In this episode of DevelopmentAid Dialogues, host Hisham Allam speaks with David Shackleton, CEO of SIS.BIO, about a problem that rarely makes headlines but affects millions every day: water that’s too polluted to use. Shackleton makes a clear distinction—this isn’t a crisis of not having enough water but of failing to protect what we already have. Through SIS.BIO, he’s leading efforts to bring damaged ecosystems in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs back to life so they become renewable and can once again sustain communities and local economies.

"This isn't about running out of water," Shackleton said. "It's about the water we have being too contaminated to use."

He remembered how toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie caused the city of Toledo, Ohio, to shut down its drinking water supply in 2014. "The lake was full of water, and it used to be great, but it became inappropriate for use. The problem wasn't with the amount of water.”

That core idea drives the work being done at SIS.BIO. Rather than simply removing contaminants, the company is focused on helping nature do what it used to do—keep water clean through its own cycles. Using biotechnology, their approach aims to repair the underlying ecosystems that have broken down in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. “We’re trying to fix the system, not just treat the symptoms,” Shackleton said, underscoring the need for long-term solutions over short-term fixes.

SIS.BIO believes that the best way to work with nature is not overpowering it at all. Their work, based on natural enzymes, boosts oxygen levels and then brings back aquatic ecosystems, helping restore the self-cleaning ability of water bodies. "Instead of dumping chemicals or building gigantic treatment facilities," Shackleton said, "we help nature do what it used to do on its own."

This method has worked in a range of environments—from polluted lagoons in Zambia to deep lakes and rivers in North America. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, but a flexible model that uses biological principles to adapt to local conditions. Shackleton compared it to the way Africa skipped landline IT infrastructure and jumped straight to mobile networks: “We can leapfrog outdated water treatment infrastructure and build smarter systems tailored to today’s needs."

What makes their approach especially relevant to cities in the Global South is its modular design. Local communities can treat and reuse water using decentralized loops—removing the need for expensive networks of pipes or large-scale plants. "We’re talking about systems that can support entire neighborhoods, without waiting years for mega-projects to get funded and built," he said.

Still, he expressed concern about the lack of engagement from major aid agencies. "We often fall into a gap—too small for billion-dollar programs and too comprehensive for piecemeal NGO projects." The result, he warned, is a fragmented approach that fails to address the bigger picture.

He believes this has real-world consequences. "When water systems collapse, fishing stops, agriculture falters, and people get sick. Eventually, they abandon their home environment and migrate elsewhere. Then we spend ten times as much money dealing with increasing migration in donor countries."

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