By Bob Brundage, Reno Gazette-Journal

Western Environmental Testing Laboratory has found a growing need for its services in Nevada, California and Colorado during its short existence, and now it is trying to stretch its reach even farther.

“We’re definitely looking to stay on the West Coast, in Arizona, Utah, Oregon and Idaho,” operations manager Nick Ross said. “Those are the states we’re looking at.”

Founded in 2002 with five employees, WETLAB now employees 28 at a state-of-the-art laboratory in Sparks that was completed in 2006 and recently expanded by 11,000 square feet.

There also is a new office in Elko. The office started in a part-time employee’s home in 2007 and moved into a larger facility in 2009.

So what does the fast-growing company do? WETLAB monitors water contaminants for its clients. The company monitors the water in Lake Tahoe as well as the ground water in the Elko mining region.

“We do a lot of continuum monitoring, that’s the bulk of what we do,” Ross said. “Mining companies have to be monitored monthly, quarterly or yearly, depending on the size of their operations, to make sure they aren’t introducing contaminants into the ground water.

“The different towns or cities or counties that surround Lake Tahoe have to do monthly, quarterly or yearly monitoring because their goal is to preserve Lake Tahoe, so they’re regulated for different types of contaminants than mining companies. Their main goal is to maintain the clarity of Lake Tahoe.”

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