The WaterHub wastewater recycling facility at Emory University in Atlanta. Photo courtesy of H2O Innovation via GlobeNewswire; cropped and resized.
H2O Innovation has acquired the WaterHub wastewater recycling facility at Emory University in Atlanta, taking ownership of campus infrastructure that supplies nearly 40% of the university’s water needs.
The company announced the completed acquisition November 10. Emory will continue buying reclaimed water from the facility under a long-term agreement, while H2O Innovation will operate, maintain and reinvest in the system.
The purchase price and length of the water-supply agreement were not disclosed. The announcement also did not set a budget or timetable for the planned upgrades.
The WaterHub has operated since 2015 and can recycle up to 400,000 gallons of wastewater a day. It combines natural treatment processes with other treatment technology to produce reclaimed water for non-potable uses, rather than drinking water.
H2O Innovation said the facility has recycled more than 500 million gallons since opening. The company plans to scale service as Emory’s campus expands, although it did not announce a new capacity target.
Ownership and Operating Costs
The transaction shifts ownership of an existing utility facility to a specialist operator, while the university remains a customer. H2O Innovation says its model is intended to let universities, hospitals and other property owners obtain water-reuse services without funding or operating the infrastructure themselves.
The company can either design, build and finance a new facility or buy and upgrade an existing one. It then operates the system under a long-term contract.
H2O Innovation presents lower lifetime water costs, reduced demand for drinking-quality water and a dedicated onsite supply as benefits of the model. Its acquisition announcement did not disclose Emory’s contract price or quantify the university’s expected savings.
The acquisition and planned upgrades are being financed through H2O Innovation’s $200 million Blue Loan, a sustainable-finance facility provided by a lending syndicate. That facility will also support future acquisitions of water-reuse and decentralized treatment assets. The $200 million figure is not the disclosed price of the Emory transaction.
Source: H2O Innovation acquisition announcement.
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