MACKINAC ISLAND, MI --As politicians and businesses leaders gathered on Mackinac Island for the Mackinac Policy Conference, a new report showed the surrounding waters powered $60 billion worth of economic activity in Michigan.
"The size and scale of our blue economy is on par with our traditional auto economy," said Michigan Economic Center at Prima Civitas Director John Austin, who co-authored the report.
That's if you include water placemaking and economic development, water innovation, water-related businesses and services and water research through major universities.
The state's vast water resources put it at an advantage for water innovation, Austin said, especially as places like California face water shortages.
"Are we about the future in Michigan? Are we going to solve the world's food, water energy problems here?" Austin said.
Some of the water-related industries are apparent, like Whirlpool's creating of water-efficient appliances. But some important businesses tackling world problems have flown under the radar. Take, for example, Cascade Engineering in Grand Rapids. It's a large injection molding firm, but is now producing a water filtration system for the developing world.
According to the Michigan Economic Center report, Cascade joined the Triple Quest partnership, which helps meet the needs of at-risk families in developing countries.
One problem they faced was that the cement filtration systems those families used for safe drinking water in some parts of the world were too heavy.
"A foreign missionary stopped by Cascade's Container Plant in Grand Rapids, Michigan after
seeing our all-plastic waste carts, looking for a way to get a plastic version of the concrete filters," Triple Quest President and CEO Brian Mucci explained in the Michigan Economic Center. "The concrete ones worked OK, but they were too heavy. At more than 300 pounds when empty, they were killing his donkeys when he tried to take them into the rural hillsides."
Cascade's engineers collaborated with others and came up with an eight-pound version that can serve the needs of 8-10 people per day.
The report recommended that Michigan business leaders form a council to promote the state's blue economy. The group could serve as a forum for fostering connections like public-private water research partnerships and advise state agencies on ways to support water technology firms.
Read the full report here.
Emily Lawler is a Capitol/Business reporter for MLive. You can reach her at elawler@mlive.com, subscribe to her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter: @emilyjanelawler.