Experts at Nalco Water say by 2030 the world demand for fresh water will exceed supply by 40 percent.
That’s why the water treatment and process improvement company created Water University, an experiential training facility to help companies learn to conserve water.
“It’s really developing products, solutions, programs that help industries preserve water, produce more products, while protecting the environment as well at the same time,” said Christophe Beck, president of Nalco Water. “It’s really developing solutions that no one has ever thought of.”
Beck said the opening of the facility will help the company reach its goal to partner with corporations to conserve 300 billion gallons of water annually by 2030.
That’s the drinking needs of 1 billion people for a year and nearly double the 160 billion gallons Nalco Water and its customers saved in 2016.
Water University is expected to bring in more than 2,200 global visitors in 2018.
“This institution is now going to draw people from all over the country and hopefully all over the world to come to a place where they can understand the implications of water use and reuse, recycling and water conservation,” former U.S. Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said.
Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti is excited about the jobs it brings.
“You provide high quality, good-paying jobs for thousands of employees and hundreds of researchers and engineers right here,” Sanguinetti said.
Nalco Water officials said they do not release official employment numbers, but the Naperville campus on Deihl Road employs more than 1,200 people.
Naperville News 17’s Beth Bria reports.
