December 10, 2025 • 48 mins
Our region's water isn’t just running through our taps; it is shaping our region and our future. Cleveland is a waterfront city, and in this episode, you will hear how technology, entrepreneurship, destination development, maritime trade, and recreation are blossoming under our culture of freshwater stewardship.
This recording is from Eco Meet CLE, a gathering of local sustainability leaders held on November 18th at Great Lakes Brewing Company. Some have called us a beer-drinking group with a sustainability problem. It works. Eco Meet events are a fun way for people to connect and learn about impactful work in a fun and casual setting.
The topic for the night was our Blue Economy, and we brought together several speakers who reflected on their role in Cleveland's water economy and how this shared asset, which must be protected, makes our waterfront such a vibrant and engaging space for residents, visitors, business, and career development. Our panelists included:
- Emily Bacha, Director of the Cuyahoga County Fresh Water Institute
- Samantha Martin, Director of Communications and Engagement, Cleveland Water Alliance
- Kierra Cotton, Marketing and Communications Manager, the Port of Cleveland
- Captain Drew Ferguson, Founder and CEO of Argonaut
- Kate Wells, Manager of Environmental Stewardship and Quality, Interlake Steamship Company
- Max Pennington, Co-Founder of CLEANR
If you care about clean water, good jobs, and resilient cities, this story is yours. Follow, share with a friend who loves Lake Erie, and leave a quick review to help more people discover how Northeast Ohio turns stewardship into strength.
A clarification for listeners: Cleveland's Irishtown Bend Park is expected to be completed in 2028 or 2029, following the Port of Cleveland's stabilization of the hillside in 2026.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Diane Bickett (00:04):
You're listening to EcoSpeak CLE, a podcast for
the Eco Curious in NortheastOhio.
My name is Diane Vickett, andmy producer is Greg Rotuno.
Together we speak with localsustainability leaders and
invite you to connect, learn,and live with our community and
planet in mind.
Emily Bacha (02:18):
We're going to start off with some some u QA
for you so that I can get a readof the room.
For those who I haven't had achance to meet, this is a really
great room full of friends, andit's exciting to see so many
folks here.
But my name is Emily Vaca, andI am proud to serve as the
director of the FreshwaterInstitute, a new Cuyahoga County
program within the Office ofSustainability, really designed
(02:39):
to help catalyze our region'sculture of freshwater
stewardship.
Before I dive into my regardsthis evening, I'm interested to
hear a little bit of feedbackfrom you.
How many people woke up thismorning and brushed your teeth?
How many, how many folks as youwoke up, poured yourself a
(03:01):
glass of water or made yourselfa cup of coffee?
How many folks are drinkingbeer made with Cleveland water
and I'm gonna I need to behonest in this in this last
question?
How many of you have thought atany point during today?
(03:21):
I am so grateful to live on agreat lake in a region with
abundant water resources.
That's great.
I um I'm glad to hear thatthere are so many people who are
actively thinking about thatbecause I think that in the
world that we live in, it can wecan take it for granted when we
turn on the faucet that we haveabundant freshwater resources
(03:42):
in our backyard.
Water is life, and here inTiahoga County, water not only
sustains the lives of ourselves,our friends, our family, our
neighbors, but it also helpsdrive our economy.
We sit on the shores of LakeErie, one of five Great Lakes
that make up the largest surfacefreshwater system in the world.
(04:03):
This is likely not news to anyof you.
But of this whole water onEarth, only 3% is freshwater.
And of that 3%, only 1% isaccessible surface water, not
trapped in glaciers orgroundwater.
21% of that accessible freshsurface water is found in the
Great Lakes in our backyard.
(04:24):
I was chatting with someonerecently who this was new news
to them.
Someone who would likely be inthis crowd with us.
And so I'm starting with inevery presentation that we sit
on 21% of the world's freshsurface water.
I love this photo from NASAbecause it shows the vastness of
our Great Lakes water system.
(04:45):
Uh, known by many as inlandseas.
If you've talked with anyonerecently who is not from around
here, they go, wow, that's anawfully big lake.
I got no idea.
Tonight we're gathering on thesouthern shore of Lake Erie, the
smallest Great Lake by volumeand the shallowest.
And what we lack in size, wemake up for in other aspects.
Lake Erie is the most populatedof our Great Lakes, with
(05:05):
one-third of the totalpopulation of the Great Lakes
basin living in our watershed.
Lake Erie provides drinkingwater for nearly 11 million
people, including 3 millionOhioans.
Cleveland Water, the, you know,when you turn on your tap
water, they are in the 10thlargest public water system in
the United States, the largestin Ohio, and the largest system
(05:25):
sourced in Lake Erie.
The shallowness of the basinand the warmer temperatures make
Lake Erie the most biologicallyproductive of all of the Great
Lakes.
Lake Erie has more consumablefish than all of the other Great
Lakes combined.
Right?
This is right for folks.
So fishing on Lake Eriecontributes in a major way to
our region's tourism economy.
(05:46):
And the eight the eightcounties bordering Lake Erie
have a total economic impact of$20 billion combined, accounting
for more than a third of Ohio'stourism dollars.
Just those eight lakeshorecounties.
And while that number seemsbig, if you look at the region
as a whole, all of our GreatLakes, the eight states of two
Canadian provinces that are inour Great Lakes watershed, post
(06:10):
51 million jobs and a sixtrillion dollar economy.
It would be the third largesteconomy in the world if we just
seceded our Great Lakes statesand Canadian provinces.
So the Great Lakes representone of our most valuable assets.
A national highway that hasshaped our history.
It continues to driveopportunity in Northeast Ohio.
(06:30):
And many of you know that ourlocation on the Cuyahoga River
on the lake, as well as thedevelopment of that Ohio and
Nearing Canal, right there, youJim Bridge, grow to a major,
helped us grow to a majoreconomic powerhouse by the late
19th century.
And for more than a century,the Cuyahoga River served as
prime real estate formanufacturing.
And when you think about watereconomy, that might be the
(06:51):
economy that you're thinking of.
Water pollution was viewed as anecessary consequence of a lot
of that economic growth over theyears, but no more.
And we know that.
After the river burnt for thelast time, we had been on a
journey of restoration for theCuyahoga River of our lakefronts
and thinking about water in newand different ways here in
Northeast Ohio.
(07:12):
If we go along that journey, Ican look out into the crowd and
see a number of differentorganizations that are helping
build that water economy journeyfrom the last river fire in
1969 to where we are today in2025 and along the shores, along
the shores of the lake and ofthe river.
(07:33):
And if we think about thatculture of freshwater
stewardship, it really isingrained in so many of the
organizations and so many of theindividuals in this room.
And our county executive, ChrisRonain, when he was running for
office, saw the potential ofsaying, what does it look like
if we harness and we catalyzethat region's our region's
(07:54):
culture of freshwaterstewardship?
What happens next?
And so the Freshwater Institutewas born into an idea.
The county did some focusgroups and talked with a number
of people to say, what would itlook like to have an institute
that's focused on education andresearch, water economy,
advocacy and access, to reallyestablish our region as a global
freshwater leader because weknow that we are and we can
(08:17):
continue to grow into thatleadership status that's
recognized for our healthy andprotective waterways, especially
as we get closer to delistingof Kyahoga River as an area of
concern, a thriving andsustainable water economy, which
we're going to hear more andmore about tonight, and a deeply
engaged community.
I'm looking at all of you thatdeeply values and understands
(08:39):
the importance of our freshwaterresources.
So the Freshwater Institutekicked off, launched this time
last year by Cuyahoga County.
There's not a lot of othercounties that have launched
efforts like this, is what I'mfinding.
I joined the team in January ofthis year, and for the last 11
months, I've been connectingwith so many different partners
in this space.
Again, focusing on these threekey focus areas, making the
(09:03):
connections between differentpartner organizations, different
individuals at the local level,at the regional level, across
the Great Lakes, across thenation.
And when we talk about thewater economy or the blue
economy, folks often ask me, youknow, I jump into
conversations, this last slideof, you know, thinking about
(09:23):
education and research, watereconomy, advocacy and access.
Most folks get it.
But when I say water economy,they go, What, excuse me?
What are you talking about?
And all of you are here to talkabout that tonight, which I
think is really exciting.
And if we think about thedefinition of the water economy
or the blue economy, you look atthe World Bank and they're
talking about the sustainableuse of ocean resources for
(09:43):
economic growth, a real focus onoceans.
And I'll point to my friends atCleveland Water Alliance as we
move from the global to theregional to the local, knowing
that our water economy is basedon the foundational concept that
water is a precious and limitedresource.
It's not just about our oceans,it's also about our freshwater
systems and our great lakeshere.
And that any business thatutilizes water or utility that
(10:06):
treats water or organizationthat conserves water is part of
that global and interconnectedwater economy.
And that really rings true forme in the work that we're
discussing today.
So as I said, I tend to look atour water economy from the lens
of Cleveland Water'sperspective, Cleveland Water
Alliance's perspective, to beall encompassing of those
systems of economic activities,policies, institutions that
(10:29):
influence the use, management,distribution, and value of our
water resources.
And when I think about that, Ialso think about the specifics.
I need examples, tangibleperson that needs photos, news
examples.
And I think about the waterutilities and infrastructure
from drinking water, wastewater,stormwater, water-dependent
industries here in NortheastOhio, from advanced
(10:50):
manufacturing to maritimeshipping, food processing, yes,
data centers, which we'llprobably have a question about
later.
Thinking about water andtechnology, and how do we how do
we pilot new and innovativetechnologies to help us do all
of this work within the watereconomy?
I think about recreation andtourism.
Again, so much of our economyalong those lakeshore counties
(11:11):
is driven by our access to thelake.
I also think about waterfrontdevelopment and conservation.
We're in a real moment here inCleveland in a Cuyahoga County
where we're going to see moreand more access to the Cuyahoga
River, more and more access tothe lake.
And I think that it'll help uspivot and talk about this a lot
more because we will be able tosee and touch and feel the
(11:32):
waters that we've beendisconnected from for so, so
very long.
Did you know that there aremore than 300 water-related
companies already here pursuinga broad range of technologies
and solutions from plumbing,hardware to software, um, all
related to all related to ourwater economy and getting our
(11:52):
water from our Great Lake to ourkitchen sinks.
