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Proposed Pipeline Would Carry Treated Effluent To Tesla, Switch

ThisisReno.com

The City of Reno has given tentative approval to a project that would create a pipeline of treated effluent to the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center which houses companies like Tesla and Switch. Our News Director Michelle Billman spoke to our contributor Bob Conrad if ThisisReno to learn more.

The water is needed for Switch, Tesla and other businesses at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRIC).

Switch brought heavy-hitter “water czar” Pat Mulroy, formerly of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, to testify for the agreement, which mostly met with favor among council members.

Mulroy was a key figure in Clark County’s controversial efforts to pipe groundwater from eastern Nevada to Las Vegas, efforts that have been ongoing for decades and which are still making their way through court. Mulroy retired in 2013.

She said she was retained by Switch as a consultant on the TRIGID project.

Under the agreement, treated water would go to help meet water needs at the TRIC. This means more clean water staying in the Truckee River and less treated effluent going downstream, according to City Public Works Director John Flansberg, who framed the effort as mutually beneficial.

TRIGID would be responsible for construction costs, and approval of the agreement by Sept. 15, 2017 would allow the improvement district to seek state funding.

That tight deadline had some council members concerned. Councilwoman Jenny Brekhus said: “It puts my hackles up to (meet) this deadline.”

Read more of this story here.

Michelle Billman is a former news director at KUNR Public Radio.
Bob Conrad, PhD, APR is a media professional with more than 20 years of experience in journalism, public relations, marketing and publishing. He’s the co-founder of ThisisReno.com, a locally owned and operated online news website.
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