Making Cleveland a business center for freshwater sustainability
For many years, people in Cleveland have asked, “Why can’t we establish a major center for water here and leverage our location on the Great Lakes?”
To help answer this question, EcoCity Cleveland and the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission teamed up to study the feasibility of a creating such a center. The study takes a hard look at global water issues, identifies gaps in current water-related activities and organizations, and proposes an entrepreneurial model for a Cleveland center — a center that can have global impact on the sustainability of freshwater while being financially self-sustaining and contributing to the economic development of Northeast Ohio.
The research, which involved business consultants and an advisory committee of community leaders, came to the following conclusions:
- Freshwater is the substance of life and the world’s most vital resource, more important than oil. Human civilization needs to transform its relationship to water. Improving access to clean water is essential for the health and quality of life of billions of people around the world.
- Restoring freshwater ecosystems is essential for the continued existence of millions of plant and animal species. These needs will grow in the 21st century.
- There are gaps in the process of providing water quality products and services — gaps related to research not being linked to user needs, a bias toward high-tech rather than appropriate technologies, insufficient support for product prototyping and field testing, and insufficient financial support and business acumen for commercializing products and services.
- A center in Cleveland can plug these gaps and leverage the region’s strengths in water remediation, biosciences, health care, industrial design, polymers, higher education, and other areas.
The study recommends an innovative, nonprofit business model for the center. It focuses on three areas of activity:
- Water intelligence: Understanding stakeholder needs, compiling best practices and innovations, analyzing and identifying market opportunities.
- Incubation: Investing in innovative technologies, assisting the start-up of viable businesses, supporting the prototyping and field testing of new products and services.
- Implementation: Leveraging practical knowledge of real-world conditions and user needs (especially in markets in the developing world) to support business success and growth.
The study also presents a phased business plan for developing this center. The bottom line is that an investment in the range of $14 million could create a nonprofit business center that could be financially self-sustaining at the end of five years from the sale of proprietary information, consulting, licensing fees, conferences, and other revenue streams. Thus, we could create a permanent resource that would make Cleveland a global epicenter for water products and services.
This center will accelerate innovation and have the potential to help millions of people around the world. It also will attract new companies and jobs to Northeast Ohio, strengthening the region’s economy while promoting a new consciousness about water — a “water culture” — that will have profound impact.
This is an exciting concept, and there is a sense of urgency about moving forward. Although Cleveland is well positioned to turn this concept into reality, it is not uniquely positioned to do so. Other cities could seize the opportunity if we delay.
Your advice
What’s next? That’s where you come in. The organizers of the study are looking for advice about possible next steps, funding sources, and people to involve.
You can see the full study here:
Global Water Ventures of Cleveland feasibility study (PDF 2MB)
And you can email comments here, or you can add a comment to this page by logging onto the site and clicking the add comment link.
Thanks for your ideas.
"Changing the vicious cycle
Susan Miller Says:"Changing the vicious cycle of water consumption and pollution will require disruptive change." I am thrilled to see that work in this area has been quietly underway. Now that it is out in the light of day and open for commentary, I offer my initial thoughts. The quote above struck me most in the study and I connect this idea to our region and its governmental policies, ordinances and practices. Soon Cleveland residents and businesses will see the change in some simple ordinances regarding roof water -- downspout disconnects. I spoke with Andrew Watterson last night who confirmed that the changes in the ordinances will pass in the next few weeks. Hallelujah! This is the tip of the iceberg. Changing building codes and fast tracking individual LEED projects and LEED ND efforts will improve water quality sooner. Basically there is plenty of "intelligence" out there that Cleveland and Northeast Ohio has failed to implement and before we can begin to preach to the world about water, we need to model the behavior.
James Carville, campaign strategist for Bill Clinton coined the phrase, "It's the economy stupid!". Here's my comeback. It's the infrastruture stupid!" We're gonna have to get with the green infrastructure ASAP. We're already well aware that tomorrow is too late. No?
Cuyahoga County could move, the numerous municipalities in NEO could move to implement existing technologies and practices that involve the citizenry in the process via education and strategic doing. I believe that everyone here wants to see the region rebound, and learning that water conservation is not just for the arid Southwest, but also can help here, that it's not just in sophisticated cities that one might visit a no flush toilet or waterless urinal, that porous asphalt/cement or pavers are a viable and smart alternative for driveways, sidewalks, roads... ah we could move ahead so much faster.
Yesterday I cleaned out the storm drains in a parking lot near my home to allow small ponds to enter the storm drains. What was holding up the drainage? Leaves and TRASH. We all have to become better stewards of our water resources and recognize our rivers, streams, brooks and lake as the most important asset we have in the region.
Now as relates to outside our backyard: last night I listened to a woman from Meigs County Ohio speak about the impact of the new AMP coal fired power plant that Cleveland Public Power will likely buy into. What does this have to do with water? A farmer, there after drilling happened for mining/sequestration activities near his farm, saw his well run dry instantly. Now he has to carry water in a truck to give his cows a drink. That’s no small inconvenience. So this is a “right now” way that our power needs can affect the water resources of a community far away; not to mention the air quality issues residents of Meigs County face. And I thought of all the particulates falling into the Ohio River and flowing along into the Mississippi River and down to the Gulf of Mexico and I thought about a renewable energy portfolio and how it is hung up in discussion.
I realize that these issues are not simple, but I also feel that Ohio lags behind in clean up and smart environmental issues. For the place that launched the Clean Water Act, coined the term brownfield, we should be miles ahead of where we are today. How can we "get busy"? What elected officials are on board with a clean fresh version of our region and which are not?
"Changing the vicious cycle of water consumption and pollution will require disruptive change." We’re gonna have to be ready to be disruptive. "Polite conservationists leave no mark save the scars upon the Earth that could have been prevented had they stood their ground." David Brower
On another lighter and relatively easy to launch note – recreation: we do need to begin to get out on the water more. Not everyone can have a boat. And let’s face it, the lake and the rivers here are not very inviting for wading in barefooted from the shoreline. What happened to the “ferry to Canada”? Who is already making money offering sailing charters from downtown? How can people in the region begin to more regularly appreciate this vast land to our north called Lake Erie? Recognizing the beauty of the region has much to do with being on the water. The calm that ensues from looking at the city from a quiet rocking boat on the lake under moonlight or starlight can mend many a deep-seated frustration, can reinvigorate us to return to the grind of making headway on the task of making Cleveland a green city on a blue lake. To become the water problem solver for the world, we will also have to use that old adage, “start where you are.” So let’s start clearing the desk of projects long overdue – start with restoring the long argued, forever languishing Doan Brook.
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