And as we think about this inthe face of an increasingly
water scarce world, businessesand people have no choice but to
think about more, moreresilient spaces to live, to
work, to play, to grow theirbusinesses.
And I would venture to say thatmost of us here in this room
(12:14):
understand that Northeast Ohiohas that to offer.
Meeting this moment willrequire new thinking about
economic development thatbalances, and I think this is
key if we think about the watereconomy of the past, the water
economy today, thinking aboutbalancing economic goals with
fresh water protection.
We can't take for granted thatwe live on 21% of the world's
(12:35):
fresh surface water.
That's a big advantage for us,but it also requires great
stewardship and rate protectioninto the future.
And so we can build, we canbuild this new economy as we go.
unknown (12:49):
Thank you.
Emily Bacha (12:50):
And that's part of the work that the Freshwater
Institute is doing.
Certainly connecting withpartners, but also connecting
with students and connectingwith youth across Northeast Ohio
and community across NortheastOhio to begin to tell these
stories in new and meaningfulways.
And so if we go back to themajor priorities of the
Freshwater Institute, yes, we'retalking about water economy,
(13:12):
advocacy, and access, but we'realso talking about education and
research.
And I don't know what fills mycup the most when I get to
interact with the students thathave been part of the Freshwater
Institute's programming.
This year we've been able towork with a couple of different
nonprofit partners to launch ahigh school fellowship program.
That's what you see in the topleft, working with SIAT and
(13:32):
teaching Cleveland to engage 20students from 17 different
schools across Cuyahoga Countyto learn about the ecology, the
geology, the uh economy of ourGreat Lakes systems and helping
them see what careers might beof interest to them.
So they got to go behind thescenes at Cleveland Water at
North East Ohio Regional SewerDistricts.
(13:53):
They got to go up to Cali'sIsland and do hands-on science,
they got to go to Niagara Fallsand see a totally different uh
version of what our Great Lakelooks like and understand that
there are rear caps and in factat their graduation ceremony
come celebration this summer aspart of that program.
That's what they said.
I didn't know that there wereother people out there that
(14:14):
cared about water like Ivy.
I didn't know that there wereother people who uh are going
into water-related careers.
I had no idea that this futurewas ahead of me and that I could
be a really vibrant part ofthat.
Similarly, we launched aninternship program by the
Student Conservation Associationand a couple of partners.
And that's the photo that yousee on the on the bottom
(14:35):
left-hand side.
And working with students thatare graduating from high school
and interested in going intowater-related careers and
helping them get the trainingand the skills that they need.
So, water economy isn't justhere's the dollars and cents,
but here are the workforcedevelopment skills, the
career-building skills that youcan build alongside.
So, Freshwater Institute isreally proud to invest in those
(14:57):
programs and to keep growingthose programs as it relates to
our water economy, certainlyengaging our community along the
way on that as well, from thesmallest of those and our vents
to uh to the oldest.
I'm really excited fortonight's lightning round
presentations.
My goal was to give you a baseknowledge of Great Lakes water
(15:18):
economy.
And in this space, I actuallythink my time I've been very
surprised by.
But when Diane approached tosay, we'd like to talk about
water economy, I said, I'm I'mhaving to be one part of this,
but like Freshwater Institute,I'm just one part of this.
There are so many goodorganizations doing such good
work in this space, and I'mdelighted that you'll get to
(15:39):
hear from a number of themtonight to think about our water
economy in a more robust waythan maybe you did before
grabbing that beer at the barjust a few minutes ago.
So with that, I think that Iget to pass it over to Samantha
Martin.
Diane Bickett (15:59):
So first lightning round speaker is
Samantha Martin.
She has a title that is I knowto read Director of
Communications and Engagementfor the Cleveland Water
Alliance.
Welcome, Samantha.
Samantha Martin (16:21):
Thanks, everyone.
And this is this is reallyhandy.
This little there's a Victoriahas a little thought going down
right now.
And I feel like everyone at aparty who asks me what I do for
work also wishes that they wouldhave that because I could talk
about this for a long time.
Because like Emily said, it'snot something that you think
about.
And when you think about it,there's a lot there.
(16:42):
For example, I'm so glad tohear that so many people brush
their teeth this morning.
That's really reassuring.
Um, how many people used like aBrita filter or some kind of
water dispenser, maybe in yourfridge or something like that?
So you know when it's time tochange the filter and there's
like a little red light thatgoes off and it's like, okay,
got to change our filter now.
(17:02):
So that kind of just goes offvibes right now.
So it's really just a timingthing.
Like that doesn't depend on theamount of bacteria in your
filter.
Your filter might still begood.
It might not.
We actually are working with aSouth Korean company that has a
sensor on a chip that couldreally revolutionize that space
(17:23):
force.
That is just one tiny littleexample of the work that we do.
And that's what I want to do.
Just give you a few littlebite-sized pieces because I'm
not from this world originally.
I'm not a biologist or ascientist or a technology
person.
I'm just a girl who reallyliked Ranger Rick as a kid, and
then that I'm held into RadioLab.
(17:44):
And I feel like a lot of peoplehere are probably in the same
boat as well.
But Cleaf of Water Alliance, weare a relatively new
organization when it comes tononprofits.
We just celebrated our 10-yearanniversary last year, so we're
in 11 years right now.
And so for Clevelandnonprofits, that's that's
relatively newer.
And one of our founders, hername was Jenny Grassilli Brown.
(18:06):
We actually lost her this year.
She was a really, reallyincredible woman who was fierce
and opinionated and spunky untilthe very end.
But her, along with some reallyintelligent people, wanted to
get on top of this opportunity.
And the opportunity is that ourhistory at Cleveland and
Cuyahoga is no secret here.
(18:27):
You know, where Great Lakesused to host Burning River Fest
every year, which would get kindof crazy and fun.
Um, if you've ever been, butBurning River Pale Ale, we know
that our river caught on fire.
We know that the photo and Timemagazine wasn't actually the
right fire at the right time,but that's neither here nor
there.
But they knew that that historycreated one of the highest
(18:49):
concentrations of waterexpertise in the world, really,
when you think about it.
We have worked a really hardtime.
I know that there's a lot offolks on the AOC as well here,
the area of concern, that arevery familiar with getting the
Cuyahoga River back up.
We just released all thosesturgeon in the river.
That was a lot of fun.
So to solve these issuesrequires incredible
(19:10):
collaboration, collaborationfrom our institutions like
Cuyahoga County, collaborationsfrom corporations holding them
accountable, collaborations frominnovators and folks in the
technology space as well.
And so Cleveland Water reallyconvenes, excuse me, Cleveland
Water Lines convenes those folksalong with utilities like
Cleveland Water in the sewerdistrict to advance water
(19:32):
technology.
And so we're advancing watertechnology for global benefit to
solve global issues, globalissues like microplastics.
We have Max and the cleanerfolks here, global issues like
PIFAs and emerging contaminantsand E.
coli.
But solving those issues herecreates an economic impact in
(19:54):
our region.
So it really is a double whammythat we get to work on
launching technology.
Solves global issues whilemaking an economic impact here.
And why not here?
I love your stats about LakeErie and the Great Lakes.
We get to travel abroad a lot,and we're really working and
have positioned Cleveland as aglobal destination for water
(20:16):
innovation.
I get to share the stage withfolks from the Netherlands, from
Korea, from Singapore, and thenthere's Cleveland on the stage
as well.
And so when we talk about LakeErie, they don't really
understand how big it is.
It's just smaller than Belgium,if you need a good reference
point.
So that's how big Lake Erie is.
(20:36):
Giving me a microphone thatdetaches makes me just want to
do crowd work.
So sorry about that, you guys.
I've been working on my typefive for a while now.
So some issues we've talkedabout PIFAs, mycoplastics, E.
coli, oil, and chemical spills.
These are all things I feellike if I were to pull everyone
in the group right now, and Iwould say, how do we feel about
(20:57):
just the safety and viability ofour water resources?
You know, looking ahead towardsthe future, no one be like, I
feel totally great.
I sleep well at night.
I am not concerned at all aboutour water.
I would say that that's not thecase.
So there is an entire economyaround protecting and conserving
and advancing our resources andmaking sure that they're here
(21:19):
and safe for generations tocome.
So our water managers like theSeward District, like Cleveland
Water, like watershedstewardship groups require this
technology.
So I'll give you a coupleexamples.
Avon Lake Regional Water.
They're a really uniqueutility.
They have a board of citizensand can maybe move a lot more
(21:39):
quickly than other utilitiescan.
And we were approached by adifferent South Korean
technology that wanted to enterthe US market.
So when a technology wants toenter a new market, it can be
really difficult because theyneed to prove their technology
in a real world environment.
And you can't mess withpeople's water.
(22:00):
So there's a lot of liabilityaround that.
There is a lot of costs aroundthat.
And there's just not a lot ofopportunities to test and try
out in a real world environment.
So we approached Amon Lakeasking if they were interested
in this technology.
And it was a fit, it was amatch.
And so this technology is thefirst time that it's been used
(22:20):
in the US.
And it is hypochloride.
So high concentratehypochlorides with chlorine.
Your water has to bechlorinated per the EPA for you
to drink it.
And knowing that our water isrecycled, that's really
important.
And so this technology getschemicals off the backs of
trains.
We all know it happened in EastPalestine.
(22:41):
Chlorine can be a really,really volatile thing to deal
with in plants.
It can be dangerous for theenvironment if a train were to
derail.
But and it's incrediblyexpensive.
It has gone up exponentially inrecent years.
So that technology is the firsttime it's being used in the US
at AMLA, and it's beinginstalled right now.
(23:01):
And it's created byelectrifying salt.
Where do we have a lot of saltright under Lake Erie?
So they also get to sell thatto regional water systems as
well, other utilities.
It creates a huge economicimpact for the entire region.
Another, I mentioned testingand trialing technology in a
(23:21):
real-world environment is a hugebarrier to get to market.
So we created the largestdigitally connected freshwater
body in the world.
That's what we're on the shoresof right now.
So throughout Lake Erie, in thewatershed, and even into the
Ohio River Valley, we'veoutfitted over 7,700 square
(23:42):
miles of the lake, of thetributaries with IoT technology,
with sensors that relayreal-time information.
And what this is right here,these are tower fimers who, hey,
are Marvel Water Economybecause they're helping us.
