ASTERRA (Utilis) Hosts Innovation Award Celebration

Innovation Award Celebration in San Diego

Utilis event in San Diego to gather dignitaries from all over the world and to celebrate winning the national Innovation Award and bringing tech jobs to San Diego. Dignitaries from across the state of California and leaders of Utilis from Israel and the U.S. will gather on August 5, 2021, for a celebration. Kicking off the event will be the San Diego Chamber President and former mayor, Jerry Sanders.  

Utilis is bringing their founder and CEO to San Diego to celebrate winning the inaugural Innovation Award from the American Water Works Association.  Utilis received the Innovation Award for their achievements in creating technology to preserve water and promote environmental sustainability.  

With the significant increase in jobs brought to San Diego by Utilis in the last year, local and statewide politicians will be attending this exciting event to mark this occasion.  As the state starts to open from the COVID-19 pandemic, job security and growth is critical to keeping residents in California. The San Diego area has become the darling for expanding technology firms; it is considered by some as America’s fourth tech capital.   

With this new award, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) recognized Utilis for fulfilling the vision of the Association’s Innovation Initiative. AWWA’s ongoing initiative is to inspire and implement innovative thinking and best practices to address challenges within the water industry and achieve significant positive results.  The trophy will be presented at this event by Heather Collins, the current Vice President of AWWA. 

Utilis technology lowers the cost of finding potable water leaks by using a patented algorithm and satellite-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. Utilis uses reflected signals from a satellite to detect the underground presence of potable water. A staggering 7200M gallons of water are saved every year through Utilis solutions, with an average of 3.3 leaks found per day at each subscribing utility. 

“This technology is a real game changer,” said AWWA Past President Charlie Anderson, of CDM Smith, and a member of the committee deciding the winners. “It can save upfront leak detection costs, and find remote subsurface leaks, especially during natural disaster situations where the utility is trying to restore system pressure.” 

“We are excited to host an event in the US showing our support of the San Diego and California communities and as our way to invite others to gather around and learn,” stated Elly Perets, CEO of Utilis. “Bringing jobs and helping our community is an important part of our culture. Listening to and learning from other global leaders will be an important part of this event.” 

The AWWA is the largest nonprofit, scientific and educational association dedicated to managing and treating water. They provide solutions to improve public health, protect the environment, strengthen the economy and enhance our quality of life. The event will be held from 3 to 5 pm at the Town and Country in San Diego.  The San Diego Chamber of Commerce will also be joining to cut the ribbon and celebrate this award-winning company.