Gresham Smith’s annual Sustainability Leadership Award honors an employee who embodies the firm’s commitment to a clean, safe and healthy environment while developing innovative and sustainable solutions for projects and clients. This year’s award was presented to Diana Chumak, P.E., an engineer in the firm’s Water + Environment market, for her innovative approach to water reuse evaluation at electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing facilities.
Diana developed a methodology for mapping wastewater generation across the production cycle to identify streams that can be reclaimed, treated, and reintegrated into facility operations. This framework not only reduces reliance on municipal water systems, but also provides a structured evaluation of reuse options by assessing both direct and indirect cost implications.
We recently sat down with Diana to learn more about the sustainable solutions found through her successful study.
What was the need or reason behind this study?
Diana Chumak: EV battery manufacturing facilities have become a rapidly expanding sector—driven by consumer demand for electric vehicles, federal incentives for electrification, and broader sustainability pressures. They’re appearing across the country, often in smaller communities where a single large facility can introduce a water demand far exceeding typical per‑capita use.
For this project, our client wanted to understand whether a water‑reuse system could offset the facility’s substantial water needs. Under standard operations, battery production generates a high volume of relatively high‑quality wastewater that is simply discharged to a municipal treatment plant. Our study asked a different question: what if that water could be captured, treated, and reused on‑site instead?
Recognizing my interest in sustainability practices, Randy Booker, a Senior Vice President and Technical Practice Leader for our Water + Environment market, asked me to lead the development of a study that would define an innovative, technically grounded approach for evaluating water reuse within these production environments.
What are the benefits of water reuse in a manufacturing facility?
Diana: Implementing water reuse in a battery production facility creates a domino effect of benefits. By reclaiming process water, the facility reduces both the volume of freshwater it consumes and the volume of wastewater it discharges. Those reductions translate into lower operating costs, decreased energy use associated with water distribution, and improved system resiliency—all while easing pressure on local utilities.
The most significant advantage, however, comes from replacing utility‑supplied water with a consistently high‑quality reuse source. When the process water entering production is more uniform and better aligned with operational needs, the facility runs more efficiently, which in turn reduces the total water demand at its source.
Each reuse scenario we developed carries its own distinct technical and economic benefits, illustrating how targeted interventions can reshape the facility’s overall water profile.
Since few resources existed, describe how you developed the tools and methodology to conduct the evaluation.
Diana: There was no textbook to consult and no template to follow; the study had to be built from the ground up as a highly customized analytical and quantitative effort.
The methodology we developed measures the operational and embodied carbon associated with each potential reuse option and compares it to the carbon released through conventional water supply and wastewater disposal for the same volume. To do this, we assembled detailed material inventories that allowed us to quantify net emissions across scenarios and identify where the most meaningful reductions could occur.
Recognizing that water‑reuse decisions must be evaluated holistically, we expanded the framework to incorporate both direct costs—capital, O&M, and life‑cycle financial payback—and indirect costs. The indirect cost assessment centered on carbon footprint, combining embodied carbon with operational carbon to capture the full environmental impact of each reuse pathway.
How can this work be applied to other projects?
Diana: While calculating direct costs is standard practice, incorporating indirect costs is not, meaning these broader impacts are often excluded from today’s decision-making processes. By quantifying indirect costs, this methodology fills a critical gap. It can be applied not only to other battery‑production facilities but also to a wide range of projects where clients want a clearer understanding of the environmental implications of their choices. In doing so, it becomes a practical tool for organizations seeking to identify hidden impacts and advance their sustainability goals.
Which water reuse scenario did you recommend and why?
Diana: Options for reuse included cooling tower blowdown, reverse osmosis concentrate, HVAC condensate, cooling tower evaporative plumes and rooftop stormwater collection. After evaluating each option, the most feasible reuse scenario was the rooftop stormwater capture system paired with an underground tank for storage. This approach offered the shortest payback period and achieved net neutral emissions when compared to sourcing the same volume of water from a local utility.
How have your findings been received by the client?
Diana: Our client was really pleased to receive the results of our study. They were excited to implement our our findings in future facilities, which were in the initial phases of planning and design.
How do you think this work will impact the industry moving forward?
Diana: I think this study and the insights it surfaced has the potential to shift how this client—and ultimately other EV battery manufacturers—approach water reuse. Instead of treating it as an afterthought, the findings position reuse as a strategic priority with measurable operational and environmental value.
At a personal level, the project aligned with a core belief I hold: that individual initiative can drive meaningful change, and that we should be proactive rather than reactive in addressing environmental challenges. As someone deeply committed to sustainability, I see value not only in solving problems but in creating new, resilient options. This work gave me the opportunity to stretch myself, apply that philosophy in a technical context, and pursue a passion within my profession.
