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Editor's Letter
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resh water is abundant in the Great Lake State —
Michigan has 20 percent of the world's fresh water. Still,
associated challenges are aplenty both here and nation-
wide. They include aging infrastructure, quality-burdened water-
ways, legacy pollutants, competing uses and insufficient supply.
"We need to provide cleaner water
at a lower cost, and we need to do that
in an industry that is extremely risk
averse says John McCulloch, Oakland
County water resources commissioner
and founder of 1120 Opportunities.
Israeli business participation has
helped showcase this Oakland-based
independent water resources manage-
ment incubator, which is determined to
help reinvent Michigan's business base.
McCulloch visited incubators locally
and nationally before settling on Israel,
not surprisingly, as the undisputed leader in water technology
innovation. His impetus: America's need for prudent improve-
ments in the areas of water treatment, water distribution,
wastewater collection, wastewater treatment, stormwater man-
agement and lake management.
Setting The Stage
McCulloch is constantly sought out to evaluate or endorse various
water technology trends. Elected Oakland County water resources
commissioner nine years ago, he oversees management of drink-
ing water, wastewater and stormwater for 1.2 million residents.
When he says improvements on a national scale can be made
in ways that minimize capital, operating and maintenance
costs, it behooves the public to listen up.
McCulloch understands that innovators must demonstrate
their new technologies before they can gain a toehold in a business
world wary of dramatic change from older, but proven technology.
The churn of technology can produce unproven technology that's
actually more effective and cheaper in providing a superior result;
the hangup is a stage to demonstrate the new concepts and tools.
Attracting The Spotlight
Enter H2O Opportunities at One Public Works Drive, Waterford.
The nonprofit was formed on Jan. 8, 2009. McCulloch is its
registered agent. He's busy developing a management team and
board. Setting the bar high, he named Jim Ridgeway as H2O
chief technical officer. Ridgeway is the well-respected executive
director of the Alliance of Rouge Communities.
H2O's goal is to locate developers of promising water technology
and create the conditions for them to design, build and try out new
resources in real-world settings without the penalty of unhappy
clients. The hope is to help these developers refine their R&D strat-
egy and guide them to private capital options to stay in Michigan.
H2O Opportunities' success will be measured by the ability
to identify, select, vet, test and integrate inventive water tech-
nologies and solutions. The win-win yield: company profits
and Michigan jobs.
Coming Together
McCulloch visited Israel in 2008 with Gov. Jennifer Granholm
and in 2009 with Lt. Gov. John Cherry. Both trips were in
collaboration with the Michigan Economic Development
Corporation (MEDC) and the State of Michigan. The itinerary
included Haifa's Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, home
to the Stephen & Nancy Grand Water Research Institute funded
by Detroiters. The MEDC continues to help H2O Opportunities
capture funding for support services.
H2O has struck up a relationship with several Israeli compa-
nies eager to bring new technology to the U.S. market.
Consider Emefcy Ltd. in Caesarea. It has licensed a process
that creates a bio-energy system to produce energy — electricity
— from wastewater. At the same time, the process cuts operating
costs in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment.
EPC Ltd. Onsite Wastewater Solutions, headquartered in
Beit-Yizhak, offers wastewater treatment via a system ideal for
smaller communities like those in northern Oakland County.
Tel Aviv-based Miya already is working at a site in
Farmington Hills and is in negotiations for a demonstration
project in Detroit. Miya's new technology: Inspecting water
pipes for underground leaks to curb expensive repairs.
These three Israeli companies alone could create anywhere
from 12 to 100 full-time jobs in Michigan depending on the
traction they gain here.
EPC owner-president Jeremy Weissmann and Oakland
County's John McCulloch in Israel
Rooted In Israel
H2O Opportunities is positioned to leverage Oakland County
Water Resources Commission (WRC) relationships with
municipal water service systems, wastewater treatment facili-
ties and businesses in the industrial or agricultural sectors that
rely on significant use of water. The WRC will help H2O vali-
date new technologies through systems testing and make them
available through regulatory approvals.
Ifs not unusual for the WRC to promote or partner with non-
profits in initiatives that protect and preserve water quality.
The Ann Arbor-based Michigan Israel Business Bridge (MIBB)
played an integral support role in alerting the state and MEDC to
various exciting opportunities in Israel. The MIBB applauds state
and county efforts to shape a global water strategy that allows
Israeli technological creativity to manifest itself in Michigan. "We
think the water strategy could be used as a model to establish
partnerships between Michigan and Israel in other industry sec-
tors as well',' says Ron Perry, MIBB executive director.
H2O Opportunities boasts boundless possibilities as a pro-
moter of a business climate that, as John McCulloch aptly put
it, "attracts talent, companies and venture capital while stimu-
lating entrepreneurship locally, all the while advancing the pro-
tection of Michigan's water resources and ecosystem:'
In our ever-changing world with intense demand for cost
controls, we, as a county, a state and a nation, can't be technol-
ogy stagnant — and satisfied with the way things are.
That's a sure push toward the dark side of the economic bell
curve. ❑
For information in H2O Opportunities, contact WRC-H20 liaison Kevin
Larsen: (248) 431-4723 or kevin-larsen@comcastnet.
March 4 2010
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