Most Great Lakes politicians and economic development officials who cut their teeth in the resource extractive era of the 20th century think the way to make money off the region's exceptional water supply is to suck it out of the ground, package it in a bottle, and sell it off at $1.50 a pop. That's why Nestle's water company is pumping from the Muskegon River in the heart of Michigan.
But the rise of the knowledge economy - where fresh ideas are the hot commodity - combined with a growing understanding of the growing global demand for clean fresh water is leading visionary thought leaders and entreprenuers to think differently.
"Publicly traded water companies are going to do very well in the years ahead, just based on demand. The key is how you play it, says Mark Zellmer, a financial manager living in New Berlin, WI. The quote comes from a recent and insightful article by Kathleen Gallagher at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"Needless to say," Zellmer adds, "the market for the water sector is huge. More than $400 billion a year in revenues."
The question for the Great Lakes region is whether it aims to tap that market by exporting bottle after bottle of potable water, or whether it intends to harness the region's entreprenurial potential and innovate the cutting edge companies focused of exporting the latest solutions to the growing global water crisis.
It's not an either/or scenario. There is a spectrum of water-based companies that can help diversify and stregthen the Great Lakes economy. The key is leveling the public policies and investment decisions to recognize the broader industry. Right now bottling is often subsidized while new high-tech startups are generally ignored.
