Due to a lack of regularly scheduled maintenance, the cooling towers at a Western American gold mine were failing at a rapid rate. The environment in which the mine was situated contributed significantly to the problem, with high levels of dust and debris in the air. This build-up of particles caused the water treatment system to struggle to keep up, putting the cooling towers under increased strain as they worked overtime to maintain safe temperatures.

If the cooling towers shut down completely, a crucial part of the mining process would have to come to a halt, potentially costing the mine a minimum of $1 million per day in profit losses. Fully aware of the risks, the mining company sought an immediate and effective solution to keep operations running.

As towers struggled to regulate temperatures, blowdown and makeup water rates had to be significantly increased compounding the water conservation challenge in an area where water resources were already limited.