April 15, 2015
Massachusetts Water: Every Drop Counts!
Record snowfall in Boston and powder days in New England. New England and powder are not typically associated, but what a great ski season it was. All the while, California measured its lowest snowpack on record. What is going on? Call it climate change, global warming, natural variability or whatever you like. Does it matter the label?
While many still embroil themselves in debate as to why historical shifts in weather patterns are taking place, and what is causing ice shelves and glaciers to melt at increasing rates, global greenhouse gas emissions continue and destructive global weather phenomena are occurring now.
Water, without substitute and essential to life, is under increasing pressures for industry, agriculture, and domestic use. Add in the water requirements crucial to healthy ecosystems that sustain our planet and it should be no wonder that, for the first time ever, the World Economic Forum ranked water crisis as the top global risk in terms of impact earlier this year in Davos, Switzerland. Changing weather patterns, mismanagement and rising demand are primary factors.
What does Massachusetts have to do with any of this? After all, we are flush with water resources. Storage reservoirs, rivers and ponds are full and water utilities do the critical, yet often thankless, job of treating our waste and delivering clean water for us to utilize.
At closer inspection, Massachusetts does indeed have significant and looming water risks to address. To highlight a few, water and sewage distribution infrastructure is quite old and in need of investment to repair or replace in many cities and towns. Increasing levels of nitrogen and phosphorus threaten water quality, fisheries, ecosystems and daily life for residents which in turn may someday have drastic impairments to local economies.
Taking an even closer assessment, Massachusetts has an opportunity to place itself at the center of both developing and bringing to market technological solutions that will address local water concerns, and also be deployed all over the world. Massachusetts can harness an unparalleled portfolio of assets consisting of stellar academic institutions, a desire for innovation, a spirit of entrepreneurship and a precedent for growing technology super-hubs, as we have in life sciences and clean technology. In doing so, Massachusetts will innovate and deploy water technologies while leading to help populations grapple with current and eminent water challenges.
History tells us that Massachusetts has been an important and perhaps unsung contributor to forward-looking water technology and research for some time. Going back more than 120 years, the Lawrence Experimental Station became the first facility in the United States to treat water, wastewater and industrial waste to successfully prevent the spread of water-borne diseases. Over this time, numerous companies such as Metcalf and Eddy Inc. (now AECOM), Ionics and portions of CDM Smith, to name a few, have been founded in Massachusetts and have gone on to author, publish, develop and build lasting works that have positively shaped the industry. Most recently, successful efforts to convene influential stakeholders across all sectors involved in the water technology industry have resulted in the creation of the New England Water Innovation Network and a new Water Innovation Trust designed to build upon the successes to date with tangible demonstration and testing projects so that technology can be delivered to market in a more efficient manner.
Weather patterns will continue to shift; water resources will increasingly become stretched. Massachusetts holds myriad capabilities to address water challenges through technology. Much has already been accomplished and the stage has been set for Massachusetts to assume a leadership role in the effort to address water-related challenges, both with new technologies and with those on the horizon.
With World Water Day having just passed and Earth Day next week, what better time to double down our commitment to addressing the water challenges we face?