Top Takeaways Revealed At The World Water-Tech North America Summit

The World Water-Tech North America Summit welcomed senior representatives from public and private water utilities, corporate investors, engineering giants and technology companies for two days of networking and decision-making on water innovation. (02 - 03 November 2017).

Hosted by Rethink Events and WaterTap Ontario, over 250 delegates attended the summit, debating the successes and challenges of the water industry with regards to investment opportunities, optimizing energy usage and recovery, building resilience, and monetizing efficiencies through data & IoT.

Key takeaways of the summit highlighted flooding as the new drought, along with a thought-provoking panel on how utilities such as San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Aqua America and Hampton Roads Sanitation District are effectively reducing the severity and disruption of weather extremes.

When the conversation turned to water reuse, it became clear that larger commercial buildings provide an opportunity for reuse, but face obstacles. Decision-makers also urged that public education was required to make potable reuse a reality in the future.

Delegates also pushed for a move towards “data-as-a-service” as opposed to “software-as-a-service” with utilities calling for quality over quantity when it came to data collection.

Leading water industry figures such as The Honourable Minister Chan and the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water’s newly appointed, D. Lee Forsgren, both addressed their water policy and infrastructure plans as a means to accelerating innovation.

Jennie Moss, Founder of Rethink Events, said: “There has never been a greater need to bring together the industry’s brightest minds to pave the way for a more resilient future in the water industry.

“We have been organising this summit for five years and it’s always a wonderful experience seeing decision makers implementing brand new objectives and creating successful partnerships. It was fantastic to have WaterTap Ontario on board this year and we couldn’t have had a greater partner to help run the summit.”

Patrick Kiely, CEO and Founder of Island Water Technologies, had the opportunity to showcase his business plan to an audience of investors and global agribusinesses at the summit. “It was a great experience pitching our technology to all the key industry and investment leaders in the water technology space. The calibre of attendees was very high and the connections we made in only two days were invaluable.”

Rethink Events is hosting the World Water-Tech Innovation Summit in London on February 20 - 21 2018. For more information, visit www.worldwatertechinnovation.com.

About Rethink Events
UK based Rethink Events organizes world-renowned business summits for entrepreneurs and investors in sustainable food, agriculture, energy and water. For more information, visit www.rethinkevents.com.

About World Water-Tech
Launched in London in the Spring of 2012, World Water-Tech has expanded into a global series of events held in London and North America and has established itself as a meeting place for international stakeholders focused on advancing the commercialisation of advanced water and wastewater solutions. For more information, visit www.rethinkevents.com/events/watertech/.