Washoe County Water Resources was created in the early 1980s to ensure continued water and wastewater service to residents of communities where small, privately owned and operated water and wastewater systems failed due to inadequate financial or management capacity or as a result of failing to meet drinking water regulatory compliance requirements. Currently, Water Resources provides water, wastewater and reclaimed water services to serve all of the unincorporated areas outside of the City of Reno and City of Sparks but inside the Truckee Meadows Service Area. The Truckee Meadows Service Area is established by the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency and is the area within which urban services such as piped water and wastewater are intended to be provided. Water Resources owns and operates 18 water systems and a membrane water treatment plant certified to treat both ground and surface water, 15 wastewater collection systems, three wastewater treatment/water reclamation and reclaimed water storage and distribution system facilities. Water Resources provides water to 56,800 people, and wastewater services to 46,800 people.