Reno firm's system wrings drinking water out of air

Joe Dutra wants to get into commercial production of a system that creates drinking water so pure, he says, that's it's just like God's tears.

But first he needs to find investors to put about $5 million into his new Reno-based Free Water Co.

Dutra, who made his name and money as the founder of Kimmie Candy Co., created his next company to commercialize technology to create drinking water out of the humidity in the air.

Even in the high deserts of Nevada, he says, the company's Water Star systems wring 30 to 45 gallons of water a month out of the air.

Along the humid East Coast, they can produce three times as much.

The patented system uses a combination of filters and ultraviolet light to purify the water it captures.

And the patents, Free Water executives say, are tight enough to keep competing products out of the U.S.

market.

Dutra figures the system, which Free Water Co.

will lease to consumers for about $40 a month, can compete on price with purveyors of bottled water.

Consumers in some parts of the country pay as much as $80 a month for bottled water, he says, and few escape for much less than $30 a month.

His other pitch: The Water Star is environmentally friendly.

It uses about a kilowatt- hour of electricity to produce a gallon of water in comparison with the gallons of fossil fuels that are burned hauling truckloads of water bottles around.

A second generation of the system that would rely on photovoltaic cells for power could find uses ranging from the military to remote corners of the Third World, Dutra says.

First, however, Dutra is knocking on doors of venture capitalists, hoping to raise the $5 million the company needs in the next year to begin manufacturing of its consumer product.

Free Water Co.

has contracted for manufacturing with HSI, a Reno nonprofit that provides employment for people with developmental, mental and physical challenges.

LaVonne Brooks, chief executive officer and executive director of HSI, says the contract provides needed diversification.

"It also represents a higher level of skills that we can teach our individuals," she says.

In the company's second and third years, Dutra says his goal is to develop a national presence for the Water Star, raising another $17 million to support a full-blown marketing program as well as additional manufacturing.

He figures the company will be breaking even within 18 months.

And if all goes well, Free Water projects employment of as many as 1,000 in northern Nevada within five years.

That's a number that gets the attention of executives of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada.

"With its green technology and research and development focus, Free Water shows a great opportunity for success and growth in local tech-based jobs," says Ken Pierson, director of business development at EDAWN.