They're installing gateways forLaura WAN, which is kind of
like Wi-Fi, but longer range,cheaper, and low power.
(24:05):
And so that relays data fromthe buoys and sensors throughout
the lake.
So we collect over a milliondata points annually.
That data point, oh my God, I'mrunning out of time, you guys.
I told you I need one of thesein real life.
The those million data pointsannually relay data to our water
managers.
So we're in crazy times rightnow with the federal government.
(24:27):
NOAA has been incrediblyuncertain and it's it's tough
times, but no matter what, we'recollecting this data in our
region.
Our region has this datacontinue to continue to keep us
safe.
It's used by our watermanagers.
And we're deploying technologythroughout this system.
Technology that can tell usabout E.
coli for our beach closures andthat can track potentially new
(24:50):
emerging contaminants.
And I gotta wrap it up.
So that's all you guys.
I want to talk to you allafterwards.
Talk to Max as well.
Um this technology, but we'rehere to help technology come to
fruition, make an economicimpact in our region.
Diane Bickett (25:07):
Thank you, Samantha.
Next up is Kiera Cotton, who'sa marketing and communications
manager for the Port ofCleveland.
Kierra Cotton (25:20):
So now that my slides are up, I'm here to talk
about destination developmentand three major projects that
the Port of Cleveland isinvolved in right now that are
kind of steering that initiativeforward.
So when we talk about the blueeconomy, we're talking about
more than the water itself.
We're celebrating the work,innovation, and stewardship that
have helped to reclaim theCuyahoga River and Lake Erie,
(25:41):
transforming them from symbolsof environmental challenge into
stories of resilience andrenewal.
And listen, friends, that didnot happen by accident.
It happened because us as aregion, we decided that we were
no longer gonna make thecommitment to protect and
strengthen our greatest naturalresource, which is of course our
fresh water.
And the Port of Cleveland isproud to play a central role in
(26:04):
that source.
So, a little bit about the Portof Cleveland.
We managed the imports andexports on the Cuyahoga River
and Lake Erie, but how many ofy'all knew that the Port of
Cleveland also has cruise shipsthat come in every year?
That means I'm doing my job,friends.
Okay, incredible.
So we had a record-breakingyear this year.
We had more than 50 calls withsix different cruise lines.
(26:25):
That equates to, by thenumbers, 8,600 plus passengers,
and roughly on estimate thateach of those passengers spends
$150 when they're here inNortheast Ohio, whether that's
their local hotel, theirdiamond, entertainment.
So just this year alone, wereached nearly $1.3 million in
economic impact.
Um, so the Great Lakes arebecoming one of the world's most
(26:50):
unique cruising regions, andCleveland is increasingly
recognized as a highlight oftheir journey.
It's not just the rock and rollhall of flame.
Cleveland has so much more tooffer in terms of attraction to
things for people to do.
So, another major contributionto the blue economy is our Irish
Town Bandit project.
How many of you guys arefamiliar with that?
Yes, we are super excited to benearing completion on that
(27:13):
project.
But in 2023, just for a littlebackground and those who may not
know, 2023, the port took thelead at stabilizing the
hillside, which was an essentialstep in maintaining maritime
operations and protecting jobsand commerce along the river.
But in this project, it's morethan just infrastructure, it's
about access and community.
So once the hillside isstabilized, which I'm proud to
(27:34):
announce will be in Q1 of 2026,it'll be an amazing public park,
which will feature river views,trails, public gathering areas,
and meaningful access tosurrounding neighborhoods.
Irish Town Bent represents whatthe blue economy is all about,
making our waterfront safer,more accessible, and more
connected for everyone.
And again, and again, we willofficially hand things over to
(27:59):
the Cleveland Metro Parks inFebruary of 2026.
And then last but certainly notleast, I want to tell you guys
about our Cheers project, whichstands for Cleveland Harvard
Eastern Emma ResilienceStrategy.
How many of you guys know whatdredging is?
Oh my gosh.
So many smart people in theroom.
I love to hear that.
So dredging is a process thathappens biannually on the
(28:21):
Cuyahoga River and into LakeErie in order to keep our
shipping channels open.
So that dredge material has togo somewhere.
So what the Cheers Project doesis provides a 20-year plan for
that dredge material so that wecan have those amazing parks and
resources that we can, youknow, kayak and do all the fun
things that other cities havethat we haven't yet figured out.
(28:42):
But we have a plan in place andit's gonna work.
So the vision for Cheersfocuses on creating a healthier,
more resilient shoreline, onethat supports habitat,
recreation, and long-termecological stability.
Cheers has been identified asthe locally preferred solution
for that beneficial reuse ofdredged material, and the U.S.
Army Corps and engineers iscurrently evaluating it as part
(29:03):
of their 20-year dredgedmaterial management plan.
So, beyond these flagshipprojects, the port is deeply
committed to building asustainable maritime system.
We handle large volumes ofsteel, brake bolt guns,
containerized cargo, and whilemeeting some of the most
rigorous environmental standardson the Great Lakes, we are the
premier board on the GreatLakes.
(29:23):
We are currently advancinginitiatives to modernize
equipment, exploreelectrification opportunities,
and reduce emissions across ouroperations.
Sustainability isn't just agoal for us, it's an operational
priority.
So every investment in ourwaterfront creates a ribble
effect, driving innovation,recreation, tourism, and
neighborhood revitalization.
(29:43):
So again, the Port of StateLunation is just super proud to
be a part of all of the amazingadvancements that are happening
along our waterfront.
And I look forward toconnecting with all of you
tonight and hope you learnedsomething.
Diane Bickett (30:06):
Okay.
Next up is Captain DrewFerguson, who's the CEO and the
founder of Argonon.
Captain Drew ferguson (30:20):
Which will explain why I do what I do.
Tonight I was asked to talk alittle bit about safety and
recreation on the Great Lakes.
But I'm going to start bytelling you that is not our
primary mission.
It is just something that we doreally well.
As a CEO and founder ofArgonaut, I created an
organization to connect kidsfrom Cleveland and Northeast
(30:42):
Ohio to amazing and funopportunities in maritime and
aerospace.
In 2011, we put a team of folkstogether, went from East Coast
to West Coast down to the Gulfand looked at different schools
and how folks educate andconnect their youth to the
(31:04):
aerospace and maritimeindustries.
In 2017, we actually presentedthe concept of an aerospace and
maritime high school to theCleveland Metropolitan School
District.
Took a little longer than I'dexpected.
However, in 2017, we were ableto open a public-private
partnership between ClevelandMetropolitan School District and
(31:26):
Argonaut to open a grade 9through 12 high school focusing
on aerospace and maritime.
The opportunities that wepresent to the kids are largely
career-based, but in order toget the kids excited about it,
(31:47):
we took an immersive approach.
So freshmen and software yearsare spent fully immersing our
kids literally in the water formaritime and then putting them
in the sky.
Every kid flies an airplane,every kid operates a boat, every
kid swims in a pool, then swimsin Lake Erie.
So they get exposure, theyunderstand what it is.
We develop passion, we excitethem, get them into that idea
(32:11):
that life is an advent, anadventure.
From there, we start to educatethem and train them on the
history of the Great Lakes, thehistory of the aerospace and
maritime industry, how importantCleveland is to aviation as
well as the maritime sector andmanufacturing.
We train, get certificates, andthen the last year of school,
(32:32):
we open our kids up to thecommunity and let them choose
what specific career path theywant and what goal they have to
use the skills and passionthey've developed to make
Cleveland, Northeast Ohio, andLake Erie a better place.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Yeah.
Captain Drew ferguson (32:49):
This takes place on multiple fronts.
I'm gonna focus on maritimebecause this doesn't look like
much of an aviation group.
And it is kind of why I wasinvited as supposed to talk
about it.
So we're gonna talk aboutsafety and recreation.
The two do go hand in hand.
You hear the word access usedall the time around this area.
(33:09):
Oh, well, we gotta buildaccess, we gotta build access.
And people think docks, boatrooms, more beaches.
But access is removing a lotmore hurdles than that.
There's a huge fear of wateramongst a lot of people in the
One East Ohio.
Schools offer physicaleducation, all sorts of
(33:30):
training, but being along ashoreline of the one of the
largest freshwater sources inthe world, you know, we don't
train kids to swim.
That's not a part of common uheducation.
So we have to remove thatbarrier.
Our Argonaut advocates all ofour kids swim, but we advocate
working with otherorganizations, working with the
(33:52):
freshwater institute, workingwith folks like the Foundry,
Cleveland Rowing Foundation,Aquamissions to make sure that
every kid gets access to thewater, first starting with
removing fear, then teachingthem how to swim, getting them
on the water, showing them thatit is a great source for
recreation, and then exploringthe job opportunities that are
there.
So another fact that you didn'tmention that was black to you,
(34:16):
totally swollen.
I thought I worked on this forlike 45 minutes today.
The Great Lakes have 1100 US,1,100 miles of U.S.
shoreline, more than the restof the country has shoreline,
adding together our Atlanticshoreline, our Gulf Shoreline,
and the Pacific.
But despite this, we have thefewest, the least amount of
(34:42):
resources committed to making itusable, to make it a part of
our community.
You go down, you go to JerseyShore.
There's the whole Jersey Shorething.
The community's built aroundtheir life on the water and
connecting to the water.
All through Florida, all theshoreline.
We go down there, we vacation.
Public safety is set up aroundmaking it safe for people to
(35:02):
swim and engage the water.
In the Great Lakes, thatdoesn't happen.
And that has always been ashock to me.
I work with an organizationcalled the United States Life
Saving Association.
These are professionallifeguards.
This Israel.
Honolulu, all the way at theshoreline, West Coast, from
Maine all the way down to theKeys.
You have professionallifeguards on all coasts of the
(35:23):
United States.
There's not one lifeguardagency in the Great Lakes.
And so what we're doing iswe're finding the kids who want
to take that passion and followa subgroup of our maritime kids
that really want to focus onsafety and providing access for
others, for their family, andtheir friends.
This is taking the shape in amarine safety vessel.
(35:45):
Through a program at the Portof Cleveland, we launched a
vessel that provides safetyescorts for the large ships that
go up and down the CuyahogaRiver.
These boats are staffed bystudents who serve as deck
group, who serve as waterrescuers.
They are earning their seatime.
They're getting paid more thanMcDonald's every day, every hour
they're out there.
