Water Is the Next Oil
· 3 min read · By Jacques Jean
I've been working on my own dime in water for seven years. On and off, between jobs, between ventures, between the things that actually paid the bills. I kept building because I know water is the next oil. It might be more important.
Haiti
As a kid I visited Haiti and saw what most of the world actually looks like. No consistent access to energy, water, or telecom. We drank bottled water. We ran generators for power. We set up computer labs with ten monitors per CPU.
That trip shaped everything that came after.
What Energy Taught Me
I got the opportunity to work at Sol-Ark and step into the energy storage world. That's where I learned to appreciate how far behind the water industry really is. Not just in financial returns but in product innovation and capability.
Virtual power plants are light years ahead of water billing. Energy has real markets, real products, real infrastructure. Water has spreadsheets and manual reads.
I Was Right, Unfortunately
Water bills will rise the same way electric bills did. Products need to innovate and markets need to mature in that same direction.
For years I was told my ideas were too far-fetched. Too much effort. My idea was simple: pay people to produce water.
With atmospheric water generation, that concept is tangible now. As aquifers deplete, it starts to make economic sense at scale. Municipalities add supply without breaking ground. Homeowners get fresh local water at a reduced rate and backup if there are contaminants, downed pipes, or storms that flood the lines.
BlueSignal WQM-1
As water becomes more critical, so does constant and accurate water quality monitoring.
That's why I built the WQM-1.
It's a water quality and quantity meter that lets you measure how much water you're producing and monitor how clean it stays over time. More timely service calls for tanks, better data, fewer surprises.
But there's more. The WQM-1 comes with four built-in controllers for algae transducers that reduce service calls by keeping water clean at the source. Monitoring and control in one board.
LoRa connectivity. GPS. pH sensing. Four relay channels. No cloud dependency required.
What Comes Next
I work for Aquaria selling the country's best atmospheric water generators alongside FranklinWH selling the best batteries backed by the toughest warranty in the industry. All the while, I get to keep building BlueSignal and improving water quality for everyone.
This is the chapter I've been working toward for seven years.
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