Southern Nevada's WaterStart Vets New Technologies In The Desert
It was water innovation that first gave birth to the Las Vegas we know today. In 1931 work started on the Hoover Dam, the largest man-made reservoir in the country, bringing a surge of workers that expanded the city’s population five times over. A largely male, migratory work force meant ideal conditions for hotels and casinos, the construction of which was suddenly made possible by water access.
Today the Las Vegas area relies on the same ingenuity to support residents and over 42 million tourists a year. In what was once an arid desert, tropical gardens flourish, swimming pools abound, and fountains dance at regularly scheduled intervals.
But none of the infamously indulgent behavior on the strip would be possible if it weren’t for the local water authority. Southern Nevada relies on the Colorado River for 90 percent of its water supply and the last decade and a half has brought acute drought to that source. In response, the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) implemented a comprehensive, progressive water conservation program.
“Our per capita water use has decreased by 40 percent since the drought began while our community’s population grew by more than a half-million people during that same time,” explained Bronson Mack, a public outreach officer for SNWA. “Furthermore, we have operated one of the most advanced water treatment facilities and water quality laboratories in the country. We have the technology and expertise to test these technologies under a variety of conditions and provide usable feedback for the betterment of the technology and the water industry as a whole.”
To attract and vet more of the technologies that have allowed Southern Nevada to flourish despite water scarcity, SNWA teamed with the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development and the Desert Research Institute — the nonprofit research campus for the state’s community college system — to form WaterStart.
The WaterStart program was designed to foster a relationship with innovators that would encourage them to bring their technologies to Southern Nevada where they can be deployed, tested, and validated on a small scale and in a relatively controlled environment. It’s a symbiotic relationship between a utility desperate to conserve water, innovators hoping to see their work break through, and a public agency interested in attracting businesses (or becoming the “Silicon Valley of Water” as Politico put it).
“This is a partnership with public and private entities to connect water agencies, technology companies, innovators, policy makers, and end users together and further advance innovation and growth in the water sector,” said Mack. “The tech companies get the benefit of having the technology tested, we get the benefit of having access to the latest and greatest technology… and Southern Nevada gets the opportunity for economic development and job creations should these tech companies relocate within the state.”
Currently, SWDA is testing three monitoring technologies as a result of this program. One, from Syrinix, provides high-resolution data and automated analysis of pipelines. Another, from Echologics, uses an acoustic-based leak detection and monitoring system to analyze water transmission mains. Lastly, a technology from Israeli start-up Ayyeka that now expects to base its U.S. water operation in Nevada, monitors control operations in water facilities.
Beyond encouraging technology companies to introduce their latest developments to the benefit of Southern Nevada alone, SDWA sees the WaterStart program as a pipeline to bring validated innovations to the rest of the world.
“It may be too early to see the benefits to other water agencies,” said Mack. “However, we believe that our efforts will benefit other water utilities in the long run.”
Furthermore, the program provides a lesson in what can be accomplished through inter-agency cooperation that other municipalities should consider applying to their own challenges.
“Partnerships are always beneficial,” said Mack.