Amy Grant’s Franklin Farm Becomes Global Model For Water Independence & Disaster Relief

Master August 5, 2025 3 min read 0

4

In a major milestone for climate resilience and emergency water access, Amy Grant’s Hidden Trace Farm in Tennessee has officially achieved full water independence. The transformation, completed July 26 by engineers and technology from Altitude Water, positions the property as a working model for how communities can generate, purify, and store their own water without relying on city infrastructure.

These self-contained systems, also known as decentralized water systems, are designed to function during natural disasters, public water failures, or when treating contaminated groundwater. They are increasingly critical as communities face climate-driven disruptions and aging infrastructure.

What began in 2014 as a way to support a youth summer camp has evolved into a fully autonomous “Water Hub,” integrating atmospheric water generation, rainwater harvesting, aquifer access, and ozone purification to produce safe, potable water without municipal support.

“Testing at Amy Grant’s farm gave us the cooler temperatures and conditions we needed to develop the water and purification systems we are now using in disaster zones and rural communities. We could not sustain these conditions at our headquarters in South Florida,” said Jeff Szur, Founder and COO of Altitude Water. “From overcoming sulfur in the aquifer to refining ozone purification and increasing the range temperatures the machines can efficiently operate at, this site helped us build globally deployable systems.”

The farm’s geography and layout provided a rare, cost-effective testing environment, allowing engineers to conduct long-term research and development without the expense of climate-controlled simulation rooms. The ability to test equipment in real-world conditions proved instrumental to scaling the technology.

The core system developed at Hidden Trace has since been converted into Altitude Water’s mobile Disaster Relief Trailer (DRT), capable of creating water from thin air. That technology has been deployed to storm-affected areas in Big Bend, FL and Asheville, NC and recreated in Maui during the 2023 wildfires. In addition, Altitude completed a similar water hub in Maka, Cameroon, where they also integrated solar components, creating a total off-grid solution for this village in Central Africa where water and electricity are not readily available.

“We’re especially grateful for the support of Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Farm Manager Dan Stricker, Engineer Alvaro DaSilva, and Russell Yarema for making this all possible,” added Szur. “This has been an 11-year labor of love.”

This month’s upgrades finalized the farm’s transition to full water independence and further aligned its infrastructure with the DRT and Water Hub platforms. The system now includes ozone-based purification for both well and rainwater, enabling safe consumption while preserving aquifer access for non-potable use. The improvements also supported field testing for upcoming international deployments.

“As communities across the U.S. face ground contamination, aging infrastructure, and climate-driven water emergencies, the work we’ve achieved at Hidden Trace Farm has given us a replicable path forward, making this partnership deeply impactful.”