Veolia Water Technologies by GineersNow Engineering Magazine GineersNow Engineering Magazine September 2016 | Page 74

GN: What do you think should the
government, private companies
and NGO of each country do to
get rid of these?
Tom: There are many potential
solutions to encourage the
adoption of water innovations,
but I’ll choose a big one. Currently,
most Utility revenue in the US
depends on how much water they
deliver to the customer, so many
utilities lose revenue when their
customers conserve water. As a
result, utilities are not incentivized
to pursue any conservation
measures. If water rates were
decoupled, utilities would be
more receptive to technology that
reduces water usage.
THE CHALLENGES &
SOLUTIONS GN: How do we provide water
accessibility to more than 7 billion
people?
Tom: We believe innovation
is the key to increasing water
accessibility. Better policies
along with the right pieces of
technology are both critical for
managing water for 7 billion
people. Policy and technology go
hand in hand, and our accelerator
is an ecosystem that supports
innovation in both sectors. That
said, this stuff doesn’t go into the
ground without leadership. Social,
political, and business leaders
need to stand up for the 7 billion.
Without that leadership, nothing
happens.
GN: What are the greatest
challenges in the water industry?
Tom: That’s not an easy question
to answer. The challenges in the
water industry are unusually
complex in terms of incentives
and structures. A key issue we
run up against in our work is the
conservative nature of the water
industry. When the primary goal
is just to ensure clean water flows
from the tap, decision makers at
utilities understandably prefer
to maintain existing operations.
But we need early adopters in
the water industry to support
innovations that can have a vast
impact on improving monitoring,
access, and quality. Proof points
for new technology are critical,
and don’t happen fast enough.
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SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
ADVICE TO THE YOUNG
ENGINEERS
GN: Please give advice and words
20 countries. Our accelerator
represents 1 in every 10 dollars
of early-stage water investments.
The startups we accelerate have
a vast and quantifiable impact.
Some like Ayyeka, a provider of
remote monitoring solutions,
deliver services to large municipal
utilities with thousands of
customers. Others like Ignitia,
a mobile drought forecasting
subscription with 80,000 users,
have products that directly
benefit their end-users. There is
no limit to the innovation that
can happen in water, and we are
proud to support entrepreneurs
who are solving vital problems in
the industry.
of wisdom about the clean water
campaign to our young global
audience. What would you like
to tell to the millennials? Any
inspiring words that you can
share?
Tom: One, build your network.
Aspiring water entrepreneurs have
more resources than ever, including
accelerators like Imagine H2O and
an increasing number of funding
sources, to create deployable
solutions. Two, understand the
problem you’re solving. Talk to
as many customers as you can
so you can figure what job they
need you to do, what problem
they need you to solve. Three, be
impatient. Demand change, and
try and create it yourself. The
more energy the better. Looking
across the industry, the stage is
set for new ideas and the next
generation of water leaders. It’s
an exciting time to be a water
entrepreneur!