The U.S. Water Partnership and Its Partners Make Commitments to The White House Water Summit

New Innovation Prize, Technology Commercialization, and Water Storytelling Announced
Mar 23, 2016 1:05 PM ET

WASHINGTON, March 23 /3BL Media/ – Yesterday Ambassador Paula Dobriansky, Vice Chair of the U.S. Water Partnership’s National Executive Committee, announced the U.S. Water Partnership (USWP)’s commitments to the White House Water Summit. Ambassador Dobriansky joined with USWP partners Blue Legacy International, Global Water Challenge, The Water Council and Xylem Inc. to announce collective actions intended to promote new technology solutions and engage stakeholders across the country to elevate water as a national priority. 

In celebration of World Water Day, the White House hosted a Water Summit to shine a spotlight on the importance of cross-cutting, creative solutions to solving the water problems of today, as well as to highlight the innovative strategies that will catalyze change in how we use, conserve, protect, and think about water in the years to come. As a result of the Summit, more than 150 public, private and civil society institutions are joining the Federal government in announcing new efforts and commitments to enhance the sustainability of water in the United States by managing our water resources and infrastructure for the long term. Dr. John Holdren, the President’s Science Advisor convened the White House event and later reported to a group of more than 200 distinguished water leaders at the USWP’s Global Water Security Summit, held at the U.S. Institute of Peace, on the outcomes from the White House.

Ambassador Dobriansky said, “Solutions require unprecedented public and private sector collaboration. We at the U.S. Water Partnership are pleased to work with our partners on these commitments to make a significant difference in addressing global water challenges.”

The following summarizes the key commitments to the White House’s actions for building a sustainable water future from the USWP and its partners:

Blue Legacy, Global Water Challenge, the USWP, Veolia and other partners are launching SOURCE, a new, freely accessible water-storytelling platform that will educate the public about the importance of water and offer recommended water management practices.

The Water Council, working with the Innovation Exchange, has launched the Global Water Port, an online research tool which enables access to thousands of real-time water-data sources. Today, the Water Council is partnering with the Federal Lab Consortium (FLC) and the USWP to make data from Federal labs more accessible through the Global Water Port.

In collaboration with the USWP, Xylem will issue a new water innovation challenge with $50,000 in funding, focused on themes of shared interest from the Disruptive Resilience Conference held on February 29, 2016.  Xylem and the USWP will explore potential partnerships to jointly design and launch challenges in areas of shared interest with public and private organizations such as federal agencies, municipal utilities and the research institutes. 

Other partners making White House Commitments include the Alliance for Water Stewardship, CH2M, The Coca-Cola Company, The Coca-Cola Foundation, CUAHSI, the Desert Research Institute, the Electric Power Research Institute, General Mills, Imagine H2O, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, the National Institutes for Water Resources, the National Water Research Institute, The Nature Conservancy, The Ohio State University, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, The University of Texas at Austin, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Water Alliance, and World Wildlife Fund.

Ambassador Dobriansky invited all organizations to work together with the USWP in implementing these actions.

Please click here to learn more about all of the commitments and announcements made at the White House.

About the U.S. Water Partnership

Announced in March 2012, the U.S. Water Partnership (USWP)’s mission is to unite and mobilize the best of U.S. expertise, resources and ingenuity to address global water challenges where needs are greatest. With a membership of 112 partners from the private sector, U.S. Government and civil society, the USWP constitutes an unmatched catalytic platform that facilitates public-private sector collaboration and engagement with top water sector experts and leaders. The USWP serves as a single entry point for access to the best of U.S.-based resources and ingenuity that help others develop innovative solutions to global water security challenges. Since its inception, the USWP has leveraged the work of its partners to impact millions of people in more than 150 countries. For more information, please visit www.uswaterpartnership.org and follow us on Twitter @USWP.

CONTACT:

Chuck Chaitovitz

The U.S. Water Partnership

Chuck.chaitovitz@uswaterpartnership.org

 

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