management Interface System; plus numerous other patents pending: Datacenter Operations Optimization System; and Pro-Active Customer Service and Support.
The Weekly Dive #10
Happy new watery year!! This week, we kick off the year with all the positive environmental stories of 2022. IE highlights two promising water desalination technologies. Aquaconnect raises $15M to digitize aquaculture’s supply chain. Spain invests €356M in recovery wetlands. A new technology could tap into a virtually limitless supply of fresh water: ocean water vapors. Microplastics on the seafloor have tripled over the past 20 years. This week, we are highlighting Dan Bena, one of HydroDAO’s key advisors. Learn about his impressive background and why he is passionate about water policy.
Your weekly Bonus – What’s next in 2023 for water policies?
This week’s quote:
“On the banks of Ganges
I sat in a serene and sombre mood
Looking at the playful water
as the wind like a great artist
Draws playful lines and circles
On the water.
The wind
Tickles the water
And it laughs although I can’t hear.
When the water laughs
And jumps, it moves
In lines and circles
And then rushes swift to the shore.
I sit there at the shore
With my feet in the water
And watch the lines and circles
Reach and kiss my feet
In reverent love.”
– Dr. Antony Theodore
What’s New with Water?
Here are all the positive environmental stories from 2022 so far
“So, for 2022, as part of our ongoing effort to tackle eco-anxiety, we are going to be keeping track of all the positive environmental stories from this year.”
The new desalination technologies making potable water more accessible
Two developments in seawater desalination technologies make it into IE’s list of 22 best innovations.
Scottish Start-Up Solves UK Army Water Challenge
Scottland-based Novus has developed a portable vehicle-mounted water purifier capable of producing safe, medical-grade drinking water.
Idrica provides water management software for Qatar
Idrica Qatar’s GoAigua Sewer Twin solution helped optimize water resource management for the FIFA World Cup.
What’s New in the Industry?
Aquaconnect raises $15m to digitize India’s aquaculture supply chain for smallholder farmers
Aquaconnect will use the new capital to build up its product portfolio for both pre-harvest and post-harvest services.
Fla. awards $7.1M to rural water infrastructure
The state’s Rural Infrastructure Fund awarded funding for the development of nine communities’ water infrastructure.
Spain invests in recovery wetlands Coto Doñana
Spain’s government recently announced a hydrological restoration plan and 356 million euro investment for Doñana National Park.
Agencies award $10.3M for Long Island Sound water quality
The EPA announced 41 grants totaling $10.3 million to reduce stormwater pollution for the Long Island Sound.
What’s New in the Science?
New Technology Could Tap Into a Virtually Limitless Supply of Fresh Water
One currently untapped source is the water vapor above the oceans, which is almost limitless as far as supplies go.
4 main stages of Earth’s water cycle: Here’s all you need to know
IE discusses the water cycle, its different steps, why it is essential, and some facts about it.
Increased Salinity From Desalination Equal To Natural Variations
Salinity increases will be well within the range of natural salinity variation due to evaporation.
Microplastics deposited on the seafloor have tripled in 20 years
This new study shows that microplastics are retained unaltered in marine sediments.
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).
We are grateful for Dan’s passionate leadership guiding water policies around the world.
What’s in the Future?
2022 was a historic year for climate change policies. What’s next for 2023?
2022 was a landmark year for climate change action—and repercussions.
Suman Sinha Ray
Company: Cabomba
Location: Chicago, Illinois
I am a startup co-founder. Our solution can remove nano contaminant that no other filters can’t and reduces energy of filtration by 50%. Our solution can be modularized from a form factor of a bottle to plant scale filtration system.
Jacob Sanchez
Company: Arrow Electronics
Location: Denver, Colorado
Jacob is a sustainability professional with a technical education in Environmental Engineering currently working for Arrow Electronics and building experience in carbon emission reporting, decarbonization initiatives, and sustainability strategy development. He takes pride in meeting every challenge head-on and in ensuring that his career is having a positive impact on the world.
Jaron Rothkop
Company: 501CTHREE.ORG
Jaron Rothkop is Director at 501CTHREE.ORG where he is working with Jaden Smith and Drew FitzGerald to bring clean water to Flint and other communities in crisis. Previously, he was President of The Last Kilometer, a nonprofit focused on clean energy policy and technology. From 2012-2016, Jaron was President and CTO of ZeroBase Energy, a leading designer and manufacturer of solar hybrid power systems and clean energy microgrids for governments and commercial/industrial customers. From 2012-2016, Jaron was an investment advisor to Pegasus Capital, LLP a private equity fund manager focused on global resource scarcity.
Fabian Seunier
Company: Aliaxis
Location: Brussels, Belgium
After 18 years in strategy consulting, investment banking and M&A in healthcare, Fabian joined Aliaxis as Group Head of Venturing to start and run Aliaxis Ventures – a unique corporate VC focusing on smarter water management and leveraging the capabilities of the Aliaxis Group (a leader in piping systems) to bring value to their portfolio companies and support innovation in water management.