Bold reformulations often spark stronger engagement, and that’s exactly what this rewrite aims to do while preserving every key detail of the original.
Reno’s Advanced Purified Water Facility inches toward construction, with costs rising more than twofold. Officials emphasize this long-term move will secure a drought-resilient drinking water source for the Reno area, but the price tag now sits around $278 million, up from prior estimates.
Despite many similar plants nationwide, the Stead-based project—located just south of the existing Reno Stead Water Reclamation Facility—would be Nevada’s first of its kind. The plan envisions transforming treated wastewater into potable water that can reenter the drinking supply.
Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) officials describe the project as a strategic, long-range effort to diversify and stabilize water resources. The system could produce about 2,000 acre-feet of drinking water each year, bolstering reliability during drought periods.
How the process works
The Advanced Purified Water Facility will employ a 12-step treatment train beginning with coagulation and flocculation. It continues with ultraviolet (UV) disinfection, ozone generation and ozonation, followed by another UV stage to ensure all pathogens and viruses are eliminated.
After treatment, the purified water will be pumped several miles north to American Flat Farm for injection into the local groundwater aquifer. Over years, natural filtration and additional treatment in the aquifer will prepare the water for extraction and reintegration into the public water system.
TMWA spokespersons emphasize the science and safety backbone of the project. Rotter notes that the facility will deliver water quality far above typical wastewater standards. Public reassurance is framed around regulators’ comfort with the plan, plus a cautious, phased testing approach: initial use for irrigation before eventual ground-water reinjection and broader drinking-water use in five to ten years.
Global context shows the viability of purified recycled water, with similar facilities operating in states such as Texas, California, Arizona, Georgia, and Virginia.
Cost drivers and funding
Construction is now slated to begin in the summer of 2026, with the total cost projected around $278 million—roughly double earlier estimates. City funds and TMWA will share the load, with Reno covering about 70% of the construction and TMWA contributing the remaining 30%. Funding sources include Reno’s sewer fund, a state loan, and federal grants.
Dustin Waters, Reno’s assistant director for utility services, attributes the price increase to several factors: design refinements, market risk pricing, supply-chain challenges, tariffs, and inflation specific to water projects that has outpaced general inflation.
Recent design updates also add a crucial polishing step to target PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, often called forever chemicals. The plan uses granular carbon media to remove PFAS, after which the media is replaced and incinerated to destroy the contaminants.
Timeline and milestones
Initial expectations for groundbreaking as early as 2023 have evolved. Current projections place construction in mid-2026, with a Reno City Council vote on the construction contract anticipated in May. Officials now forecast a July 2026 groundbreaking, a projected completion in August 2028, and facility operation beginning in 2029.
Rendering: Advanced Purified Water Facility planned for Reno (Courtesy: TMWA)
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