Getting The Most Out Of Every Gallon
Water is a valuable resource, yet more than a third of the world’s drinking water is lost from urban water supply systems. No other industry allows itself to lose 30% of its product and term this acceptable, yet the water industry has done so for years.
“Imagine that you run a company that sells bottled water. You spend lots of money, and use lots of energy, pumping the water out of the ground, purifying it and transporting it for sale. Then, one day, you discover that a large number of bottles never make it to the stores. They are falling through holes in the trucks.
Wouldn’t you want to know what could be done about it? Wouldn’t you be crazy to allow the situation to continue?
Well, that’s what’s happening with many water utilities.”
– New York Times, David Bornstein.
Miya believes that there is enough water in the world for everyone and humanity simply needs to improve its efficient management of urban water systems to provide water to everyone. Miya took on this challenge and found a way to get the most out of every single gallon of water.
“In many areas of the world, there’s no need to produce more water if we just cut waste” said Wietchner, Miya’s Chairman. The know-how for improving system efficiency and reducing water losses significantly exists, but requires the expertise to carry out strategic, cost-effective projects and requires flexible financial models to get utilities started. Miya’s unique comprehensive approach includes every step of the project, from strategy and design to implementation; it also includes the building of realistic financial models and recruiting international finance institutions to help utilities start projects that will benefit all stakeholders in the long-term.
“Today, the emergence of companies that specialize in reducing water losses, like Miya, represents an important step forward, much like the emergence of energy service companies in the 1970s and 1980s to reduce energy use.
What distinguishes its work is its whole system approach: it looks at a water system the way a doctor looks at the body’s circulatory system.”
– New York Times, David Bornstein