The Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) has selected Carollo Engineers to provide construction management services for the Advanced Purified Water Facility (APWF), a $200 million project developed under the OneWater Nevada initiative. The scheme will be the first large-scale water purification and reuse facility in Nevada.
Led by TMWA in collaboration with the City of Reno, the facility will be built a few miles north of Reno and is intended to play a central role in regional water resource management. The project aims to produce Category A+ Advanced Purified Water, as defined by the Nevada Administrative Code (NAC 445A), suitable for all reuse applications, including groundwater recharge.
The project demonstrates the viability of Advanced Purified Water in inland regions, potentially enabling replication at other water reclamation facilities across Nevada
“The Advanced Purified Water Facility represents a transformational investment in the Truckee Meadows’ water future,” said Dr. Lydia Teel, TMWA’s Water Operations and Emerging Resources Supervisor. “This innovative project demonstrates our commitment to diversifying our region’s water portfolio while collaborating with our partners at the City of Reno to improve wastewater management.”
Carollo Engineers will oversee construction management activities, including resident engineering, quality assurance, and contract administration across multiple project sites, with support from DOWL.
The APWF will treat secondary effluent from the Reno-Stead Water Reclamation Facility using a multi-barrier process based on ozone oxidation and biological filtration. The treatment train includes ozone injection for advanced oxidation, followed by biologically active carbon filtration to remove dissolved organic matter. Final polishing is achieved through granular activated carbon adsorption and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection, ensuring compliance with state and federal drinking water standards while avoiding brine concentrate streams typically associated with reverse osmosis systems.
Once treated, the purified water will be conveyed approximately seven miles through dedicated pipelines to a rural area, where it will support agricultural irrigation and aquifer recharge. The system incorporates injection, monitoring and extraction wells to enable aquifer storage and recovery, providing a flexible reserve that can be accessed during periods of high demand or drought.
The project also includes upgrades to the Reno-Stead Water Reclamation Facility, construction of an export pump station, installation of conveyance pipelines, and development of finished water storage tanks. In addition, provisions have been made for a future potable water pipeline connection to the TMWA distribution network.
Beyond augmenting supply, the facility is expected to reduce reclaimed water discharges into Swan Lake—an area prone to flooding—by up to two million gallons per day, while improving overall effluent quality. The initiative also demonstrates the viability of Advanced Purified Water in inland regions, potentially enabling replication at other water reclamation facilities across Nevada.
