Water you doing? Turning water into water.
Reno is ripe for tech-industry development because it has all the necessary elements for success: high-skill labor, developable land, tech infrastructure, a favorable tax climate, and a vibrant quality of life. The one thing holding companies back is water, as the high-tech industry often needs water for cooling and energy generation.
In a place where public water sources are becoming more valuable than gold, and according to the Truckee Meadows Water Authority’s website, “There is no such thing as new Truckee River water rights to service development because additional water cannot be diverted from the river…,” industry needs to find ways to get water from other sources. And once they get it, it needs to be managed in a way that meets stringent environmental requirements.
The Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center saw an opportunity in a location 17 miles east of Reno and came to DOWL to help find that one missing drop to make everything flow smoothly.
Luke Tipton, DOWL’s water and wastewater market sector leader, worked with the team to come up with a solution that blended four sources of water into one source.
“What is really cool about this project is that it provides the community with a solid, high-paying industry partner while taking water sources, including grey water that needed to be treated anyway,” said Luke. “And the best part is that industry pays for it!”
Luke said the win-win also allowed him and his team to engineer some really cool infrastructure, like a specially designed blend tank that combines four disparate water sources into a homogenous mixture and removes many of the salts and silica that are hard on industrial machinery and the environment. “We are on the forefront of this critical technology, and it’s been such a joy for our team to be a part of,” said Luke.
Brent Farr, DOWL’s water practice leader, agreed and said communities and industry are realizing that fighting over the same limited water source isn’t a viable way forward. Bringing alternative water sources to the table has become a necessity, and for DOWL, a very rewarding business line.
“There’s nothing better than helping to take what was once a winner-loser scenario and creating all winners,” said Brent. “This is why we went into engineering.”
Well, water you know? We’re in deep now!
