The Waterly
"The Waterly" is a weekly all-things-water newsletter we share with our community covering the latest innovations and investment deal flow in the water sector and recent news on climate change and water-related crises.
Hello and welcome to The Waterly! The last week was packed with new funding rounds, we received advice on how to forge a circular city around water, Kayleen has released her last podcast episode of the season on Talking PFAS, and we found out that an old study had predicted society's collapse!
Make sure to check out This Week's WELL Advisor at the end of this email to get to know the WELL members, but before that, a round of applause to our portfolio company 374Water for its feature in Forbes!! - Didier
Tech & Innovation
BlueGreen Water Technologies Named "Breakthrough Technology Company Of The Year"
BlueGreen was selected as the early-stage technology company which has made the most impressive commercial breakthrough into the global water technology market for its groundbreaking solution to treat cyanobacteria blooms in bodies of water regardless of location, size, or shape.
Meet the young CEO who is successfully trying to combat India’s water crisis using innovative technologY
A young and rising company that primarily offers water purifiers, Lamaara Technologies has been contributing towards combating the water crisis in India and abroad.
5 Recommendations to Forge Circular Cities Around Water - WEF
“It is necessary to see water as a catalyst and as a key to unlocking multiple wins spanning these pressing issues to achieve a more equitable and sustainable global economy,” the Forum said.
Investment & Deals
Natel Energy Announces $20M Series B to Further Deploy Modern, Renewable Hydropower
The company will use the funding to build momentum in the deployment of its flagship product which enables cost-effective production of distributed reliable renewable energy while supporting the health and resilience of watershed ecosystems.
Oneka Technologies Announces CA$5.5M Funding Round and Adds Innovacorp, Baruch Future Ventures and MANN+HUMMEL as Latest Partners
Oneka harnesses wave power to produce fresh water with zero greenhouse gas emissions, zero land use and responsible brine using a modular proprietary desalination solution.
American Water's (AWK) Unit Invests $6M in UV Technology
Notably, three new UV reactors have been installed, and these are capable of treating up to 15 million gallons of water a day.
The performance of the Nasdaq Veles California Water Index (NQH2O) shows the economic pressure that the historic US drought is placing on water users in California
The average price of water in the five trading markets tracked by the index increased by $300 per acre-foot in the spring, and has remained above $800/AF in the months since.
Platinum Equity to Buy Water Treatment Company Solenis for $5.3 Billion
Billionaire Tom Gores’ Beverly Hills-based private equity firm Platinum Equity has agreed to buy Wilmington, Del.-based Solenis in a deal valued at $5.25 billion.
Our Portfolio Companies
Cleantech Company 374Water Touts PFAS-Eliminating Technology That ‘Makes Toxic Sludge Turn To Water’
A North Carolina company called 374Water recently announced an agreement with an Indiana biosolids company called Merrell Bros. to help tackle the problem.
Water & the Environment
America in 2090: The Impact of Extreme Heat, in Maps
Yes, it is getting hotter. And while you might be able to escape the intensifying tropical storms, flooding or droughts by moving elsewhere, refuge from extreme heat is no longer easy to find. Even in Siberia.
Yep, it’s bleak, says expert who tested 1970s end-of-the-world prediction
Herrington, a Dutch sustainability researcher, has made headlines in recent days after she authored a report that appeared to show a controversial 1970s study predicting the collapse of civilization was – apparently – right on time.
Water level in Utah’s Great Salt Lake hits historic low
The new record comes months earlier than when the lake typically hits its lowest level of the year, indicating water levels could continue to drop even further, said Candice Hasenyager, the deputy director of Utah’s division of water resources.
PFAS and Chemicals
Twelvefold increase in suspected industrial dischargers of ‘forever chemicals’
EWG’s new estimate, based on a review of newly available government data released by the Biden Environmental Protection Agency, found 29,900 industrial sites that are known or suspected of using toxic PFAS.
Are we being kept safe from ‘forever chemicals’ injected into fracking sites?
Not willing to rest their laurels on the theft of the future, the fossil fuel industry is now salting the earth with forever chemicals.
Ep 31 Alissa Cordner, The True Cost of PFAS, Environmental Sociologist Washington State, US
My special guest today is Alissa Cordner an Environmental Sociologist and Associate Professor in the Sociology Department at Whitman College which is in Eastern Washington State in the US. She has been working on PFAS since about 2014.
Maxi Cohen is an award-winning film and video maker and artist. Her films have played in movie theaters, film festivals and television around the world, and have influenced two generations of filmmakers. As a media activist, her film and television work has had significant influence in creating visible social change.
Her works have been exhibited internationally and are in the permanent collections of numerous museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Maxi has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, Annenberg Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Karan-Weiss Foundation, and other family and government funds.