ROCHESTER, NY We live on one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world and combined with all of the Great Lakes, 95 percent of the surface water in the United States.
When Micron decided to build a $100 billion semiconductor factory in upstate, access to water was one of the main reasons.
And when we got special access to a Monroe County Water Authority plant, the executive director said water was the new oil.
“The next oil. Water. You need water for everything,” said Nick Noce, executive director of the Water Authority.
Brean: “I was struck by the comment you just made where you said water is the next oil.”
Nick Noce: “It is nature’s most precious resource and we are lucky to be in the region where we are and we have it.”
I had access to the secure areas of the water authority station in Greece. On average, 60 million gallons of water are used in the county every day. Combined with the Webster plant, the water authority can produce up to 190 million gallons.
Micron’s CEO said one of the reasons he’s building a new semiconductor plant in Clay, New York, near Lake Ontario, is for access to water.
Matt Hurlbut, whose job as head of Greater Rochester Enterprise involves recruiting new businesses to the Finger Lakes, says access to water is part of his sales pitch.
“Plug is a good example that has a couple hundred people here right now talking about their hydrogen fuel cell technology,” he said.
Plug is based in Henrietta. Its technology splits water to create hydrogen that powers forklifts at Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot and Wegmans.
“And we love Rochester and we love our area because water is plentiful here in all its forms,” said Daniel O’Connell, general manager of operations for Plug’s Rochester.
Over the past decade, more than 160,000 people have migrated from New York to the American Southwest, which a University of Nebraska map shows ranges between “abnormally dry” and “severely dry.”
In Chicago, on Lake Michigan, access to fresh water is called the “blue economy”.
“This is what the region is looking forward to for its growth. And I think that’s an affordable rate going forward,” Noce said. “And I believe that’s the next oil.”