And they're making the CuyahogaRiver safer for recreational
(36:08):
boaters.
They're out there, they'reloving it, they're having fun.
We wouldn't have loved to be akid growing up on a boat on the
Cuyahoga River in the flats ofhigh school and making men.
But these are our students whosaid, I have a calling for the
water.
I know I want to be on thewater.
I don't know if it's gonna beworking at Interlake, I don't
know if I want to go to theCoast Guard in the Navy, but
this is a way for me to explore.
(36:28):
And while I'm exploring, I'mmaking the Cuyahoga River
safety.
Then we have kids that areengaged to identify public
access points.
How can we make the watersafety?
Life rings.
If you go up and down theCuyahoga River, you're starting
to see them pop up here andthere again.
If you go to Voinovich Park,you will see every 200 feet
there's a life ring and a90-foot throw rope with a sign
(36:52):
on how to use it.
That was developed,constructed, installed, and is
maintained by students fromDavis Aerospace and Maritime
High School.
Again, this is about them notonly making it comfortable for
themselves, but making it sacredfor the community.
Our other programs in themaritime world, we operate
Lotsman's Edson on behalf of theCleveland Fort Authority.
So when you look out there, yousee the two debris harvesting
(37:13):
vessels, the guys cleaning thegarbage out of the river.
That is staffed by two Argonautcaptains, two lead deck hands
or the crew bosses who are DavisAM graduates, and then two to
three additional kids who areall students at Davis AM.
We also operate the utilityvessel, the launch vessel for
the research and the buoys.
So Clean Water Lights has thebuoys that they're out there.
(37:35):
Our students are actually theones who launch them each year.
We bring them in, we cleanthem, we store them for the
winter, and relaunch them.
So our way of building access,getting kids to fall in love
with the water, find careers,get recreation is about
immersing, preparing,connecting, and then having them
engaged in the growth of ourcommunity on the Great Lakes.
My ask of all of you is to getengaged.
(37:57):
There are a ton of swimprograms.
We need volunteers.
You can contact Emily and say,hey, you know what?
I can stand in deep water.
I know how to swim.
We need to teach every kid inthis city how to swim.
We need to teach every kid inCuyahoga County how to swim.
You can also become alifeguard.
I'm always lifeguards.
The reason so many pools, andthe first step of going to the
Great Lakes is gettingcomfortable in a small pool.
(38:19):
There are a ton of pools inthis area.
There are not a lot oflifeguards.
Anyone, any age, can become alifeguard.
So I ask if you find a way,something that you can do to
help promote water from thefirst introduction all the way
to getting out on the GreatLakes, paddling, and doing all
that.
So please be involved.
Thank you.
Diane Bickett (38:44):
Drew Ferguson.
Okay, last but not least, wehave Kate Wells, who is the
manager of environmentalstewardship and quality for
Interlake Steamship Company.
Kate Wells (38:58):
Good evening, everybody.
Again, Kate Wells withInterlake Maritime Services, our
subsidiaries, InterlakeSteamship Company, as well as a
couple other lines of businessfor ferries and some other
smaller businesses.
I'm here tonight to talk aboutkind of our organization's role
of the Blue Economy.
Historically, I've done talksin the frame of environmental as
I manage our programs, science,regulatory, forum thinking.
(39:22):
So tonight I'm focusing morekind of on what our business
does, what Interlake does, howwe how we exist here in
Cleveland.
I'm a native Clevelander.
I grew up here.
I never knew about thisindustry.
When I started with Interlake,after kind of on my journey of
being a geologist and thenworking in landside in a
landscape compliance job, youknow, I took the job of
(39:43):
Interlake and realized thatthese boats are here all the
time and removing a ton of cargoand keeping kind of the things
going.
It just when I realized thescale of it, it was very
surprising to me.
And I realized when I talked topeople who are also native.
Clevelanders that they have asimilar experience or a similar
feel that they didn't have thatawareness either.
(40:06):
Inner Lake is the largestprimarily held fleet on the
Great Lakes, and we have beendelivering new material.
We have been delivering rawmaterials across the Great Lakes
since 1883.
Our fleet includes 10 bulkcarriers.
Those are the large bulkcarrying freighter ships you see
in Lake Erie.
They range in size from 639feet to 1,013 feet.
(40:30):
1,000 feet or 1,000 footvessels are called footers.
And they're pretty immense whenyou see it.
It's like several footballfields.
We also have one tug deck bargevessel, which is much smaller,
and five ferries that crisscrossthe lakes more than 700 times
in a season.
Our season is abbreviated.
We only run from March toJanuary in any given season, so
(40:54):
it's not calendar based.
It's really based on openingand closure of the locks up in
the Sioux.
We have around 400 marinersworking in our fleets, and we
move more than 20 million tonsof raw materials annually.
We like to call them thebuilding blocks of America
because they truly are.
As a reference, because it'shard to imagine that scale.
(41:15):
Again, I came into thisposition really realizing how
large these vessels are, howmuch work they do.
And so I always like a scalereference.
Because when you say 20million, that's a lot, you know,
that that's a lot of tonsmoved.
But for reference, an elephantis approximately five tons.
So that's about four millionelephants annually.
So I know it's a weird picture,but I did this.
(41:37):
I did a similar talk for fifthgraders one time.
And I was like, what's gonnahit?
What's gonna resonate?
What are they gonna understand?
And it helps me.
That's a lot of elephants.
Um so safe, sustainableshipping is important to us.
We're participants of GreenMarine, it's a voluntary
environmental certificationprogram.
We work hard to meet and exceedregulations, and our goal is to
(42:00):
continuously improve ourenvironmental profile because we
not only work in and around theGreat Lakes, we raise our
families here.
A lot of our mariners are fromthis area.
I manage our Green Marineprogram.
It is pretty extensive, andit's a privilege to be able to
have kind of a guidepost for howto continually improve.
(42:21):
Fun fact a thousand-foot vesselhas the carrying capacity
equivalent to 700 train cars and2800 trucks.
So when you consider the scale,again, I know I keep saying
scale, but I think it's animportant reference point.
It's important to understandthat we're talking very big
things, moving lots of rocks anddirt, really, in one movement
(42:43):
instead of a number of differentrail cars or trucks on the
road.
So the impact is rake in ourregion.
You know, if they asked to kindof look at some of the
surprising examples of our workor some kind of uh interesting
things, and you know, theCuyahoga River is a great lake
area of concern.
You've heard it alluded to.
I sit on our Cuyahoga AOCcommittee and I chair our
(43:05):
governance committee.
So we are involved, even asindustry, in seeing a good river
get delisted.
Everybody wants that, and it iswithin grasp.
It's a crucial waterway, vitalnot only to commerce and
industry, but to our entireregion.
Our three river class vessels,the Herbert C.
Jackson, the Dorothy AnnGasfinder, and the Bart W
(43:27):
Barker, keep busy on theCuyahoga.
So they've delivered 2.4million tons of essential cargo
annually to support regionalindustry.
For comparison, one vessel loadwould require more than 600
trucks to match that carryingcapacity.
The products include stone andsand for construction, iron ore
for steelmaking, and salt forwinter roads.
(43:50):
These shipments power theeconomy and connect Cleveland to
the Great Lake supply chain.
Delivering these essentialcargoes is a privilege.
And so then also is asked todiscuss what our asset is.
How can people get involved?
Now, obviously, we are abusiness, so join us and work
(44:10):
with us.
We always need people, alwayslooking for a crew.
But I guess I would ask topromote the idea of safety on
our shared waterways.
Drew alluded to this with thework that they're doing.
You know, we understand andvalue the importance of sharing
the river with recreationalsailors and voters, and want to
do so in the safest waypossible.
Many of our mariners andshoreside staff spend their free
(44:32):
time on the river.
They're using it.
Like I said, a lot of our folksare from this area.
Through organized groups likethe Cuyahoga River Safety Task
Force, Share the River inArgonaut, escorting commercial
media vessels, rather, there'sincreased awareness and
collaboration.
Using the marine traffic appand understanding the
(44:53):
limitations of a 700-footfreighter with about 25 feet of
free board goes a long way.
I know they're cool and it'scool to come alongside, but it's
not safe.
So we really appreciate all ofArgonaut's work with the FastR
2543.
It's been great to be able tobe escorted and to do what we're
doing, but also have thataccess available to everyone
(45:14):
else and not peak that traffic.
So that's all I have fortonight.
Thank you.
Diane Bickett (45:24):
Thank you to all of our speakers.
Before we start the QA, we havea couple of announcements.
I would like to invite MaxPennington to come up to talk
about his invention, which is awater filter that will reduce
microplastics from entering thelake from your washing machine.
Speaker 3 (45:43):
Yeah.
Max Pennington (45:48):
Thank you very much.
Great to see all this folks.
Okay.
Great to see all of you.
I know a lot of the faces inthe crowd, and thanks for
letting me speak.
I'm one of the co-founders andCEO of Cleaner.
We make microplastic filtersfor washing machines.
Most people don't realize, butlaundry is actually the largest
source of microplastic pollutionout in the environment.
(46:10):
So we're built in Cleveland.
We're based out of Thinkbox.
We've launched an externalfilter for washing machines that
catches over 90% ofmicroplastics down to 50 micron.
Case actually just bought andinstalled 100 filters on Canvas,
which is super exciting.
It's the first university thatI'm aware of that has
microplastic filters across theentire canvas.
(46:32):
And really, there's a lot oflegislation coming to actually
require microplastic filters onwashing machines.
We got the patent for thetechnology, which is inspired by
FISH over the summer.
We had a launch event at theGreat Lakes Science Center.
And really, our vision as acompany is to remove
microplastics not only leavingyour home, but also coming into
your home.
So we're starting to apply thevortex to whole home water
(46:54):
filtration.
And yeah, making a lot ofprogress.
We're trying to work with thewashing machine manufacturers to
actually integrate it into thewashing machine.
We're starting to talk tohospitals in the local area to
build bigger systems to actuallycatch microplastics, coming out
of industrial laundry.
And that's all we can reallytake on right now because we're
a seven person team.
But if any of you are lookingfor ways to support, honestly,
(47:17):
buying a filter is a huge leverfor us because we take all of
that data and we show it to thewashing machine manufacturers
and say, look, there really isconsiderable demand for this.
