"Choking" Economics have Small Towns Looking at Public-Private Partnerships

By Joseph Naylor

Marketing Manager, AdEdge Water Technologies LLC.

A small town west of Atlanta, Georgia has seen the value of all of its land, buildings and vehicles, shrink by 43 percent since the beginning of our current economic recession.  Key public servant positions are being eliminated and city employees are being furloughed and taking salary cuts.  City officials propose tax increases to angry and frustrated citizens.  It’s just one town among thousands across our nation seeking solutions to the challenges of our current economic state.  

Rarely considered by small town governments in the past, Public-Private Partnerships (Privatization or P3’s) are entering the dialog in many public hearings across the nation.  Public-Private Partnerships utilize private sector resources to finance and or manage a variety of municipal services including energy production and water and wastewater treatment. 

Today, many water and wastewater treatment facilities remain publically owned and operated, but the interest in PPP’s has significantly increased across the country. 

The National Council for Public-Private Partnerships (NCPPP) a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in 1985 provides educational workshops across the country.  In September, 2010 a NCPPP sponsored workshop entitled “The Future of Water Partnership in the West” was held in Phoenix, AZ.  The meeting was keynoted by Arizona Corporate Commission Chair Kristin Mayes, who spoke about how PPPs can address the capital needs of the “graying and fraying” water infrastructure of the state. She also emphasized the relationship between energy goals, water and the rising expectations of the public. Panel discussions included how PPP’s are meeting these challenges, innovative financing tools for projects, and managing the complex relationship between water and energy.

If your water treatment system needs funding for a newer more energy efficient system or renovation, take a look at Public-Private Partnership opportunities and consider the following from the TOP 10 facts about PPP’s, published by the NCPPP.

 “Clean, safe water is achieved through public-private partnerships. The stringent health and environmental standards of the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act have presented difficulties for some local governments without the budget flexibility to make major capital improvements in water and wastewater facilities. Public-private partnerships have enabled the construction of state-of-the-art water management facilities, while using efficient operations to hold down costs to ratepayers and provide a way of meeting those "un-funded mandates" from the federal government”. 

VCLEAR Capital LLC, a sister company of AdEdge Water Technologies, provides financing assistance for water treatment systems. For more information contact Bill Gafford, President VCLEAR Capital LLC bgafford@vclearresources.com.  

AdEdge Technologies Featured Small Business on The Georgia Department of Economic Development Website.

By Joe Naylor
Marketing Manager, AdEdge Water Technologies LLC

There’s no better compliment about the success of AdEdge Technologies than a public acknowledgement from The Georgia Department of Economic Development. This month AdEdge is the featured Entrepreneur & Small Business on The Georgia Department of Economic Development website.

 http://www.georgia.org/BusinessInGeorgia/SmallBusiness/Pages/default.aspx

In just a few years, AdEdge has grown to become a significant player in the water treatment business in North America and around the World. Just in the last four years, AdEdge has grown nearly 400%, while many competitors have left the market. A solid culture driven by defined core values has driven AdEdge to the success it realizes today…and the growth is just beginning. For more information, contact info@adedgetechnologies.com or visit our website http://www.adedgetechnologies.com/.

What Earth Day Means To Me

By Lindsey Ryan, Daughter of an AdEdge Employee

We at AdEdge have been asking the "younger" generation what Earth Day means to them. Below is a response from one of our employee's daughter.

Earth Day means a lot to me because it's when everyone takes care of the Earth. If everybody treated the Earth like they do on Earth Day all the time, the world would be a better place.

Earth Day is like Father's Day or Mother's Day to me. If you treated the Earth like you do your parents, there would be less pollution and more trees.

What are you doing to make the Earth a better place for those around us?

Today is the opportune time to carpool to work, take a short shower, pick up trash you see on a sidewalk...

Let's join together and make the Earth a cleaner, healthier planet for the future generations.

What Is Earth Day?

By Doug Emerick, Project Engineer, AdEdge Technologies, Inc.

I went home for lunch today and had a meal with my daughter and son. During lunch I asked Erin (7-years old) her thoughts about Earth day and her interpretation. Below are the key points we discussed. Last year at her school in Golden CO her class celebrated Earth Day, so below are her thoughts.
1. Basically to take care of the earth day

2. A day to clean up the earth

3. A day to recycle

4. Finally, a day to just celebrate

Sometimes I wish I could see the world through my kids eyes, such innocence.

VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVE SYSTEMS ARE THE BEST CHOICE FOR RO WATER TREATMENT WHEN THE VARIABILITY OF WATER TEMPERATURE IS HIGH.

by Rick Ide, Senior Applications Engineer, AdEdge Technologies Inc.

