NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Today’s World Water Day, which falls on March 22 each year and is often an occasion for plenty of “doom and gloom,” says Scott Bryan. That’s why Bryan, president of ImagineH2O, a nonprofit organization that runs a startup accelerator and other programs aimed at solving water challenges around the globe, holds his organization’s demo day and gala event in the run-up to the day, “in hopes that there might be a story out there that’s a little more positive.”

Looking over ImagineH2O’s 10th cohort—which includes a baker’s dozen of startups offering everything from high-efficiency faucets and showerheads to handheld water-quality scanners, devices to reduce water loss in cooling towers, trenchless water-pipe replacement technology, and more—there is certainly reason for optimism. But these entrepreneurs are inspired, at least in part, by the fact that the doom and gloom is real.

Photo courtesy of Ron Kroetz.