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The Water Council (TWC) announced a renewal today of its memorandum of understanding with the Catalan Water Partnership (CWP) in Catalonia, Spain, as it continues to grow its connections worldwide to solve critical global water challenges.

The goal of the partnership, originally formed in 2018, is to exchange ideas, collaborate on joint initiatives, and open new doors to advance innovation and business opportunities. Since the memorandum’s signing, two members of the Catalan Water Partnership have joined The Water Council, a dozen CWP members visited Milwaukee in fall 2019, and the two organizations held a virtual cultural exchange and market visit in 2020.

One clear success from the partnership is a joint venture formed between Spanish company SIGMA DAF Clarifiers and Milwaukee company Clearwater Industries earlier this year. The Water Council introduced SIGMA DAF to several companies to help it find a U.S. partner, and Clearwater Industries was a clear fit. The Water Council and Clearwater representatives will speak more about the joint venture at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, at WEFTEC, the global conference for water professionals happening in Chicago.

“Over the past three years, TWC and the CWP have offered new cooperation opportunities to associates of both clusters through the organization of joint events, we had the chance to benchmark the activities of both clusters, and the foundation of the joint venture between SIGMA DAF and Clearwater Industries sealed our collaboration with a key success story. Our partnership proved a model of fruitful collaboration and a clear win-win for both parties,” said Xavier Amores, CWP director.

The renewal of the CWP agreement is an example of The Water Council’s growing international reach and one of five memorandums of understanding it has with European water organizations. The Water Council is the only U.S. water hub with on-the-ground representation in Europe. Here are a few recent examples of the organization’s international reach:

• Seven international members have joined The Water Council so far in 2021.
• The Water Council’s spring Tech Challenge drew applicants from the U.S., Canada, France, Spain and Israel, with an Israeli company winning the top prize.
• The Water Council hosted a visit from the Korea Water Cluster earlier this month with the goal of deepening the two organizations’ relationship. Coincidentally, The Water Council recently selected Tomorrow Water, a subsidiary of Korean company BKT, as a winner of its 2021 Pilot Program.
• Beckhoff Automation, a global provider of open automation systems based in Germany with U.S. headquarters in Minnesota, recently completed a training facility and offices in the Global Water Center in Milwaukee, home of The Water Council.

Following WEFTEC, The Water Council will host a business development event in Milwaukee for international water companies, with representatives from companies located in the U.K., France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada and Japan.

“The Water Council believes this international cooperation is necessary to solve critical worldwide water crises, including water scarcity, flooding and water quality problems,” said Dean Amhaus, president and CEO. “Our international work also reflects the respect given to our hometown of Milwaukee as a global water innovation hub.”