Milwaukee Mayor, Tom Barrett, announced the addition of an International Water Association (IWA) office. This office will serve as the only North American regional office, conveniently located in the "Freshwater Capital of the World".
“As ‘America’s Water Centric City,’ Milwaukee is fueling the water innovation marketplace through world-class collaborative partnerships between industry, universities and government,” said Mayor Barrett, a member of The Water Council’s Board of Directors. “It became clear after the IWA Board of Directors met in Milwaukee in June 2014 that it makes sense to unite the world’s most important professional water association with the world’s leading water technology cluster.”
The IWAs global network of water professionals includes over 9,000 members in 130 countries, with offices situated worldwide in cities as diverse as London, The Hague, Nairobi, Dakar, Bangkok, Beijing and Singapore. Its membership works across the full water cycle and includes scientists and researchers, water utilities and large water using industries, nonprofits and technology providers.
“The water sector is facing unprecedented challenges, overcoming these requires new partnerships and new thinking,” said Dr. Ger Bergkamp, IWA Executive Director. “New science and technology must be made available to ensure policy makers and water practitioners can apply new approaches. The IWA connects science, policy and practice, and by joining with Milwaukee’s Global Water Center we aim to facilitate a wider cooperation between the United States and the international water community.”
This partnership between the Global Water Center and IWA is beneficial to both parties. The partnership reaffirms the leadership of the Milwaukee area water technology industry. The success of the Center now has the ability to reach people from around. Rich Meeusen, co-chair of The Water Council, believes Milwaukee has worked hard to establish itself as the world's most water centric city and has taken advantage of the region's freshwater and using that as a major driver in reshaping the future of the city.