MISCO Pacific Helps Local Agencies Conserve Water

Nearly everyone - especially in California - is aware that water is a precious resource. There's only so much of it to go around and it must be purified to keep it clean to be of use to people. MISCO Pacific, at 5976 W. Las Positas Boulevard, is a company that is dedicated to keeping water clean by providing high quality equipment and service to the water treatment, wastewater treatment, and other related markets in the Western U.S.

Many people don't consider the fact that the water they drink is always getting reused and that water purification is a key component in the cycle. Whether it happens via natural filtration or society taking an active role in purifying it, usable water in all of its forms is absolutely necessary. MISCO's primary focus is not on drinking water, but water that is used in other areas. "Water is a valuable commodity, especially in the Western United States and particularly in California," Tooley says. "So, most municipalities are searching for alternate resources. Many of those resources aren't natural. They're reclaimed water supplies from local industry and wastewater treatment plants. That water is typically is typically used in water reuse projects and reclamation. Reclaimed water is used for golf courses, irrigation of crops, and irrigation of median strips and parks. Every drop of water used from purified wastewater is one drop that doesn't have to come from a water treatment plant."

MISCO, founded in 1972, is a manufacturers' representative of processing equipment for water and wastewater treatment in California, Nevada, Arizona, Denver, and New Mexico. The company specializes in providing reliable, proven, innovative, and life-cycle cost-effective solutions for municipal wastewater and water treatment. MISCO represents over 50 companies that provide water processing equipment.

"The company was started in Los Altos in my father's garage," says Mike Tooley, a partner at MISCO Pacific. "The company moved a few times, ending up here in Pleasanton nearly a decade ago. Our initial products were water filtration equipment and large-scale, unit processors that are used to treat municipal water supplies as well as products to treat waste water for recycled and reuse projects. My father worked for a company called United Technology, which is a division of United Aircraft and they sold piping and process equipment. He was in sales and decided he wanted to work in a small company of his own. He left a large corporation to start MISCO."

MISCO's main customers are local municipalities that include the San Francisco Water Department, East Bay MUD, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and the Central Contra Costa County Water District. "We supply to most municipalities in the Western United States," Tooley says. "Our responsibilities are the promotion, marketing, and sales of this processing equipment for various manufacturers. We also have a service group that does some of the smaller installations and service."

MISCO currently has 32 employees based out of Pleasanton, Foothill Ranch California, and Denver Colorado. It also has satellite offices in Albuquerque New Mexico and Phoenix Arizona. The company headquarters in Pleasanton was chosen because it was a centralized location for access to MISCO's customer base. The company currently occupies a 3,000 square foot facility in Hacienda with hopes for expansion in the future.

Photo: Mike Tooley's company provides equipment for water treatment and processing wastewater to municipalities in five western states.

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