Direct or fixed speed drives on centrifugal pumps are the most common choice for reverse osmosis (RO)systems. This is because the operation is simple and once the required flow rate and total head (i.e.,pressure) has been specified, the pump only operates on that pump curve. The direct speed drive type of design is well suited to applications where the feed water temperature is relatively constant or the variability of temperature is low, probably less than 5°C between high and low temperatures.

VFDs (Variable Frequency Drives) on centrifugal pumps should be considered when there is greater than 5°C difference between the low and high feed‐water temperatures. The use of VFDs allows you to use less energy because you operate on more than one pump curve depending on the feed pressure required. Capital cost of the VFD is higher, but operating cost is lower due to energy savings.

RO membranes require control of feed and brine flows and pressures to accommodate changes in feed water temperature, feed chemistry and membrane fouling. This important function should be handled by the integrated RO system. The optimal solution is to use a VFD to change pump‐operating speed as required for the desired feed pressure without energy-wasting throttling.

The VFD provides efficient control of the pump discharge pressure by control of the pump operating speed. The VFD also eliminates the need for a throttling valve and allows for super‐soft motion starting and easy regulation of feed water pressure.

The Top 10 Plus 1 Most Impactful Books of 2010

By Rich Cavagnaro
President, AdEdge Technologies

In 2010 I had the stated goal to read or listen to two books a week. With Christmas rapidly approaching I completed book 104 two days before Dec 25 and rewardingly met my self-imposed goal. There was no particular reason for two books a week other than to see if I could do it. The discipline required to meet this pace required on average about 40 pages a day and listen to around one hour of books on CD each workday. Books were recommended to me by friends, blogs, magazines or other books. I didn't necessarily have an agenda of what to read but I focused heavily on books that provided something new to learn. The breakdown by category ended up as follows:

• Fiction-11
• Non-Fiction/Autobiographical-5
• Spiritual-7
• Investment/Money-3 
• Self Help-17
• Leadership-5
• Business (56)
• Relationships-8
• Management/Strategy-21
• Sales-6
• Marketing-4
• Economics/Behavioral Economics-7
• Motavational-8
• Social Media-2

When all is said and done and undoubtedly people will have far ranging opinions but for me this is the Top 10 plus 1 of the most impactful books I read in 2010:

10 Plus 1. What Matters Now? by Multiple Authors: A simple ebook format presented almost as a PowerPoint presentation concerning provocative words and how they apply in the coming business environment. This book makes it possible for me to see the benefits of how future ebooks can be presented in a stimulating fashion.

10. Ask And You Will Succeed by Kenneth Foster: A terrific management tool covering multiple business categories and well thought out questions to guide a discussion.

9. The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker: He is the master! A very useful book to read and re-read.

8. Wisdom Walkers by Dan Britton & James Page: I was given this book by a friend and it has 31 daily doses of wisdom with a spiritual tie in. Enjoyed it very much.

7. Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel: Those who are new to social media should put this book on your must read list.

6. The Management Mythbusters by David Axeson: He tosses the conventional management practices upside down. I truly enjoyed his practical advice of how management should really act.

5. Multipliers by Liz Wiseman: A terrific book on leadership, the title says it all!

4. Hot Flat & Crowded by Thomas Friedman: This book is an eye-opener into so many current and emerging societal issues. This book opens your eyes to the world, every person especially college age kids should make this required reading.

3. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankel: Truly one of the most inspiring books I have ever read and to think he had this ability to be so impactful while in a Concentration Camp during World War II.

2. The Case For Christ by Les Strobel: Fascinating analytical approach to proving the existence of Christ. He approaches the evidence as a crime reporter would do so. The result is compelling.

1. The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy: I have never read a book that was such an excellent laid out plan to improve one's life. I followed the plan diligently for over a year and had the most rewarding year of my life. Enough said.

For a complete list of all 104 books with a brief comment, please email me at rich@adedgetechnologies.com

Are You Satisfied with Your Water? Check to See If It Is Treated With RO.

Go to your sink and pour yourself a glass of water. Study the way the water looks, smells and tastes. Is the water murky? Do you notice an odor coming from it? Does it taste "off"?

If you answered yes to any of the above, reverse osmosis might be an option to provide your community clean, pure drinking water.

Reverse osmosis, or RO, is the process of removing impurities from water by passing it through a porous membrane.

Five Reasons Why RO Might Benefit Your Community:

1. RO removes organic chemicals, excessive minerals, salts and dissolved solids from a liquid. This is very beneficial to people on restricted potassium or sodium diets since RO removes all excessive potassium and sodium.

2. Water treated by RO smells and tastes better.

3. The RO filtration process allows water to hydrate the body quicker which is helpful during exercise and the warm, summer months.

4. In areas short of clean drinking water, RO is an effective desalination agent--it removes impurities from the sea, ocean and groundwater. RO reduces the salt content to a normal, drinkable level.

5. RO removes certain biological contaminants from water such as pathogens and bacteria that are harmful when consumed.