The Water Council announced it has formed a partnership with the Wisconsin Historical Society to document the water initiative in Wisconsin, as the organization believes it will reshape the economic future of the state.
The Water Council believes it will someday be viewed as a part of Wisconsin’s history and thus should be well-documented now, while the individuals responsible for The Council are still around and able to contribute to that process.
“The Water Council idea is new, just a few years old, so the records are fresh. The people are still there, the people who created it, they have memories, records; so the idea was to do this now [rather than later],” said Ellsworth Brown, director of the Wisconsin Historical Society.
The Wisconsin Historical Society will hire a historian to be housed in The Water Council’s office at the Global Water Center, recently opened in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood. This historian will link Society staff and resources in Madison with the Water Council, providing assistance and training with records management and archival documentation, as well as access to the extensive water-related research collections, including maps, images and primary sources that tell the story of the western Great Lakes and Wisconsin’s water sources. The Society and The Water Council have plans to partner in providing outreach and educational programming in the future.
“There is no question that water will be shaping the future, not only where people choose to live but where people do commerce,” said Dean Amhaus, president and chief executive officer of the Water Council. “Therefore, the importance of water in Milwaukee, and Wisconsin will take an even more significant role in shaping our future.”
The Water Council, the only organization of its kind in the United States, was established in 2009 by Milwaukee-area businesses, education and government leaders. With more than 150 water technology companies in the Milwaukee area, the region’s water industry is a $10.5 billion dollar market and accounts for 4 percent of the world’s total water business. The nonprofit organization, consisting of more than 160 members, is linking together global water technology companies, innovative water entrepreneurs, acclaimed academic research programs and, most importantly, some of the nation’s brightest and most energetic water professionals.
The Water Council hopes to transform the Milwaukee region into a World Water Hub for freshwater research, economic development and education.