And you can put it in yourwashing machine, you can make
money today.
So that would be my ass if youwant to buy a filter, install a
filter, and leave us a reveal.
Our website's www.cleaner.life.
(47:40):
It's cleaner without the e.
C-L-E-L-R.
Thank you.
Greg Rotuno (47:47):
We hope you've enjoyed this episode of EcoSpeak
CLE.
You can find our full catalogof episodes on Spotify, Apple
Podcasts, or wherever you getyour podcast.
New episodes are available thefirst and third Tuesday of each
month.
Please follow EcoSpeak CLE onFacebook and Instagram and
become part of the conversation.
If you would like to send usfeedback and suggestions, or if
(48:08):
you'd like to become a sponsorof EcoSpeak CLE, you can email
us at hello at ecospexcle.com.
Stay tuned for more importantand inspiring stories to come.
You're listening to EcoSpeak CLE, a podcast for
the Eco Curious in NortheastOhio.
My name is Diane Vickett, andmy producer is Greg Rotuno.
Together we speak with localsustainability leaders and
invite you to connect, learn,and live with our community and
planet in mind.
Emily Bacha (02:18):
We're going to start off with some some u QA
for you so that I can get a readof the room.
For those who I haven't had achance to meet, this is a really
great room full of friends, andit's exciting to see so many
folks here.
But my name is Emily Vaca, andI am proud to serve as the
director of the FreshwaterInstitute, a new Cuyahoga County
program within the Office ofSustainability, really designed
(02:39):
to help catalyze our region'sculture of freshwater
stewardship.
Before I dive into my regardsthis evening, I'm interested to
hear a little bit of feedbackfrom you.
How many people woke up thismorning and brushed your teeth?
How many, how many folks as youwoke up, poured yourself a
(03:01):
glass of water or made yourselfa cup of coffee?
How many folks are drinkingbeer made with Cleveland water
and I'm gonna I need to behonest in this in this last
question?
How many of you have thought atany point during today?
(03:21):
I am so grateful to live on agreat lake in a region with
abundant water resources.
That's great.
I um I'm glad to hear thatthere are so many people who are
actively thinking about thatbecause I think that in the
world that we live in, it can wecan take it for granted when we
turn on the faucet that we haveabundant freshwater resources
(03:42):
in our backyard.
Water is life, and here inTiahoga County, water not only
sustains the lives of ourselves,our friends, our family, our
neighbors, but it also helpsdrive our economy.
We sit on the shores of LakeErie, one of five Great Lakes
that make up the largest surfacefreshwater system in the world.
(04:03):
This is likely not news to anyof you.
But of this whole water onEarth, only 3% is freshwater.
And of that 3%, only 1% isaccessible surface water, not
trapped in glaciers orgroundwater.
21% of that accessible freshsurface water is found in the
Great Lakes in our backyard.
(04:24):
I was chatting with someonerecently who this was new news
to them.
Someone who would likely be inthis crowd with us.
And so I'm starting with inevery presentation that we sit
on 21% of the world's freshsurface water.
I love this photo from NASAbecause it shows the vastness of
our Great Lakes water system.
(04:45):
Uh, known by many as inlandseas.
If you've talked with anyonerecently who is not from around
here, they go, wow, that's anawfully big lake.
I got no idea.
Tonight we're gathering on thesouthern shore of Lake Erie, the
smallest Great Lake by volumeand the shallowest.
And what we lack in size, wemake up for in other aspects.
Lake Erie is the most populatedof our Great Lakes, with
(05:05):
one-third of the totalpopulation of the Great Lakes
basin living in our watershed.
Lake Erie provides drinkingwater for nearly 11 million
people, including 3 millionOhioans.
Cleveland Water, the, you know,when you turn on your tap
water, they are in the 10thlargest public water system in
the United States, the largestin Ohio, and the largest system
(05:25):
sourced in Lake Erie.
The shallowness of the basinand the warmer temperatures make
Lake Erie the most biologicallyproductive of all of the Great
Lakes.
Lake Erie has more consumablefish than all of the other Great
Lakes combined.
Right?
This is right for folks.
So fishing on Lake Eriecontributes in a major way to
our region's tourism economy.
(05:46):
And the eight the eightcounties bordering Lake Erie
have a total economic impact of$20 billion combined, accounting
for more than a third of Ohio'stourism dollars.
Just those eight lakeshorecounties.
And while that number seemsbig, if you look at the region
as a whole, all of our GreatLakes, the eight states of two
Canadian provinces that are inour Great Lakes watershed, post
(06:10):
51 million jobs and a sixtrillion dollar economy.
It would be the third largesteconomy in the world if we just
seceded our Great Lakes statesand Canadian provinces.
So the Great Lakes representone of our most valuable assets.
A national highway that hasshaped our history.
It continues to driveopportunity in Northeast Ohio.
(06:30):
And many of you know that ourlocation on the Cuyahoga River
on the lake, as well as thedevelopment of that Ohio and
Nearing Canal, right there, youJim Bridge, grow to a major,
helped us grow to a majoreconomic powerhouse by the late
19th century.
And for more than a century,the Cuyahoga River served as
prime real estate formanufacturing.
And when you think about watereconomy, that might be the
(06:51):
economy that you're thinking of.
Water pollution was viewed as anecessary consequence of a lot
of that economic growth over theyears, but no more.
And we know that.
After the river burnt for thelast time, we had been on a
journey of restoration for theCuyahoga River of our lakefronts
and thinking about water in newand different ways here in
Northeast Ohio.
(07:12):
If we go along that journey, Ican look out into the crowd and
see a number of differentorganizations that are helping
build that water economy journeyfrom the last river fire in
1969 to where we are today in2025 and along the shores, along
the shores of the lake and ofthe river.
(07:33):
And if we think about thatculture of freshwater
stewardship, it really isingrained in so many of the
organizations and so many of theindividuals in this room.
And our county executive, ChrisRonain, when he was running for
office, saw the potential ofsaying, what does it look like
if we harness and we catalyzethat region's our region's
(07:54):
culture of freshwaterstewardship?
What happens next?
And so the Freshwater Institutewas born into an idea.
The county did some focusgroups and talked with a number
of people to say, what would itlook like to have an institute
that's focused on education andresearch, water economy,
advocacy and access, to reallyestablish our region as a global
freshwater leader because weknow that we are and we can
(08:17):
continue to grow into thatleadership status that's
recognized for our healthy andprotective waterways, especially
as we get closer to delistingof Kyahoga River as an area of
concern, a thriving andsustainable water economy, which
we're going to hear more andmore about tonight, and a deeply
engaged community.
I'm looking at all of you thatdeeply values and understands
(08:39):
the importance of our freshwaterresources.
So the Freshwater Institutekicked off, launched this time
last year by Cuyahoga County.
There's not a lot of othercounties that have launched
efforts like this, is what I'mfinding.
I joined the team in January ofthis year, and for the last 11
months, I've been connectingwith so many different partners
in this space.
Again, focusing on these threekey focus areas, making the
(09:03):
connections between differentpartner organizations, different
individuals at the local level,at the regional level, across
the Great Lakes, across thenation.
And when we talk about thewater economy or the blue
economy, folks often ask me, youknow, I jump into
conversations, this last slideof, you know, thinking about
(09:23):
education and research, watereconomy, advocacy and access.
Most folks get it.
But when I say water economy,they go, What, excuse me?
What are you talking about?
And all of you are here to talkabout that tonight, which I
think is really exciting.
And if we think about thedefinition of the water economy
or the blue economy, you look atthe World Bank and they're
talking about the sustainableuse of ocean resources for
(09:43):
economic growth, a real focus onoceans.
And I'll point to my friends atCleveland Water Alliance as we
move from the global to theregional to the local, knowing
that our water economy is basedon the foundational concept that
water is a precious and limitedresource.
It's not just about our oceans,it's also about our freshwater
systems and our great lakeshere.
And that any business thatutilizes water or utility that
(10:06):
treats water or organizationthat conserves water is part of
that global and interconnectedwater economy.
And that really rings true forme in the work that we're
discussing today.
So as I said, I tend to look atour water economy from the lens
of Cleveland Water'sperspective, Cleveland Water
Alliance's perspective, to beall encompassing of those
systems of economic activities,policies, institutions that
(10:29):
influence the use, management,distribution, and value of our
water resources.
And when I think about that, Ialso think about the specifics.
I need examples, tangibleperson that needs photos, news
examples.
And I think about the waterutilities and infrastructure
from drinking water, wastewater,stormwater, water-dependent
industries here in NortheastOhio, from advanced
(10:50):
manufacturing to maritimeshipping, food processing, yes,
data centers, which we'llprobably have a question about
later.
Thinking about water andtechnology, and how do we how do
we pilot new and innovativetechnologies to help us do all
of this work within the watereconomy?
I think about recreation andtourism.
Again, so much of our economyalong those lakeshore counties
(11:11):
is driven by our access to thelake.
I also think about waterfrontdevelopment and conservation.
We're in a real moment here inCleveland in a Cuyahoga County
where we're going to see moreand more access to the Cuyahoga
River, more and more access tothe lake.
And I think that it'll help uspivot and talk about this a lot
more because we will be able tosee and touch and feel the
(11:32):
waters that we've beendisconnected from for so, so
very long.
Did you know that there aremore than 300 water-related
companies already here pursuinga broad range of technologies
and solutions from plumbing,hardware to software, um, all
related to all related to ourwater economy and getting our
(11:52):
water from our Great Lake to ourkitchen sinks.
And as we think about this inthe face of an increasingly
water scarce world, businessesand people have no choice but to
think about more, moreresilient spaces to live, to
work, to play, to grow theirbusinesses.
And I would venture to say thatmost of us here in this room
(12:14):
understand that Northeast Ohiohas that to offer.
Meeting this moment willrequire new thinking about
economic development thatbalances, and I think this is
key if we think about the watereconomy of the past, the water
economy today, thinking aboutbalancing economic goals with
fresh water protection.
We can't take for granted thatwe live on 21% of the world's
(12:35):
fresh surface water.
That's a big advantage for us,but it also requires great
stewardship and rate protectioninto the future.
And so we can build, we canbuild this new economy as we go.
unknown (12:49):
Thank you.
Emily Bacha (12:50):
And that's part of the work that the Freshwater
Institute is doing.
