Water Innovations Alliance Conference set for Sept. in Chicago

CHICAGO — With over 1.1 billion people lacking access to water, with urban infrastructure crumbling, and with climate change increasing pressure on our most precious of resources, The Water Innovations Alliance, an industry association promoting accelerated development and adoption of water technologies and methodologies, announced that it will be holding its 2nd annual Water Innovations Alliance Conference at McCormick Place here from Sept. 27 – 29, 2010.

The summit is being held to discuss and assess the problems that face the environment and economies due to the growing water crisis, and to explore cutting-edge technologies and innovations that may solve them. The event will bring together water industry leaders, technology innovators, researchers, water start-ups, NGOs, and policy makers.

The Water Innovations Alliance Conference is being designed to improve awareness and collaboration between large companies, engineering firms, universities, utilities, start-ups, NGOs and governments by educating attendees on new water technologies, innovations and prospects about developments in materials, IT, engineering, financing or public policy, and best practices.

“The real theme of our event is change. Governments, corporations and citizens need to change how they view water, how they use it, and how they manage it afterwards,” said F. Mark Modzelewski, co-founder and executive director, Water Innovations Alliance. “The water sector has changed little from the time of Caesar’s rule. We have gotten a bit better at engineering and chemistry, but essentially we are running water through troughs, forcing it through holes, and poisoning other poisons that are in it. As such, we are convening leaders in the field at the Water Innovations Alliance Conference to address change and to explore solutions, both near and long term.”

While all topics and areas of water, including filtration, desalination, water footprinting, infrastructure, and finance, will be covered at the summit, this year’s event is putting a special focus on two key areas: the water-energy nexus and creating a smarter water grid.

Specific event details, including conference session topics, keynote speakers, and panelists, will be announced on an ongoing basis.

“The Water Innovations Conference is the only event specifically focused on cutting-edge technology and innovating for the water sector. It is also the only event that gathers leaders from water regardless of their subsector or discipline, so they can discuss best practices, unique ideas, advance research projects, collaborate and cross-pollinate their efforts,” said Vincent Caprio, COO and event director, Water Innovations Alliance. “It’s reflective of the tremendous growth we have had in the past year at the Water Innovations Alliance, with a host of new members, committees, and projects, along with the establishment of our Water Innovations Foundation.”

Additional information about the event is available at http://www.waterinnovations.org/event.php.

The Water Innovations Alliance is an industry association focused on developing new funding, reducing regulatory barriers, increasing collaboration and raising awareness for cutting-edge water technologies and the problems they solve. Its membership includes Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, economic development organizations, universities, NGOs and investment firms.

The Alliance serves the entire spectrum of the water sector: corporations, investors, engineering firms, start-ups, NGOs, research centers, municipalities, and others in the field. The Alliance is located in Washington. It is a 501(c)(6) trade organization. Additional information is available at www.waterinnovations.org.

The Water Innovations Foundation is focused on educating the public and key stakeholders as to new developments in fresh and wastewater technologies. The Foundation is located in Cambridge, Mass. It is a 501(c)(3) organization.