208: Water is the New Gold: Decentralized Water's Future & Investment
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Water is becoming one of the most valuable resources of our time, yet the industry remains outdated, centralized, and struggling to meet growing global demands. In this episode of The Richer Geek Podcast, we are joined by Riggs Eckelberry, a nationally-renowned entrepreneur and the founding CEO of OriginClear, who is on a mission to transform the water industry through decentralized solutions and innovative investment opportunities.
With a background spanning technology, nonprofit leadership, and oceangoing navigation, Riggs brings a unique perspective to fixing a broken system. He’s pioneering modular, plug-and-play water treatment systems, creating new ways for businesses and investors to participate in this essential market.
In this episode, we're discussing...
The water industry is facing a crisis: Aging infrastructure and increasing demand are creating a significant funding gap, leading to more frequent water main breaks and other problems.
Decentralized water solutions are key: Treating water at the source (industrial, agricultural) relieves pressure on municipal systems and allows for greater water recycling.
OriginClear's modular systems offer a solution: Their plug-and-play water treatment pods simplify the process for businesses and reduce upfront costs.
Water-as-a-service is a game-changer: This model eliminates the need for businesses to invest in expensive equipment, making water treatment more accessible and affordable. It also creates a recurring revenue stream for investors.
Investing in water is a smart move: The water industry is ripe for disruption, offering a unique investment opportunity with potential for high returns and positive environmental impact.
Multiple investment options exist: OriginClear offers both crowdfunding (Reg A+) and accredited investor opportunities, making it accessible to a wide range of investors.
Water stablecoins are on the horizon: This innovative financial instrument could further revolutionize the water industry by creating a more stable and transparent market.
OriginClear is leading the charge: They are not only developing technology but also creating financial models and partnerships to drive widespread adoption of decentralized water solutions.
Resources from Riggs
Resources from Mike and Nichole
+ Read the transcript
Mike Stohler
Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of The Richer Geek Podcast. We're going to mix things up just a little bit. We have Riggs Eckelberry. He's a nationally-renowned entrepreneur who deploys his personal Break To Build™ process, to help rebuild the water industry. So we won't talk about water. For all of us that are in the southwest, it's a very hot topic, as we know here in Arizona, California, water has reached a critical Breaking Point recent years, despite being essential to the plan of survival, he's the founding CEO of OriginClear, he's developed innovative solutions to help pioneer the development of water stable coins. We're going to get into that, and what that is. How are you doing, Riggs?
Riggs Eckelberry
You know what? We were just talking. It's getting nice and cooler here. The hurricane season's over. I'm planning ski trips up to the west. So we're doing all right.
Mike Stohler
Good. Glad to hear. I like to usually start the podcast with, give us a little bit about yourself. What made you get into water, and how did you get to the point where you are now doing modular water systems?
Riggs Eckelberry
And what on demand? Well, here's the thing, watch out for excessive ambition, right? Because that's what happened to me. Years ago, I was a ship captain. I spent a lot of time in the nonprofit space. I went over the Pacific and Atlantic and that other thing, but eventually settled down in New York City and fell in love with technology and in the 80s and 90s, I was in the technology boom. It was crazy, and I loved the.com how it became a real man of disruptive marketing. I trademarked the term, you know, break to build, of course, as you mentioned, but also mistake based marketing, because sometimes you just gotta make those mistakes to find out what works. In the early 2000s I'm taking a company, a software company, to NASDAQ as the president and COO and I made the mistake of mentioning to a fund that I think I'd be a good CEO, watch it, because, sure enough, they said, "Sounds great, but guess what? We're not doing tech." Tech, that's done. We're done with tech. Yeah, right, yeah. 2007 was just beginning the new phase. But anyway, I got it. They said, "We think that algae is going to make a great biofuel. And we want you to head a company that's going to commercialize algae for biofuels."