Certainly connecting withpartners, but also connecting
with students and connectingwith youth across Northeast Ohio
and community across NortheastOhio to begin to tell these
stories in new and meaningfulways.
And so if we go back to themajor priorities of the
Freshwater Institute, yes, we'retalking about water economy,
(13:12):
advocacy, and access, but we'realso talking about education and
research.
And I don't know what fills mycup the most when I get to
interact with the students thathave been part of the Freshwater
Institute's programming.
This year we've been able towork with a couple of different
nonprofit partners to launch ahigh school fellowship program.
That's what you see in the topleft, working with SIAT and
(13:32):
teaching Cleveland to engage 20students from 17 different
schools across Cuyahoga Countyto learn about the ecology, the
geology, the uh economy of ourGreat Lakes systems and helping
them see what careers might beof interest to them.
So they got to go behind thescenes at Cleveland Water at
North East Ohio Regional SewerDistricts.
(13:53):
They got to go up to Cali'sIsland and do hands-on science,
they got to go to Niagara Fallsand see a totally different uh
version of what our Great Lakelooks like and understand that
there are rear caps and in factat their graduation ceremony
come celebration this summer aspart of that program.
That's what they said.
I didn't know that there wereother people out there that
(14:14):
cared about water like Ivy.
I didn't know that there wereother people who uh are going
into water-related careers.
I had no idea that this futurewas ahead of me and that I could
be a really vibrant part ofthat.
Similarly, we launched aninternship program by the
Student Conservation Associationand a couple of partners.
And that's the photo that yousee on the on the bottom
(14:35):
left-hand side.
And working with students thatare graduating from high school
and interested in going intowater-related careers and
helping them get the trainingand the skills that they need.
So, water economy isn't justhere's the dollars and cents,
but here are the workforcedevelopment skills, the
career-building skills that youcan build alongside.
So, Freshwater Institute isreally proud to invest in those
(14:57):
programs and to keep growingthose programs as it relates to
our water economy, certainlyengaging our community along the
way on that as well, from thesmallest of those and our vents
to uh to the oldest.
I'm really excited fortonight's lightning round
presentations.
My goal was to give you a baseknowledge of Great Lakes water
(15:18):
economy.
And in this space, I actuallythink my time I've been very
surprised by.
But when Diane approached tosay, we'd like to talk about
water economy, I said, I'm I'mhaving to be one part of this,
but like Freshwater Institute,I'm just one part of this.
There are so many goodorganizations doing such good
work in this space, and I'mdelighted that you'll get to
(15:39):
hear from a number of themtonight to think about our water
economy in a more robust waythan maybe you did before
grabbing that beer at the barjust a few minutes ago.
So with that, I think that Iget to pass it over to Samantha
Martin.
Diane Bickett (15:59):
So first lightning round speaker is
Samantha Martin.
She has a title that is I knowto read Director of
Communications and Engagementfor the Cleveland Water
Alliance.
Welcome, Samantha.
Samantha Martin (16:21):
Thanks, everyone.
And this is this is reallyhandy.
This little there's a Victoriahas a little thought going down
right now.
And I feel like everyone at aparty who asks me what I do for
work also wishes that they wouldhave that because I could talk
about this for a long time.
Because like Emily said, it'snot something that you think
about.
And when you think about it,there's a lot there.
(16:42):
For example, I'm so glad tohear that so many people brush
their teeth this morning.
That's really reassuring.
Um, how many people used like aBrita filter or some kind of
water dispenser, maybe in yourfridge or something like that?
So you know when it's time tochange the filter and there's
like a little red light thatgoes off and it's like, okay,
got to change our filter now.
(17:02):
So that kind of just goes offvibes right now.
So it's really just a timingthing.
Like that doesn't depend on theamount of bacteria in your
filter.
Your filter might still begood.
It might not.
We actually are working with aSouth Korean company that has a
sensor on a chip that couldreally revolutionize that space
(17:23):
force.
That is just one tiny littleexample of the work that we do.
And that's what I want to do.
Just give you a few littlebite-sized pieces because I'm
not from this world originally.
I'm not a biologist or ascientist or a technology
person.
I'm just a girl who reallyliked Ranger Rick as a kid, and
then that I'm held into RadioLab.
(17:44):
And I feel like a lot of peoplehere are probably in the same
boat as well.
But Cleaf of Water Alliance, weare a relatively new
organization when it comes tononprofits.
We just celebrated our 10-yearanniversary last year, so we're
in 11 years right now.
And so for Clevelandnonprofits, that's that's
relatively newer.
And one of our founders, hername was Jenny Grassilli Brown.
(18:06):
We actually lost her this year.
She was a really, reallyincredible woman who was fierce
and opinionated and spunky untilthe very end.
But her, along with some reallyintelligent people, wanted to
get on top of this opportunity.
And the opportunity is that ourhistory at Cleveland and
Cuyahoga is no secret here.
(18:27):
You know, where Great Lakesused to host Burning River Fest
every year, which would get kindof crazy and fun.
Um, if you've ever been, butBurning River Pale Ale, we know
that our river caught on fire.
We know that the photo and Timemagazine wasn't actually the
right fire at the right time,but that's neither here nor
there.
But they knew that that historycreated one of the highest
(18:49):
concentrations of waterexpertise in the world, really,
when you think about it.
We have worked a really hardtime.
I know that there's a lot offolks on the AOC as well here,
the area of concern, that arevery familiar with getting the
Cuyahoga River back up.
We just released all thosesturgeon in the river.
That was a lot of fun.
So to solve these issuesrequires incredible
(19:10):
collaboration, collaborationfrom our institutions like
Cuyahoga County, collaborationsfrom corporations holding them
accountable, collaborations frominnovators and folks in the
technology space as well.
And so Cleveland Water reallyconvenes, excuse me, Cleveland
Water Lines convenes those folksalong with utilities like
Cleveland Water in the sewerdistrict to advance water
(19:32):
technology.
And so we're advancing watertechnology for global benefit to
solve global issues, globalissues like microplastics.
We have Max and the cleanerfolks here, global issues like
PIFAs and emerging contaminantsand E.
coli.
But solving those issues herecreates an economic impact in
(19:54):
our region.
So it really is a double whammythat we get to work on
launching technology.
Solves global issues whilemaking an economic impact here.
And why not here?
I love your stats about LakeErie and the Great Lakes.
We get to travel abroad a lot,and we're really working and
have positioned Cleveland as aglobal destination for water
(20:16):
innovation.
I get to share the stage withfolks from the Netherlands, from
Korea, from Singapore, and thenthere's Cleveland on the stage
as well.
And so when we talk about LakeErie, they don't really
understand how big it is.
It's just smaller than Belgium,if you need a good reference
point.
So that's how big Lake Erie is.
(20:36):
Giving me a microphone thatdetaches makes me just want to
do crowd work.
So sorry about that, you guys.
I've been working on my typefive for a while now.
So some issues we've talkedabout PIFAs, mycoplastics, E.
coli, oil, and chemical spills.
These are all things I feellike if I were to pull everyone
in the group right now, and Iwould say, how do we feel about
(20:57):
just the safety and viability ofour water resources?
You know, looking ahead towardsthe future, no one be like, I
feel totally great.
I sleep well at night.
I am not concerned at all aboutour water.
I would say that that's not thecase.
So there is an entire economyaround protecting and conserving
and advancing our resources andmaking sure that they're here
(21:19):
and safe for generations tocome.
So our water managers like theSeward District, like Cleveland
Water, like watershedstewardship groups require this
technology.
So I'll give you a coupleexamples.
Avon Lake Regional Water.
They're a really uniqueutility.
They have a board of citizensand can maybe move a lot more
(21:39):
quickly than other utilitiescan.
And we were approached by adifferent South Korean
technology that wanted to enterthe US market.
So when a technology wants toenter a new market, it can be
really difficult because theyneed to prove their technology
in a real world environment.
And you can't mess withpeople's water.
(22:00):
So there's a lot of liabilityaround that.
There is a lot of costs aroundthat.
And there's just not a lot ofopportunities to test and try
out in a real world environment.
So we approached Amon Lakeasking if they were interested
in this technology.
And it was a fit, it was amatch.
And so this technology is thefirst time that it's been used
(22:20):
in the US.
And it is hypochloride.
So high concentratehypochlorides with chlorine.
Your water has to bechlorinated per the EPA for you
to drink it.
And knowing that our water isrecycled, that's really
important.
And so this technology getschemicals off the backs of
trains.
We all know it happened in EastPalestine.
(22:41):
Chlorine can be a really,really volatile thing to deal
with in plants.
It can be dangerous for theenvironment if a train were to
derail.
But and it's incrediblyexpensive.
It has gone up exponentially inrecent years.
So that technology is the firsttime it's being used in the US
at AMLA, and it's beinginstalled right now.
(23:01):
And it's created byelectrifying salt.
Where do we have a lot of saltright under Lake Erie?
So they also get to sell thatto regional water systems as
well, other utilities.
It creates a huge economicimpact for the entire region.
Another, I mentioned testingand trialing technology in a
(23:21):
real-world environment is a hugebarrier to get to market.
So we created the largestdigitally connected freshwater
body in the world.
That's what we're on the shoresof right now.
So throughout Lake Erie, in thewatershed, and even into the
Ohio River Valley, we'veoutfitted over 7,700 square
(23:42):
miles of the lake, of thetributaries with IoT technology,
with sensors that relayreal-time information.
And what this is right here,these are tower fimers who, hey,
are Marvel Water Economybecause they're helping us.
They're installing gateways forLaura WAN, which is kind of
like Wi-Fi, but longer range,cheaper, and low power.
(24:05):
And so that relays data fromthe buoys and sensors throughout
the lake.
So we collect over a milliondata points annually.
That data point, oh my God, I'mrunning out of time, you guys.
I told you I need one of thesein real life.
The those million data pointsannually relay data to our water
managers.
So we're in crazy times rightnow with the federal government.
(24:27):
NOAA has been incrediblyuncertain and it's it's tough
times, but no matter what, we'recollecting this data in our
region.
Our region has this datacontinue to continue to keep us
safe.
It's used by our watermanagers.
And we're deploying technologythroughout this system.
Technology that can tell usabout E.
coli for our beach closures andthat can track potentially new
(24:50):
emerging contaminants.
And I gotta wrap it up.
So that's all you guys.
