Cleveland Water Alliance (CWA) was proud to attend the 2025 American Water Works Association (AWWA) ACE Conference in Denver, one of the world’s largest and most influential gatherings focused on the future of drinking water. Representing CWA were Emily Hamilton and Max Herzog, who joined industry-leading utility professionals, innovators, and researchers for a week of networking, technology scouting, and thought leadership.

Showcasing CWA’s Work

Cleveland Water Alliance participated in two engaging sessions, each highlighting how CWA supports the advancement of water innovation and monitoring.

Emily participated in a panel hosted by Isle Utilities. Joined by leaders from Current, Imagine H2O, Innosphere, and Isle, she shared how CWA’s testbed infrastructure and innovation programming act as real-world accelerators—providing innovators with critical feedback, pilot opportunities, and connections to potential customers. The panel emphasized how partnerships and programming like CWA’s are essential to assisting startups and addressing pressing water challenges.

Max presented CWA’s Data as a Service (DaaS) model program, emphasizing how our sensor networks and smart infrastructure deliver real-time water data to help utilities make informed operational decisions.

In a time of increasingly uncertain funding for research and monitoring, his session highlighted how CWA provides a reliable, scalable source of actionable data and is supporting smarter, more efficient water management. These sessions showcased how CWA is helping shape the future of water innovation by empowering startups, enabling smarter monitoring, and supporting the adoption of technologies that address challenges in the water sector.

Exploring the Innovation Hub

A central focus for the team at ACE was ISLE Utilities’ Innovation Hub, where many of CWA’s partners and collaborators were featured. Max and Emily spent time walking the floor to explore promising technologies, meet with new innovators, and deepen relationships with existing partners.

Meeting with Our Partners

While in Denver, CWA also met with several of our current partners and supported companies to discuss ongoing collaboration and future opportunities:

• The Wave Talk – Developed chip-based sensors for bacterial and water quality monitoring. CWA has supported The Wave Talk through deployments, US market entry, and connections across our network.
• Badger Meter – CWA’s Innovator Spotlight sponsor and industry-leader, Badger Meter featured their BlueEdge platform for real-time flow monitoring and system optimization at ACE.
• GQC – CWA’s 2023 Open Innovation Challenge winner with a solution for Lead Service Line detection, GQC promoted their HydroTrek software and a 3D digital twin platform at ACE. 
• Solinas – Open Innovation Challenge runner-up, their tech advances acoustic-based detection of Lead Service Lines. Solinas has deployed at CWA’s Service Line Research Facility and continues to explore pilot partnerships.
• Enspired Solutions – A Great Lakes Innovation Accelerator Challenge winner using proprietary chemistry for PFAS destruction. CWA facilitated a connection between Enspired Solutions and CORE Water Technologies to explore collaboration.
• CoFlux Purification – Focused on PFAS concentration and destruction using a foam catalyst and UV treatment.
• Csignum – Offering wireless communication technology for underwater and underground data collection and is currently planning a testbed deployment with CWA.

These innovators represent a range of solutions from PFAS treatment to real-time monitoring, demonstrating the strength and broad scope of the water tech ecosystem CWA is helping to build.

Strengthening Global Partnerships

CWA’s time at ACE25 also included strategic conversations with national and international leaders. One highlight was a meeting with K-water (Korea Water Resources Corporation), a longtime collaborator that has helped identify promising technologies for CWA’s innovation pipeline. This ongoing partnership is helping bring global solutions to local challenges as we continue to prioritize startup support and tech deployments.

Advancing Innovation

ACE25 showcased where the water industry is headed and what it will take to get there. From the exhibit floor to expert panels, it was clear that collaboration, data-driven solutions, and innovation are more important than ever. Recurring themes included the growing presence of artificial intelligence, the ongoing challenge of building meaningful data infrastructure, and the increasing emphasis on U.S. based manufacturing.

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As the water sector navigates evolving regulations, climate challenges, and rapidly advancing technology, Cleveland Water Alliance remains focused on bridging the gap between promising innovations and real-world implementation. By continuing to identify emerging technologies, supporting innovators through testbed deployments, connecting them to pilot opportunities and potential customers, and delivering real-time water monitoring through our Data as a Service model, CWA continues to advance water innovation that delivers real impact.