Edison Partners Invests in Company Cleaning Up Nation’s Drinking Water

On Jan 10, 2024

Princeton-based Edison Partners today announced leading a $43 million growth investment in 120Water, a cloud-based water management and testing system based in Zionsville, Indiana, with continued participation from Allos Ventures. The new funds will be used to further expand the 120Water team, technology investments, and go-to-market efforts.

New federal Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) will require states’ drinking water to be 100% lead-free and all service lines (LSL) in the United States to be cataloged and undergo regular testing, surveillance, and remediation starting October 16, 2024.

The EPA estimates 9.2 million lead service lines (LSLs) serve water to properties in communities across the United States, affecting approximately all 50 states. Complying with LCRI is a potentially expensive and unwieldy challenge for state executives, regulators and local water utilities.

According to Edison Partners, 120Water uniquely provides the only platform offering a complete, end-to-end digital water compliance solution with its data collection and aggregation solution, testing capabilities, kit provision, program management, and consulting services.

The platform’s rapid adoption is driving a sharp increase in new customers and revenue growth of more than 60% annually. The immediate testing and compliance market for LCRI is estimated to be more than $2 billion.

“Over the past seven years, 120Water has built a highly scalable, cloud-based, end-to-end platform unlike any others, while also becoming recognized as a thought leader on LCRI compliance and remediation,” said General Partner Ryan Ziegler, who joins the company’s board of directors. “Cofounder and CEO Megan Glover is a water quality expert with strong vision, matched with a highly effective team. We’re proud to partner with 120Water, which is helping utilities, at all levels of scale, tackle these daunting federal and state requirements, efficiently, affordably and with modern technology.”

120Water’s integrated software solution provides accessible, seamless test coordination, secure data handling, reporting, and workflow management for LCRI oversight, together in one place. Beyond lead and copper (the focus of the LCRI), the software scales to empower regulators and utilities to more effectively manage all water quality compliance while improving public transparency. In addition to investment in compliance management software, 120Water’s environmental laboratory network is uniquely positioned to help water systems and regulators meet the demands of emerging water quality regulations such as PFAS.

“With public access to water utility lead service line inventories next year, we expect heightened awareness and increased public demand for quicker remediation in water quality,” said Megan Glover, 120Water co-founder and CEO. “In this next expansion phase for our company, we feel well prepared with the partnership and operating expertise that Edison offers, as we continue to grow and confidently support this impending demand.”

120Water marks the thirteenth investment from Edison X, following a recent $25M investment in Take Command Health, the first and largest administrative platform for individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements. It also joins other supply chain, logistics and compliance-focused technology investments in Edison’s active portfolio, including GAN Integrity, Overhaul, Recycle Track Systems (RTS), Solutions by Text, Spiffy, and Macrofab. Since its inception in 1986, Edison has invested in more than 260 companies.

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