I want to talk to you allafterwards.
Talk to Max as well.
Um this technology, but we'rehere to help technology come to
fruition, make an economicimpact in our region.
Diane Bickett (25:07):
Thank you, Samantha.
Next up is Kiera Cotton, who'sa marketing and communications
manager for the Port ofCleveland.
Kierra Cotton (25:20):
So now that my slides are up, I'm here to talk
about destination developmentand three major projects that
the Port of Cleveland isinvolved in right now that are
kind of steering that initiativeforward.
So when we talk about the blueeconomy, we're talking about
more than the water itself.
We're celebrating the work,innovation, and stewardship that
have helped to reclaim theCuyahoga River and Lake Erie,
(25:41):
transforming them from symbolsof environmental challenge into
stories of resilience andrenewal.
And listen, friends, that didnot happen by accident.
It happened because us as aregion, we decided that we were
no longer gonna make thecommitment to protect and
strengthen our greatest naturalresource, which is of course our
fresh water.
And the Port of Cleveland isproud to play a central role in
(26:04):
that source.
So, a little bit about the Portof Cleveland.
We managed the imports andexports on the Cuyahoga River
and Lake Erie, but how many ofy'all knew that the Port of
Cleveland also has cruise shipsthat come in every year?
That means I'm doing my job,friends.
Okay, incredible.
So we had a record-breakingyear this year.
We had more than 50 calls withsix different cruise lines.
(26:25):
That equates to, by thenumbers, 8,600 plus passengers,
and roughly on estimate thateach of those passengers spends
$150 when they're here inNortheast Ohio, whether that's
their local hotel, theirdiamond, entertainment.
So just this year alone, wereached nearly $1.3 million in
economic impact.
Um, so the Great Lakes arebecoming one of the world's most
(26:50):
unique cruising regions, andCleveland is increasingly
recognized as a highlight oftheir journey.
It's not just the rock and rollhall of flame.
Cleveland has so much more tooffer in terms of attraction to
things for people to do.
So, another major contributionto the blue economy is our Irish
Town Bandit project.
How many of you guys arefamiliar with that?
Yes, we are super excited to benearing completion on that
(27:13):
project.
But in 2023, just for a littlebackground and those who may not
know, 2023, the port took thelead at stabilizing the
hillside, which was an essentialstep in maintaining maritime
operations and protecting jobsand commerce along the river.
But in this project, it's morethan just infrastructure, it's
about access and community.
So once the hillside isstabilized, which I'm proud to
(27:34):
announce will be in Q1 of 2026,it'll be an amazing public park,
which will feature river views,trails, public gathering areas,
and meaningful access tosurrounding neighborhoods.
Irish Town Bent represents whatthe blue economy is all about,
making our waterfront safer,more accessible, and more
connected for everyone.
And again, and again, we willofficially hand things over to
(27:59):
the Cleveland Metro Parks inFebruary of 2026.
And then last but certainly notleast, I want to tell you guys
about our Cheers project, whichstands for Cleveland Harvard
Eastern Emma ResilienceStrategy.
How many of you guys know whatdredging is?
Oh my gosh.
So many smart people in theroom.
I love to hear that.
So dredging is a process thathappens biannually on the
(28:21):
Cuyahoga River and into LakeErie in order to keep our
shipping channels open.
So that dredge material has togo somewhere.
So what the Cheers Project doesis provides a 20-year plan for
that dredge material so that wecan have those amazing parks and
resources that we can, youknow, kayak and do all the fun
things that other cities havethat we haven't yet figured out.
(28:42):
But we have a plan in place andit's gonna work.
So the vision for Cheersfocuses on creating a healthier,
more resilient shoreline, onethat supports habitat,
recreation, and long-termecological stability.
Cheers has been identified asthe locally preferred solution
for that beneficial reuse ofdredged material, and the U.S.
Army Corps and engineers iscurrently evaluating it as part
(29:03):
of their 20-year dredgedmaterial management plan.
So, beyond these flagshipprojects, the port is deeply
committed to building asustainable maritime system.
We handle large volumes ofsteel, brake bolt guns,
containerized cargo, and whilemeeting some of the most
rigorous environmental standardson the Great Lakes, we are the
premier board on the GreatLakes.
(29:23):
We are currently advancinginitiatives to modernize
equipment, exploreelectrification opportunities,
and reduce emissions across ouroperations.
Sustainability isn't just agoal for us, it's an operational
priority.
So every investment in ourwaterfront creates a ribble
effect, driving innovation,recreation, tourism, and
neighborhood revitalization.
(29:43):
So again, the Port of StateLunation is just super proud to
be a part of all of the amazingadvancements that are happening
along our waterfront.
And I look forward toconnecting with all of you
tonight and hope you learnedsomething.
Diane Bickett (30:06):
Okay.
Next up is Captain DrewFerguson, who's the CEO and the
founder of Argonon.
Captain Drew ferguson (30:20):
Which will explain why I do what I do.
Tonight I was asked to talk alittle bit about safety and
recreation on the Great Lakes.
But I'm going to start bytelling you that is not our
primary mission.
It is just something that we doreally well.
As a CEO and founder ofArgonaut, I created an
organization to connect kidsfrom Cleveland and Northeast
(30:42):
Ohio to amazing and funopportunities in maritime and
aerospace.
In 2011, we put a team of folkstogether, went from East Coast
to West Coast down to the Gulfand looked at different schools
and how folks educate andconnect their youth to the
(31:04):
aerospace and maritimeindustries.
In 2017, we actually presentedthe concept of an aerospace and
maritime high school to theCleveland Metropolitan School
District.
Took a little longer than I'dexpected.
However, in 2017, we were ableto open a public-private
partnership between ClevelandMetropolitan School District and
(31:26):
Argonaut to open a grade 9through 12 high school focusing
on aerospace and maritime.
The opportunities that wepresent to the kids are largely
career-based, but in order toget the kids excited about it,
(31:47):
we took an immersive approach.
So freshmen and software yearsare spent fully immersing our
kids literally in the water formaritime and then putting them
in the sky.
Every kid flies an airplane,every kid operates a boat, every
kid swims in a pool, then swimsin Lake Erie.
So they get exposure, theyunderstand what it is.
We develop passion, we excitethem, get them into that idea
(32:11):
that life is an advent, anadventure.
From there, we start to educatethem and train them on the
history of the Great Lakes, thehistory of the aerospace and
maritime industry, how importantCleveland is to aviation as
well as the maritime sector andmanufacturing.
We train, get certificates, andthen the last year of school,
(32:32):
we open our kids up to thecommunity and let them choose
what specific career path theywant and what goal they have to
use the skills and passionthey've developed to make
Cleveland, Northeast Ohio, andLake Erie a better place.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Yeah.
Captain Drew ferguson (32:49):
This takes place on multiple fronts.
I'm gonna focus on maritimebecause this doesn't look like
much of an aviation group.
And it is kind of why I wasinvited as supposed to talk
about it.
So we're gonna talk aboutsafety and recreation.
The two do go hand in hand.
You hear the word access usedall the time around this area.
(33:09):
Oh, well, we gotta buildaccess, we gotta build access.
And people think docks, boatrooms, more beaches.
But access is removing a lotmore hurdles than that.
There's a huge fear of wateramongst a lot of people in the
One East Ohio.
Schools offer physicaleducation, all sorts of
(33:30):
training, but being along ashoreline of the one of the
largest freshwater sources inthe world, you know, we don't
train kids to swim.
That's not a part of common uheducation.
So we have to remove thatbarrier.
Our Argonaut advocates all ofour kids swim, but we advocate
working with otherorganizations, working with the
(33:52):
freshwater institute, workingwith folks like the Foundry,
Cleveland Rowing Foundation,Aquamissions to make sure that
every kid gets access to thewater, first starting with
removing fear, then teachingthem how to swim, getting them
on the water, showing them thatit is a great source for
recreation, and then exploringthe job opportunities that are
there.
So another fact that you didn'tmention that was black to you,
(34:16):
totally swollen.
I thought I worked on this forlike 45 minutes today.
The Great Lakes have 1100 US,1,100 miles of U.S.
shoreline, more than the restof the country has shoreline,
adding together our Atlanticshoreline, our Gulf Shoreline,
and the Pacific.
But despite this, we have thefewest, the least amount of
(34:42):
resources committed to making itusable, to make it a part of
our community.
You go down, you go to JerseyShore.
There's the whole Jersey Shorething.
The community's built aroundtheir life on the water and
connecting to the water.
All through Florida, all theshoreline.
We go down there, we vacation.
Public safety is set up aroundmaking it safe for people to
(35:02):
swim and engage the water.
In the Great Lakes, thatdoesn't happen.
And that has always been ashock to me.
I work with an organizationcalled the United States Life
Saving Association.
These are professionallifeguards.
This Israel.
Honolulu, all the way at theshoreline, West Coast, from
Maine all the way down to theKeys.
You have professionallifeguards on all coasts of the
(35:23):
United States.
There's not one lifeguardagency in the Great Lakes.
And so what we're doing iswe're finding the kids who want
to take that passion and followa subgroup of our maritime kids
that really want to focus onsafety and providing access for
others, for their family, andtheir friends.
This is taking the shape in amarine safety vessel.
(35:45):
Through a program at the Portof Cleveland, we launched a
vessel that provides safetyescorts for the large ships that
go up and down the CuyahogaRiver.
These boats are staffed bystudents who serve as deck
group, who serve as waterrescuers.
They are earning their seatime.
They're getting paid more thanMcDonald's every day, every hour
they're out there.
And they're making the CuyahogaRiver safer for recreational
(36:08):
boaters.
They're out there, they'reloving it, they're having fun.
We wouldn't have loved to be akid growing up on a boat on the
Cuyahoga River in the flats ofhigh school and making men.
But these are our students whosaid, I have a calling for the
water.
I know I want to be on thewater.
I don't know if it's gonna beworking at Interlake, I don't
know if I want to go to theCoast Guard in the Navy, but
this is a way for me to explore.
(36:28):
And while I'm exploring, I'mmaking the Cuyahoga River
safety.
Then we have kids that areengaged to identify public
access points.
How can we make the watersafety?
Life rings.
If you go up and down theCuyahoga River, you're starting
to see them pop up here andthere again.
