Fri, 05/30/2014 - 00:00

DENVER (May 30, 2014) – The American Water Works Association and Imagine H2O have announced a memorandum of understanding to cultivate entrepreneurship and innovation in the water sector by providing entrepreneurs with the opportunities, tools and resources to build great water businesses. To kick off the partnership, the two organizations will co-host the Innovation Pavilion during AWWA’s Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE14), to be held June 8-12 in Boston, Massachusetts. The pavilion will feature companies identified by Imagine H2O’s annual competition including WaterSmart Software, Wellntel, WatrHub and NBD Nanotechnologies Inc. Two of the organizations’ partners, MIT Water Club and WaterTAP, will also be featured exhibitors. Additionally, the ACE14 professional program will feature three key sessions that address overcoming barriers to innovation in the water sector. “AWWA and its members represent a powerful partnership opportunity for innovators in the water sector,” said Imagine H2O COO Scott Bryan. “Imagine H2O is excited to engage AWWA and its members in supporting entrepreneurial solutions to water challenges.” Imagine H2O also recently launched its Infrastructure Challenge. The challenge—Imagine H2O’s sixth annual Business Innovations Program—will identify and support innovative water businesses presenting scalable solutions that improve water and wastewater infrastructure in a matter resulting in quantifiable cost savings or environmental impact. “AWWA looks forward to building our relationships with Imagine H2O in the coming years,” said AWWA CEO David LaFrance. “By working together we can facilitate the sharing of ideas, programming and research that will undoubtedly be of great value to both of our memberships.” The American Water Works Association is a nonprofit, scientific and educational association dedicated to managing and treating water. Imagine H2O inspires and empowers people to solve water challenges and turn them into opportunities.