H2O Innovation buys Emory University’s WaterHub reuse facility in Atlanta

H2O Innovation has acquired the WaterHub® at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and will continue to operate the onsite wastewater treatment and reuse facility under a long-term agreement with the university. The Emory WaterHub acquisition, announced on 10 November 2026, is financed through the company’s $200 million Blue Loan.

Emory WaterHub acquisition and long-term agreement

The facility was designed and delivered for the university in 2015. As owner, H2O Innovation said it will operate, maintain and reinvest in the system, including scaling service to meet Emory’s needs as its campus expands.

Emory will continue to purchase reclaimed water from the facility under a long-term agreement with H2O Innovation. The company described the arrangement as the same fully funded, turnkey model it offers facility owners across North America.

How the WaterHub delivery model works

WaterHubs are onsite wastewater treatment and reuse facilities deployed at sites including hospitals, universities, municipalities and other commercial and industrial locations. According to H2O Innovation, they are delivered with no upfront capital cost to customers and operated under long-term contracts.

The company delivers WaterHubs in two ways: by designing, building and financing a new facility, or by acquiring an existing onsite water treatment or reuse facility from its owner and upgrading it. The Emory deal follows the second route. In both cases, H2O Innovation operates the facility under a long-term contract, which it said provides reliable operations and predictable costs for customers.

The company said the model offers customers:

• Lower cost: lower overall water costs over the life of the contract
• Reliable, resilient supply: a dedicated onsite source that keeps critical operations running, even when municipal supply is constrained
• Turnkey delivery: H2O Innovation handles design, permitting, construction, operations and maintenance
• Sustainability goals: onsite reuse cuts potable water demand and wastewater discharge, with measurable results for sustainability reporting
• No capital outlay: H2O Innovation funds the facility and its upgrades, leaving the customer’s capital for its core mission

More than a decade of water reuse on campus

In service since 2015, the Emory WaterHub® turns campus wastewater into reclaimed water for non-potable uses, combining natural treatment processes with advanced technologies. It can recycle up to 400,000 gallons of wastewater per day.

Since opening, the facility has recycled more than 500 million gallons of water and today meets nearly 40% of the university’s campus water needs. H2O Innovation said it has become an integral part of Emory’s campus infrastructure and a visible expression of the university’s sustainability commitments.

“The Emory WaterHub® shows what our model delivers,” said Frédéric Dugré, President and Chief Executive Officer of H2O Innovation. “We take ownership of essential water infrastructure, invest in its improvement, and operate it for the long term so our customers can have access to reliable, continuous water consumption without having to own or run a treatment facility themselves.”

“This facility was built more than a decade ago, and we now have the team and the capital to acquire it and to do the same for campuses across North America,” he added. “We welcome conversations with other owners of decentralized water treatment and reuse facilities about what this model can do for them.”

Financing through a $200 million Blue Loan

The Emory WaterHub acquisition and the planned upgrades are financed through H2O Innovation’s $200 million Blue Loan, a sustainable finance facility provided by a lending syndicate.

The company said the Blue Loan will also support future acquisitions of water reuse and decentralised water treatment assets.

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