FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carli Smith
Director of Communications
c.smith@goed.nv.gov (775) 687-9903
December 16, 2024
CARSON CITY, Nev. – WaterStart, a nonprofit organization that connects innovative technology companies with global water agencies and major water consumers, is pleased to announce the release of its Building a Waterwise Economy report.
WaterStart, which received grant funding from the American Rescue Plan with the help of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, has been working with the nonprofit research institute SRI to structure an economic framework that aligns water resource incentives with economic development to shape future policy recommendations for Nevada.
WaterStart and SRI helped organize focus groups and met with leaders from Nevada to discuss the intersection of economic development and water resource management. Through engagement with over 100 stakeholders, WaterStart uncovered several key challenges and opportunities related to economic development and water resource management, such as knowledge gaps, procedural and operational barriers, and technology needs and opportunities.
To address these and other challenges, WaterStart and SRI developed a series of strategies and recommendations to help GOED and its partners to achieve each strategy. These recommendations include:
- In addition to finding strategic regional alignment, embrace a “not one size fits all” approach
- Address procedural and knowledge gaps across the economic and water management ecosystem
- Grow Nevada’s reputation as a leader in water resource management to propel economic development
- Build on ongoing initiatives and efforts
“Over the past couple of decades, companies and leaders in Nevada worked diligently to secure the state’s water resources,” said SRI Project Leader Jacob Gottlieb and WaterStart interim Executive Director Rebecca Shanahan in a joint statement. “The Waterwise economic framework is critical to sustaining water security and growing Nevada’s global reputation as a water resource management leader.”
The recommendations detailed in this report support the advancement of Assembly Bill No. 261, which revises provisions relating to water resources, as well as Nevada’s goals for water conservation and sustainable economic growth.
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About the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development
Created during the 2011 session of the Nevada Legislature, the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development is the result of a collaborative effort between the Nevada Legislature and the Governor’s Office to restructure economic development in the state. GOED’s role is to promote a robust, diversified and prosperous economy in Nevada, to stimulate business expansion and retention, encourage entrepreneurial enterprise, attract new businesses and facilitate community development.