When I was young a ‘Blue Wave’ was a particular type of old
ladies hair style. Perhaps it was more common in the 1980’s but elderly ladies
in the twilight of their years would add (quite literally) a bit of colour to
their lives by transforming their greying locks into something more vibrant and
eye-catching. Quite why they would select a shade of blue that made them look
as if they had been dunked headfirst into a public urinal was always a point of
fascination for me. However, that was then, this is now. Today a Blue Wave
describes one of the most exciting, game-changing and altruistic ventures in
the water sector.
It is the brainchild of George Hawkins, the General Manager
for DC Water and Sewer Authority based in Washington DC. George is well-known
in the water sector, being something of a visionary. I confess to having just a
little professional man-crush. His premise is simple: there are two types of
water agency and there is a divide between them that needs to be closed. First
there are the large entities, such as DC Water. These entities typically serve
cities and employ diverse teams of engineers, operators, scientists and
hydrogeologists. These organisations have a depth of professional capability
which enables them to identify, scope and deliver the constant stream of
projects which a modern utility needs to undertake if they are to provide a
safe and reliable service to their customers. At the other extreme there
are the smaller municipalities. These entities might only serve a small town or
village, they employ equally committed and passionate staff but these staff are
in a constant battle just to stand still. Some of these entities employ just
one person, who does everything from operations to billing. Money is tight for
both the large and small entities, but the small entities are doubly
constrained because they lack the resources necessary to identify and develop
improvement projects. The staff in these smaller entities are running so hard
just to stand still that they will never access the exciting new technological
advances that could break the cycle of madness. While the bigger organisations
power forward, embracing new technology and achieving enhanced efficiencies,
the smaller entities just drop further and further behind.
What makes this challenge particularly pertinent is that the
number of these smaller entities far, far outweighs the larger. Of the
56,000 municipalities in the US, probably 55,000 fall into this latter
category. And this is not a US-specific problem. Many countries face a similar
challenge. There are literally millions of people around the world who are
disadvantaged due to their local water utility’s inability to embrace new tech.
Blue Wave will address this problem. Using new digital
advances it will provide a mechanism that helps the smaller entities claw their
way out of their endless cycle of running to stand still. To work effectively
Blue Wave will require some of the larger utilities to share their knowledge
and experience, but the appetite to do so appears to be growing. The Blue Wave
initiative was a key topic for discussion at an invite-only event held
yesterday in Las Vegas for a small intimate group of US water leaders. I
attended as the token foreigner, coming from one of the few countries that has
not yet been blacklisted by the kindly and diplomatic new tenants in in
Pennsylvania Avenue.
The event was organised by the water-focused private equity
fund XPV and sponsored by Wells Fargo. Their thinking was to put some of the
nation’s most experienced and informed leaders in a room, throw in a few
sector-scale challenges, and then sit back and see what happens. Based on
yesterday’s meeting, Blue Wave is what happens. In a world where intolerance
and self-protection is on a relentless and seemingly unstoppable rise it is
reassuring that something like Blue Wave is getting traction. The water sector
needs this. The world needs this.
And the reference to bananas in this blog title? Well, after
a hard day putting the world to rights the delegates at yesterday’s event were
invited to attend the One Night for One Drop Cirque du Soleil
show. This is an annual charity event held in aid of water and sanitation
initiatives and is a 3 hour extravaganza showcasing feats so awe-inspiring they
beggar belief. It was a collection of acts that ranged from the terrifyingly
dangerous (e.g. trapeze artists 100ft above the stage with nothing to stop
their fall other than a rope held between their teeth) to the astonishingly
bizarre (William Shatner closed the show with an environmental rights song so
jaw-droppingly awful I can only assume it was ironic….but does Las Vegas do
irony?).
My hands-down favourite act of the night however was a
husband and wife comedy duo which involved nothing more than 2 bananas. Like
all good Las Vegas shows it managed to be shocking, hilarious, repulsive,
mesmerising and nutritious all at the same time. It even involved
an exchange of bodily fluids (between performers and a member of the audience)
which is something not often seen live on stage, even in Las Vegas. Best of all
it was just the sort of thing any loving couple could happily do in the comfort
of their own home, if they were so minded.
Sadly I no longer have space to share further details on
this incredible act. And anyway, to share the details here would be to
break a golden rule: What happens in Vegas…
This blog and past entries can be found at http://notesfrompiers.blogspot.co.uk/
