Why Fab Water Strategy is Won or Lost at the Early Stages

At UltraFacility 2026, Stantec’s Senior Process Engineer Brent Frazier explained why early engineering decisions on ultrapure and industrial water shape the long-term performance of semiconductor fabs.

Water systems are among the most capital-intensive and least forgiving elements of a fab. An ultrapure water (UPW) plant alone can add hundreds of millions to project CAPEX, and choices made before the treatment train is fixed define the limits of facilities operations for decades afterwards.

“The most impactful early decision is making sure that before you draw a box around a process, you understand how big it is.”

Brent draws on Stantec’s experience with semiconductor facilities to highlight what often gets missed at the conceptual stage – and why bringing in UPW and IW design perspectives early in the process changes the outcome.

The conversation covers:

• Which early decisions have the greatest influence on long-term project success
• How to judge which reuse opportunities are worth carrying into detailed design
• Where the hardest siting challenges are emerging
• What the one principle is that every fab client should adopt earlier

Watch the full interview for Brent’s view on where early-stage water planning most often falls short.