Water Online

August 2014

Water Online the Magazine gives Water & Wastewater Engineers and end-users a venue to find project solutions and source valuable product information. We aim to educate the engineering and operations community on important issues and trends.

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Feature wateronline.com ■ Water Online The Magazine 8 M ilwaukee is known as "Brew City," while steel is Pittsburgh's claim to fame. Tacoma, WA, is the birthplace of Bing Crosby, while Beyoncé calls Houston home. Tucson, AZ, is sunny 85 percent of the time, while Cincinnati experienced one of its snowiest winters this year. Despite their differences, all of these cities have one big thing in common — they are committed to furthering water technology. Those six cities, along with Colorado, Michigan, Massachusetts, Nevada, Northeast Ohio, and Central/ Southern California, have been identified by the EPA as water technology innovation clusters — regional groupings of businesses, government, research institutions, and other organizations focused on the future of water. It is expected that additional clusters will be identi- fied as water research and technology efforts grow nationwide. "The Water Technology Innovation Cluster program is a way to solve water problems and create economic oppor- tunities at the same time," said Sally Gutierrez, EPA environmental technol- ogy innovation cluster development and support program director. "The idea is to try and leverage the significant and robust assets in each region — like very innovative water utilities, a strong investment network, and significant research organizations." Many of the identified clusters have existed for some time, but the EPA didn't begin taking an active role in supporting them until 2010. For now, only water clusters have been identified, but plans to identify other types of environmental technology innovation clusters are in the works. The cluster program grew out of Cincinnati, where the Southwest Ohio/Northern Kentucky/Southeast Indiana cluster is now based. EPA Cincinnati is one of the largest federal research and development water laboratories in the country with more than 180 laboratories. The rest of the clusters were identified because there are similarly robust water research or water technology business hubs or because they had the potential to become one. "One of the drivers for selecting the clusters was to look for areas of strength where you could say 'wow, we could really bring innovation to bear here,'" explained Gutierrez. "Many of these efforts are still growing and have been more grass roots, driven by people in the area that really care about their communities." The clusters are working to tackle a variety of barriers to water technology innovation, including patenting and intellectual property protection, regulatory restrictions, access to research and information about new technology, and funding. Water scarcity, reuse, and water-related agriculture challenges are the focus at many of the Western- based clusters, while the Midwestern and Eastern clusters are more concerned about aging water infrastructure and preventing combined sewer overflows (CSOs). Despite the different goals each cluster has, all work closely together. "What we are trying to do is build a network of these clusters across the country and invite them to talk to each other and work on common issues," said Gutierrez. So far, increased communication between technology providers, research organizations, utilities, and investors has been the biggest success of the cluster program. "End users now have a way to really articulate the kind of technology they need to the organizations that have the ability to make those technologies happen," said Gutierrez. "When you bring everyone working in the water space together, you can do some marvelous things." Here's a closer look at each of the 12 clusters. This list only includes currently identified clusters and may not include all that are currently working with the EPA cluster program. The list appears in no particular order. EASTERN U.S. CLUSTERS Pittsburgh — Cluster: Pittsburgh Water Economy Network The Pittsburgh area has always been a mecca for industrial innovation, and today the Water Economy Network is utilizing that strong history to further water. The region has numerous water technology companies — including 173 that provide treatment and remediation products and Innovation Nation: The Top 12 Water Technology Hot Spots In America By Laura Martin, associate editor, Water Online The cluster focuses particularly on technologies that are sustainable, water- and energy-efficient, cost-effective for the utilities and consumers, address a broad array of contaminants, and improve public health.

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