And we launched a company that at that time called origin oil, because algae was the Original Oil. It was not dinosaurs, it was algae. And had a great time. I was on every one, I was on Fox, for example, Stuart Varney, "I'll call you Algaeman." You know, it was all that good stuff. But then what happened was fracking, and all of a sudden the cost of the crew dropped below 50 bucks. And we're like, "Oops, we don't have a biofuel at 50 bucks." Algae can maybe get in there at 120 so rather than around any further, we decided, "Okay, this pivot right now." And our technology was to pull the algae out of the water, which is microscopic, and we did the same thing, "Okay, well, let's clean up the sewage with the same technology."And that's what got me into water. We renamed the company Lear, and in the first few years, we really focused on technology before learning that the water industry could care less about technology. They're very old school. They're like, "No, no, no, we're good." You gotta use those membranes. Everything's fine. And so we eventually turned to the commercial model, like, fine. You got you know how to clean the water, fine. But this, there's better ways of distributing it. And one of the things we discovered was that the big old central utilities, the municipal utilities, that were built in the early part of the 20th century, are totally overloaded. They just can't handle it. And now there's an estimate out there by the Society of Civil Engineers that by 2029 we will have an annual shortfall of four, $30 billion a year in infrastructure costs in the US alone. Now I'm sorry we're throwing around billions like it's nothing, but that's still a lot of money, and people aren't putting it into water. So we went, "Oh my gosh, this is a disaster, because it's an unfunded, you know, crater." There's this crater, this Death Star, being created.
So much so that there is, now, every two minutes there is a sewer main break somewhere in the United States. That's how bad it is. And people are like, "Oh, it's okay, the faucet opens up and then tap, flush the toilet." It's all good, that is, until there's a sewer main break in your backyard. Then you'll feel different about it, right? So we said, look, the easy way to do it is unload the system, take all these 90% of all the all the load is industrial and agricultural. Take them off the system. Have them treat their own, their own dirty water. They broke it. They fix it, right? So this is called decentralized water, and it's a thing. It turns out companies like it because of many, many reasons, including controlling costs, but also getting out of the hair of the cities. They love it, like, "Okay, good. We meet permits. We're not part of your game." And the one hidden benefit is that America only recycles less than 1% of its water. Places like Vegas, almost 90% right? And now we have an opportunity to do much more, if everybody recycles, but the cities don't recycle. They don't have the money to set up all that stuff. But if you're doing it yourself, you can recycle it yourself. You take that brewery water, clean it, and you can use it for other purposes, like wash downs and so forth. And so what we calculated is that if we get up to 15% recycling by industry and agriculture, we will have double the available fresh water in the United States. That's doable. And so that's what we've been doing. And we invented this amazing not I, but Ben early, the amazing guru that we have, invented these drop in place pods, boom, modular water, and you plug and play them. And because people who operate a brewery don't want to know about wastewater like, what does somebody do? Right? And the second thing is that the brewery doesn't have the money for one of those wastewater treatment systems, and so now we also have water as a service. "Oh, sir, here just signed a 20 or 30 year contract paid by the gallon." We're all happy. And now the water industry is getting that beautiful monthly recurring revenue that everybody's after, and that, I believe, is a salvation of the whole system. The whole system fixes around this one big decentralization plus water as a service model.
Mike Stohler
Yeah, it's very interesting. And I think, HOAs and things like that, on a personal level, because they don't think about it. I remember at one of our homes, we tried to do a gray water system and collect that, and we can do it all around landscapes. And HOA, it's like, "Oh, my God, you're going to, like, pollute the land. And you can't just, the gray water run off." And I'm like, "Well, we have all these three different containers. They're all going to filter it, and all these different things, and it comes back." So I can't wait for those types of people to get that kind of education and get on that, but not right now with HOAs. We just don't.
Riggs Eckelberry
I imagine as kids right now that are three years old, "Mommy, I want to become an HOA board member." It's a special breed of person that we have in our own condo. It's fine to love them because it's not a job. You know why they end up, those people end up with those jobs because nobody else wants them. Nobody else wants to run. But here's the thing, imagine right now, north of Dallas is a huge real estate boom going on, and it's developers are out racing sewage, and they're dropping in like right now in Lake Denniston, which is right at the Oklahoma border, we did a beautiful luxury development and no sewage treatment within miles. Well, we installed the black water recycling system, as it's called, panels at all. No problem. Once a year you flush out the sludge tank, and that's the end of that. And they're happy, because all of a sudden they don't have to worry about miles and miles of sewage and all the compliance involved and the time it takes forever to get connected.
