From SWAT to Water - A Journey

There I was in an unmarked car, a Hyundai Sonata to be exact, with two other detectives in my narcotics squad riding along. We observed a car blow through a stop sign. We quickly pulled behind the car and turned on our police lights. The driver of the car slowed down to about 5 miles per hour and without coming to a complete stop a person abruptly flung the right passenger door open and began to run into an alley behind a set of row homes.

I was the fastest member of my squad, and as a result, I was usually the first one out of the car when there was a foot pursuit. This time was no different. As I jumped out of the car, I ordered the person to stop as I pursued him into the alley. Right away, I saw him remove a large handgun from his waistband. I withdrew my department issued .40 Caliber Glock 22, and I had him in my sights as I pursued him further and further into the alley. Fortunately for both of us that day, he didn't turn and point the gun at me. Instead, he threw the gun into a vacant yard, and I eventually caught up to him after another 100 yards, where after a brief struggle I was able to place him in custody.

What was the gun that he was carrying? It was a .45 Caliber Glock!

This was business as usual. I was a member of a squad of 6 plain clothed detectives whose mission was to enforce felony narcotics violations and investigate violent repeat offenders. That foot pursuit, by the way, was just one of many incidents during that 8 hour shift. Just about every day was dangerous and fast paced. I look back on those days and remember many other scenarios that were more dangerous than that foot pursuit, and I realize that I was fortunate to escape serious injury.

In 2010 I was invited to try out for the department's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team. The process consists of interviews, SWAT physical fitness testing and then a 3 week SWAT school that is designed to test your physical, emotional and mental capabilities, to put it mildly. Ultimately, I was selected and joined the SWAT team where I met some of the most talented, driven and bright people that I have ever worked with.

The question I get, quite frequently, is..." How did a SWAT guy become an expert in water efficiency technologies?".

Well, many police officers supplement their income by working off-duty as armed security for businesses that are in high crime areas. I did that for a little while. But, in 2010, I began to sell electricity supply agreements to commercial businesses. Electricity was deregulated, and it provided an opportunity to help businesses save money on their operating costs, by reducing their energy spend. This, in turn, made them a more profitable business.

Once I began to see the positive impacts that lower electricity prices had on a business' bottom line, I then began to look into ways to further reduce their operating expenses by reducing their electricity demand.

This lead me into energy efficiency where I began to independently develop LED lighting projects. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was burning the midnight oil, researching relentlessly and learning about the myriad energy efficiency measures that exist to make a building's energy consuming systems more efficient.

As a result of my intense, deep dive into energy management, I found an opportunity to start an energy solutions division for a mid-sized construction management firm. I brought in a large lighting and lighting controls project for a prestigious private high school and we were also fortunate to implement energy efficiency projects for National Commercial and Industrial clients. During this time, I began to turn up the intensity and became a true student of energy efficiency technologies, project funding and project development.

I took the same work ethic that led to success in the military and in law enforcement, and I applied it to energy. I began to learn from some very bright and talented energy efficiency professionals. The great thing about utilities is that technology has advanced rapidly, and continues to do so. This creates a dynamic where no one person or company can claim to know everything, and it also provides an opportunity for disciplined, focused professionals to make an impact.

As I began to conduct site assessments of buildings around the US, it became clear to me that there was a heavy focus on advancing energy efficiency, and not nearly the same level of focus was paid to advancing water efficiency. I've assessed hundreds of buildings and sites across the country. The majority of the efficiency measures implemented, in the past decade, were technologies designed to reduce electricity consumption.

About five years ago, it began to dawn on me that when we were conducting our site assessments for our prospective clients, we were often times walking past water efficiency opportunities. That didn't sit well with me. So, I began to research water efficiency solutions.

Ultimately, after much research, I landed on a company that provided fully wireless smart sensors that measured water levels in soil and then sent that data to a controller that had a patented watering algorithm which automatically adjusted the irrigation schedule. As a result, it delivered the precise amount of water needed to keep plants healthy, and it also reduced water consumption by 30%+.

What is the end result? Reduced operating expenses, increased net operating income, and healthier landscape assets.

This is now my passion, educating owners, operators and managers of buildings on how to strategically implement wireless smart sensor solutions to save water and increase the profitability and operational efficiency of the assets in their portfolio.

So, while it may not have been the typical path. Here I am, grateful and excited to be helping clients save water while increasing their bottom line.

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