If you go to Voinovich Park,you will see every 200 feet
there's a life ring and a90-foot throw rope with a sign
(36:52):
on how to use it.
That was developed,constructed, installed, and is
maintained by students fromDavis Aerospace and Maritime
High School.
Again, this is about them notonly making it comfortable for
themselves, but making it sacredfor the community.
Our other programs in themaritime world, we operate
Lotsman's Edson on behalf of theCleveland Fort Authority.
So when you look out there, yousee the two debris harvesting
(37:13):
vessels, the guys cleaning thegarbage out of the river.
That is staffed by two Argonautcaptains, two lead deck hands
or the crew bosses who are DavisAM graduates, and then two to
three additional kids who areall students at Davis AM.
We also operate the utilityvessel, the launch vessel for
the research and the buoys.
So Clean Water Lights has thebuoys that they're out there.
(37:35):
Our students are actually theones who launch them each year.
We bring them in, we cleanthem, we store them for the
winter, and relaunch them.
So our way of building access,getting kids to fall in love
with the water, find careers,get recreation is about
immersing, preparing,connecting, and then having them
engaged in the growth of ourcommunity on the Great Lakes.
My ask of all of you is to getengaged.
(37:57):
There are a ton of swimprograms.
We need volunteers.
You can contact Emily and say,hey, you know what?
I can stand in deep water.
I know how to swim.
We need to teach every kid inthis city how to swim.
We need to teach every kid inCuyahoga County how to swim.
You can also become alifeguard.
I'm always lifeguards.
The reason so many pools, andthe first step of going to the
Great Lakes is gettingcomfortable in a small pool.
(38:19):
There are a ton of pools inthis area.
There are not a lot oflifeguards.
Anyone, any age, can become alifeguard.
So I ask if you find a way,something that you can do to
help promote water from thefirst introduction all the way
to getting out on the GreatLakes, paddling, and doing all
that.
So please be involved.
Thank you.
Diane Bickett (38:44):
Drew Ferguson.
Okay, last but not least, wehave Kate Wells, who is the
manager of environmentalstewardship and quality for
Interlake Steamship Company.
Kate Wells (38:58):
Good evening, everybody.
Again, Kate Wells withInterlake Maritime Services, our
subsidiaries, InterlakeSteamship Company, as well as a
couple other lines of businessfor ferries and some other
smaller businesses.
I'm here tonight to talk aboutkind of our organization's role
of the Blue Economy.
Historically, I've done talksin the frame of environmental as
I manage our programs, science,regulatory, forum thinking.
(39:22):
So tonight I'm focusing morekind of on what our business
does, what Interlake does, howwe how we exist here in
Cleveland.
I'm a native Clevelander.
I grew up here.
I never knew about thisindustry.
When I started with Interlake,after kind of on my journey of
being a geologist and thenworking in landside in a
landscape compliance job, youknow, I took the job of
(39:43):
Interlake and realized thatthese boats are here all the
time and removing a ton of cargoand keeping kind of the things
going.
It just when I realized thescale of it, it was very
surprising to me.
And I realized when I talked topeople who are also native.
Clevelanders that they have asimilar experience or a similar
feel that they didn't have thatawareness either.
(40:06):
Inner Lake is the largestprimarily held fleet on the
Great Lakes, and we have beendelivering new material.
We have been delivering rawmaterials across the Great Lakes
since 1883.
Our fleet includes 10 bulkcarriers.
Those are the large bulkcarrying freighter ships you see
in Lake Erie.
They range in size from 639feet to 1,013 feet.
(40:30):
1,000 feet or 1,000 footvessels are called footers.
And they're pretty immense whenyou see it.
It's like several footballfields.
We also have one tug deck bargevessel, which is much smaller,
and five ferries that crisscrossthe lakes more than 700 times
in a season.
Our season is abbreviated.
We only run from March toJanuary in any given season, so
(40:54):
it's not calendar based.
It's really based on openingand closure of the locks up in
the Sioux.
We have around 400 marinersworking in our fleets, and we
move more than 20 million tonsof raw materials annually.
We like to call them thebuilding blocks of America
because they truly are.
As a reference, because it'shard to imagine that scale.
(41:15):
Again, I came into thisposition really realizing how
large these vessels are, howmuch work they do.
And so I always like a scalereference.
Because when you say 20million, that's a lot, you know,
that that's a lot of tonsmoved.
But for reference, an elephantis approximately five tons.
So that's about four millionelephants annually.
So I know it's a weird picture,but I did this.
(41:37):
I did a similar talk for fifthgraders one time.
And I was like, what's gonnahit?
What's gonna resonate?
What are they gonna understand?
And it helps me.
That's a lot of elephants.
Um so safe, sustainableshipping is important to us.
We're participants of GreenMarine, it's a voluntary
environmental certificationprogram.
We work hard to meet and exceedregulations, and our goal is to
(42:00):
continuously improve ourenvironmental profile because we
not only work in and around theGreat Lakes, we raise our
families here.
A lot of our mariners are fromthis area.
I manage our Green Marineprogram.
It is pretty extensive, andit's a privilege to be able to
have kind of a guidepost for howto continually improve.
(42:21):
Fun fact a thousand-foot vesselhas the carrying capacity
equivalent to 700 train cars and2800 trucks.
So when you consider the scale,again, I know I keep saying
scale, but I think it's animportant reference point.
It's important to understandthat we're talking very big
things, moving lots of rocks anddirt, really, in one movement
(42:43):
instead of a number of differentrail cars or trucks on the
road.
So the impact is rake in ourregion.
You know, if they asked to kindof look at some of the
surprising examples of our workor some kind of uh interesting
things, and you know, theCuyahoga River is a great lake
area of concern.
You've heard it alluded to.
I sit on our Cuyahoga AOCcommittee and I chair our
(43:05):
governance committee.
So we are involved, even asindustry, in seeing a good river
get delisted.
Everybody wants that, and it iswithin grasp.
It's a crucial waterway, vitalnot only to commerce and
industry, but to our entireregion.
Our three river class vessels,the Herbert C.
Jackson, the Dorothy AnnGasfinder, and the Bart W
(43:27):
Barker, keep busy on theCuyahoga.
So they've delivered 2.4million tons of essential cargo
annually to support regionalindustry.
For comparison, one vessel loadwould require more than 600
trucks to match that carryingcapacity.
The products include stone andsand for construction, iron ore
for steelmaking, and salt forwinter roads.
(43:50):
These shipments power theeconomy and connect Cleveland to
the Great Lake supply chain.
Delivering these essentialcargoes is a privilege.
And so then also is asked todiscuss what our asset is.
How can people get involved?
Now, obviously, we are abusiness, so join us and work
(44:10):
with us.
We always need people, alwayslooking for a crew.
But I guess I would ask topromote the idea of safety on
our shared waterways.
Drew alluded to this with thework that they're doing.
You know, we understand andvalue the importance of sharing
the river with recreationalsailors and voters, and want to
do so in the safest waypossible.
Many of our mariners andshoreside staff spend their free
(44:32):
time on the river.
They're using it.
Like I said, a lot of our folksare from this area.
Through organized groups likethe Cuyahoga River Safety Task
Force, Share the River inArgonaut, escorting commercial
media vessels, rather, there'sincreased awareness and
collaboration.
Using the marine traffic appand understanding the
(44:53):
limitations of a 700-footfreighter with about 25 feet of
free board goes a long way.
I know they're cool and it'scool to come alongside, but it's
not safe.
So we really appreciate all ofArgonaut's work with the FastR
2543.
It's been great to be able tobe escorted and to do what we're
doing, but also have thataccess available to everyone
(45:14):
else and not peak that traffic.
So that's all I have fortonight.
Thank you.
Diane Bickett (45:24):
Thank you to all of our speakers.
Before we start the QA, we havea couple of announcements.
I would like to invite MaxPennington to come up to talk
about his invention, which is awater filter that will reduce
microplastics from entering thelake from your washing machine.
Speaker 3 (45:43):
Yeah.
Max Pennington (45:48):
Thank you very much.
Great to see all this folks.
Okay.
Great to see all of you.
I know a lot of the faces inthe crowd, and thanks for
letting me speak.
I'm one of the co-founders andCEO of Cleaner.
We make microplastic filtersfor washing machines.
Most people don't realize, butlaundry is actually the largest
source of microplastic pollutionout in the environment.
(46:10):
So we're built in Cleveland.
We're based out of Thinkbox.
We've launched an externalfilter for washing machines that
catches over 90% ofmicroplastics down to 50 micron.
Case actually just bought andinstalled 100 filters on Canvas,
which is super exciting.
It's the first university thatI'm aware of that has
microplastic filters across theentire canvas.
(46:32):
And really, there's a lot oflegislation coming to actually
require microplastic filters onwashing machines.
We got the patent for thetechnology, which is inspired by
FISH over the summer.
We had a launch event at theGreat Lakes Science Center.
And really, our vision as acompany is to remove
microplastics not only leavingyour home, but also coming into
your home.
So we're starting to apply thevortex to whole home water
(46:54):
filtration.
And yeah, making a lot ofprogress.
We're trying to work with thewashing machine manufacturers to
actually integrate it into thewashing machine.
We're starting to talk tohospitals in the local area to
build bigger systems to actuallycatch microplastics, coming out
of industrial laundry.
And that's all we can reallytake on right now because we're
a seven person team.
But if any of you are lookingfor ways to support, honestly,
(47:17):
buying a filter is a huge leverfor us because we take all of
that data and we show it to thewashing machine manufacturers
and say, look, there really isconsiderable demand for this.
And you can put it in yourwashing machine, you can make
money today.
So that would be my ass if youwant to buy a filter, install a
filter, and leave us a reveal.
Our website's www.cleaner.life.
(47:40):
It's cleaner without the e.
C-L-E-L-R.
Thank you.
Greg Rotuno (47:47):
We hope you've enjoyed this episode of EcoSpeak
CLE.
You can find our full catalogof episodes on Spotify, Apple
Podcasts, or wherever you getyour podcast.
New episodes are available thefirst and third Tuesday of each
month.
Please follow EcoSpeak CLE onFacebook and Instagram and
become part of the conversation.
If you would like to send usfeedback and suggestions, or if
(48:08):
you'd like to become a sponsorof EcoSpeak CLE, you can email
us at hello at ecospexcle.com.
Stay tuned for more importantand inspiring stories to come.
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