Mike Stohler
Now, are you seeing that like new builds, hotels, things like that? You know, they're like, going, "Hey, you know what? I may have some upfront costs, but over the span of 15-20 years, I will stay at the hotel." Are you also seeing some commercial guys like that, maybe trying to do something like this?
Riggs Eckelberry
Yeah, but the thing is, the upfront cost is awesome. That's why we've taken that away. So for them, you're just switching meters. I'm not on the city meter. I'm on the private meter. Okay, it's like, when they put in those solar panels on your roof and you're paying the Solar City, or whoever they are, I think the SpaceX on solar, somebody owns Solar City, but anyway, or is it Tesla?
Mike Stohler
And then one of them went bankrupt, and I don't know what.
Riggs Eckelberry
I think Elon's brother, basically, Elon bought his brother out or something like that, because it's not easy to do, but they install these panels, they continue to own the panels. They're not yours. You just pay a reduced utility bill, you're happy, and they get all the long term benefits of the recurring revenue. And we are doing the same thing for water. And so people don't have to worry about the capital cost or getting a loan. It's very hard to do a lease against a water treatment system, because so many things can go wrong. So instead, just sign here a service contract here. You're done, and that, I believe, is a quiet revolution.
Mike Stohler
So let's talk about how that works, the transportation let's say we set something up, and there's some places out here in Arizona where they just don't have water access, so they do try truck all their water in on weekly basis that you know they're out in the desert, and it's very, very expensive to have have a truck come out and and fill your tanks up. And are you doing it differently than like the normal trucking in the home water?
Riggs Eckelberry
Well, we stay away from the fresh water. We believe that that's a whole other area. It's dominated by the Public Utilities, and they should continue to it is a problem, but it's a problem that, unfortunately, attempts to privatize fresh water have been a disaster, because then the operator skimps on maintenance and overcharges and all kinds of horrible things happen. It's like for profit prisons, right? It's like the worst idea possible. So we decided that in the cities, you can handle the water, fresh water. Yes, it's a problem in certain places, but what we can do is we can alleviate the problem of the dirty water. Look it up. You heard about forever chemicals. Those are everywhere. Well, we got to close the loop on that and start getting that stuff out. And here's one of the things that's driving this whole thing: do it yourself. Revolution, companies, factories that were generating all that forever chemicals, water, they thought that the city was treating it. The city wasn't. Now they're being sued for the water the city didn't treat. And they're going, well, I might as well do it myself. Then, I mean, you know, if I'm getting sued anyway, then do it myself. And so there's technology out there to do it, right? And that's where I believe we're going to get a tremendous amount now, here's the good news, Michael, we don't need a bunch of subsidies from the government. We're fine. I think it's gonna be very popular with the new administration, right? It's like, yes, just let us do our thing, right? But it's already going well. The Texas Environmental Quality Commission, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, TCQ, has a pre-approved modular water box, and we don't have to get a permit on that. We just got a trailer park and it wants a neutral system. We said, "Okay, it's this model boat. That's the end of that." So the cities, the zoning officials, everybody's environmental departments, everybody's being super cooperative. Because the closer you get to this problem where you realize there's major water in this country and we can solve it. Here's the great part, you and I are always looking for things to invest in. I'm already gnashing my teeth that I missed the Tesla boom. Fear Of Missing Out. I got a little bit, but I wish I had a whole lot.
Mike Stohler
Crypto and Tesla.
Riggs Eckelberry
All those trends. And so what we're looking for is something where we will be early and early enough that we'll make a big game well. Water is that asset. So we are busy bringing in regular investors like you and me to invest in this water decentralization. The water is a service, and the share and the outcomes, and now they're sort of early on, and it has not already become Airbnb. It hasn't been done right? And so if you are interested in getting involved with this as a royalty generating asset, they'll change the world to storage and clear.com and check us out.
