‘Incredible honor’: Casper’s Frog Creek Partners founder speaks at UN Convention in Saudi Arabia

CASPER, Wyo. — Frog Creek Partners founder Brian Deurloo knows that you can’t trust everything you read on the internet, especially when it comes to unsolicited emails.

“I saw it come through a couple of times, and I thought it was a scam,” he said in a recent interview. “Like, who receives an email saying, ‘Hey, do you want to come speak at the United Nations in Riyadh?'”

Fortunately, after swiftly sending the first two into the trash bin, he had second thoughts.

His first interactions were still skeptical. He was being asked to bring his significant expertise in using AI for water management to a presentation at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification‘s COP16 in Saudi Arabia. After a face-to-face Zoom call with the organizers, he was finally convinced to take the all-expense-paid trip this last December.

Organizers were attracted to Brian’s knowledge in stormwater pollution. The company he founded, Frog Creek Partners, produces a system dubbed the Gutter Bin, which is based and manufactured in Casper and is designed to filter out pollutants and rubbish from city stormwater before it gets dumped back into rivers and streams.

Desert areas receive precious little rainwater, so naturally civilizations are more concerned than ever about properly treating and managing what they do get. And it’s not just traditionally desert regions that need to focus on better water management: The term “desertification” applies to traditionally arid and semi-arid areas that are becoming drier with the rapid loss of grasslands and vegetation. According to Brian, desertification is occurring on every continent except Antarctica, which could also face it in the near future as glaciers continue to melt.

“So what does Frog Creek Partners have and the Gutter Bin have to do with desertification?” said Brian. “Well, when you only get 4 inches of rain [annually] in a city like Riyadh, you’re going to take care of every drop you’ve got.” A massive new development in Neom, Saudi Arabia, is one example of what is basically a new city in a desert area looking for ways to be sustainable, according to Brian. One way is to possibly install Gutter Bins to capture stormwater for reuse in agriculture.

“Stormwater has been dealt with the same way for about 2,000 years, starting with the Romans,” said Brian. “You gather it in a capillary system, bring it into larger pipes, and then discharge it into a drainage, and Riyadh is no different.”

“When it does rain there, they have experienced flooding, and they have a fair amount of trash and debris on their streets that they’ve got to filter, just like we do.”

Filtering out debris not only helps with water quality, but it also helps down the run with water quantity, said Brian.

“If you can filter out the water quality — filter out the trash so your pipes don’t clog — then you have better water quantity.”

“The reasons that they’re facing some of these floods in places like Dubai is climate change,” he said, “but also because when you get very little rain once or twice a year, that rain is then flushing this trash into the pipes and clogging them, and that’s where we can help.”

The focus of his talk with a handful of other experts on a panel was on artificial intelligence, and how the burgeoning technology can be used as a tool for water security.

Brian said that visiting the area was both enriching and enlightening.

“I had never been to the Middle East before, nor to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,” he said. “It was a true eye-opening experience.”

“I do a fair amount of travel — I think this is my 23rd county that I’ve visited — so I did a fair amount of research on the city and country before going because I don’t like to step into things cold,” he said. “I like to understand the culture.”

“The first thing that struck me was how friendly and welcoming people were, and just how different the culture is,” he continued. “It’s a Muslim country, so everybody dresses a lot different, but I was struck by their growth initiative.”

He said that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is investing the income they’ve made with fossil fuels over the years back into green energy and sustainable practices.

The country has a lot going on, he said, including the Asian Winter Olympics in 2028, the Wold Expo in Riyadh in 2030 and the FIFA World Cup in 2034.

“I think if they’re wanting to attract people to their country, they need to have clean water and a clean environment,” he said. “I heard that 50% of the people who live in Saudi Arabia are under the age of 35, and a full 30% of the people there are expats. So to attract that level of talent, you need to have an environment that’s welcoming.”

Frog Creek Partners’ main market is in North America and is expanding into Europe and Australia, but he also foresees more opportunities in the Middle East. “I would definitely pursue the Middle East market if we could find a good local partner,” he said.

Looking back at his time there, he called being asked to speak an “incredible honor.”

“It felt surreal to represent my work on a global stage, and the hospitality in Saudi Arabia was outstanding,” he said. “These people are incredibly kind and welcoming.”

“I’m just a regular Wyoming man from Sheridan, and now Casper, who’s passionate about making a difference, and to stand on a global stage and share that mission was humbling and inspiring.”