Mike Stohler
Say that name again, just so that people know. And can you invest now, or do you have to wait till there's an IPO? How does that work? And is it a Series A? Let's talk about the investment a little bit.
Riggs Eckelberry
OriginClear has been a public company for a long time. It's a simple private placement that gives you both stock and the public company, plus stock in this new company that we're working to get on the NASDAQ, and you get a profit share on the operations of the water equipment that goes out there. So that's an ongoing royalty. Even after you sell your shares in OriginClear, you still keep the royalty going. You get that royalty forever. So that's a very simple model. We're about to make an even better one, which is great, but we believe that some people say, "Oh, it's expensive money going to the everyday investor." That may be so. But what I like is the ability to move fast. I can learn new things and try new things very quickly. And then once it scales up, of course, you take it to Wall Street, it's all proven out. "Hey, it's just like a power purchase agreement." You know, entrepreneurs, but we've done the heavy lifting with our founding investors, and believe me, Michael, these people have been with us for years. We treat them, right? We take good care of them. They're strong believers, and they help us every single day. So becoming a part of the originclear team is kind of privileged, because who else is really addressing the water problem right now?
Mike Stohler
Yeah, you know, I'm writing notes. It gives us like, "Oh, where am I going to put this extra 10% or extra whatever you know that I have with things?" Is it a Series C, like an accredited investor? Is there a minimum?
Riggs Eckelberry
Okay, so we have a hybrid right now. We have two different offerings. One is a crowdfunding offering that's registered with the SEC called Regulation A+, you probably hear about those. And so that's minimum investments just 250 bucks, and people invest on average around 1,200 bucks. Unlike that, and you're limited by 10% of your annual income. That's the limit which you can do by law. And what you get is you get a share of OriginClear and an option to buy another share at the same price. So basically, you're getting, I guess you could say you're getting two for one.
Right? And so what we then have is that's for people who are not accredited. Now, if you're accredited, that means you're making $200,000 a year, personally, $300,000 with a cohabitant or you have a million dollars in net worth outside of your primary home. If you fit in that, then you become one of those royalty receivers. That's that 25% profit share, the shares of origin, clear, plus water on demand. I mean, we reward them for jumping in there with a lot, a lot more money, right? I mean, so it's fair, you can just jump in and do the regulation, the crowdfunding, right? And even set up a subscription series. It's all good. And then on this, on the other side is this water on demand, which is a company we created that is going through, being purchased by a blank check company on the NASDAQ, which I can't talk about, but it's going just fine. And then OriginClear is going to continue to incubate more and that, I know that your podcasts don't run this long, but we do have an idea for a stable coin. And that will be, water needs a coin. Water needs a coin. That is the actual value of the water, not some crazy meme coin, right? And that is going to be the next thing that origin clear creates with water on demand. So OriginClear is basically an incubator for great ideas, mostly in water. But if a good comes in, comes around another area, we'll do that too.
Mike Stohler
Is there a minimum investment for the accredited investor? You know, $50,000.
Riggs Eckelberry
It's called a $100,000 unit. But I'll tell you, Michael, we don't care much. We'll take whatever you think's right. Here's why people tend to invest again and again. So far be it from us. To make you uncomfortable, if 30,000 is right, then 30,000 is no big deal, because people see us making progress and doing great things, and they go, I'll do more. And we make it their wild so we have a very, very loyal investor base.
Mike Stohler
My wife and I were just discussing some things, you know, it's like, where are we gonna put some of this money? And I'm like, "Oh, I might know a guy."
Riggs Eckelberry
We had a conversation with my wife. We got a big tax refund this year, like, "Let's see now."
Mike Stohler
Yeah, I got to keep some for my hotels and things like that. But you always diversify, always looking at diversification. And everybody out there that's looking for diversification, we've been talking about, the multifamily and diversifying in real estate. But how about the most critical part, other than the land, is the water part. I think a lot of people in California, in Arizona, because we're, that's all of our legislation right now is talking about, it's like the 100 year supply, or what are we doing?
Riggs Eckelberry
Oh, it's a disaster, and they don't know where to find it.
Mike Stohler
Colorado only gives us so much, so much water a year, right? Yeah. I mean, and there's lawsuits with that. California wants more water from Colorado. We want some in. How about Colorado, where it's at, and that's just crazy out here.
Riggs Eckelberry
And it's not being recycled! Hello?
Mike Stohler
It's not because my HOA won't let me, exactly. But I think it touches the heart, because we're in that type of situation and people are like, "Oh, the new administration, he doesn't care about any of that stuff." And whatever, it's propaganda. He's got a good person running the EPA now, and it's going to be changing that. The passage administration wanted to force it on you, right? They're going to say, "Hey, you know what? We're going to let people, the capitalists, the companies, figure it out, and if it's a good idea, we'll go right along with it." I mean, that's common sense. So is there anything else, we talked a little bit about the website, ladies and gentlemen, there's two types, if you want to do the crowdsourcing, you want to do more of a syndication or, a Reg C private placement, do that. What else did I miss about this episode?
Riggs Eckelberry
Okay, so what's very important to know is that we are just one small company, so we're not going to redo all the water systems in America or the world, right? So what we're doing is we're really focusing on the financial layer, which is this, similar to the solar power disagreement, very similar to that. And then we want to democratize it and make it available to water companies. They're trying to get a client, but the client doesn't have the money. It's like, "Well, here use one of our water purchase agreements and we'll go ahead and get your client going." And so what we want to do, we want to harness the entire water industry, give them a better way to offer water treatment without money up front, without capital, and the investors are the ones who benefit. I think that's a big trend. By not being greedy, by not trying to do it all ourselves. They should use our technology. But even so, just look, it's a financial deal. Get it out there and eventually go international. We want to get a financial partner in Dubai, Singapore, Tokyo, London, and let them do the same thing we're doing in partnership. So I'm a strong believer in, you know, what you might call the network effect, which is, as each node that you add to the network, here's the geek coming. Each node you add to the network geometrically increases the value of the network.
That's what we want to do here, to make a real transformation, and it will directly affect the health of humans right now, and I think this current administration is going to love it.
Mike Stohler
I think so. And I'm also looking at Europe and things like that. I'm getting ready for a hotel in Spain, which was the first 100% eco-friendly hotel in this forest. And I'm thinking, I wonder how we can make it even more eco-friendly, and do a partnership or something like that to get you into Europe. That might be nice. And ladies and gentlemen, if you go on the website, originclear.com.
You can also sign up for a monthly CEO briefing, and that'll kind of keep you up to date with the newsletter. When they go on the website, where can they go to invest? Is there a link or?
Riggs Eckelberry
There should be a big green button. Top right says, invest now.
Mike Stohler
The top left, you got the three lines that will go down into a subset. The last one is, invest now, ladies and gentlemen. And before I leave, where can people find you personally?
Riggs Eckelberry
Well, you know what, if you sign up on the newsletter, and anytime you reply to that newsletter, it's not one of those no reply things, it goes to my inbox, so feel free to just let me know what's up. And if you signed up on the list and you hear from on our newsletters, just hit reply and or use one of the emails at the bottom. I do respond. I love responding to our fans.
Mike Stohler
Fantastic. Riggs, thank you so much for coming on The Richer Geek Podcast. Have a wonderful spot, almost happy hour there, so take care, and we'll see you next time.
Riggs Eckelberry
Michael, such a great pleasure. Appreciate the interview.
Mike Stohler
Thank you, sir.
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ABOUT RIGGS ECKELBERRY
Riggs Eckelberry is a nationally-renowned entrepreneur who deploys his personal Break To Build™ process to help rebuild the water industry, which has reached a critical breaking point in recent years despite being essential to the planet's survival. As the founding CEO of OriginClear, Riggs has developed innovative solutions to help businesses face rising water bills by tapping into new investment markets. He is even pioneering the development of "water stablecoins,” a cryptocurrency backed by water-assets. With a diverse background in nonprofit management, oceangoing navigation, and technology disruption, Riggs is uniquely qualified to bring change to an outdated and overrun industry.