You can lead a horse to recycled water...

Australia’s water supply is far from plentiful, so water recycling is a key method of managing this precious resource. But many Australians are still opposed to the use of recycled water - especially when it comes to their drinking supplies.

Water recycling has been present in Australia for several decades now. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, it was used as an alternative to discharging wastewater into rivers and the sea. Its role slowly expanded over the years until it was accelerated by the drought from 2002-2010 to include applications for industry, farming, domestic use and, recently, as an option to augment drinking water supplies.

Of the water recycling schemes currently in place, some of the larger ones include:

• The Northern Adelaide Plains Recycling Scheme, which is reducing the amount of wastewater entering Gulf St Vincent and producing high-quality water for irrigation in the region.
• The St Marys Water Recycling Plant, which is producing high-grade water to help maintain the flow of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River and to reduce the volume of nutrients entering the river.
• The Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme, which is producing high-quality water for two power stations and can supplement Wivenhoe Dam, Brisbane’s main drinking water supply, if needed.

Furthermore, the Water Services Association of Australia recently released a series of case studies outlining innovative methods of water recycling in the urban water industry. These include the Rosehill Recycled Water Scheme, which encourages industrial and irrigation customers to use recycled water instead of drinking water; and Water Corporation’s Groundwater Replenishment Trial, in which recycled water is treated to drinking water standards and recharged back into a deep confined aquifer where it is stored for later use.

Keeping it on the agenda

There are no doubt plenty of options for recycled water, and it is up to the Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence to ensure that these options are kept on the government policy agenda of securing the future water supply for the country. A recipient of $20 million worth of funding over five years through the government’s Water for the Future initiative, the centre aims to enhance the management and use of water recycling nationally and internationally through industry and research partnerships, working closely with government agencies such as water utilities, health departments and economic regulators at the regional, state and federal level.

The research outcomes generated by the centre are reported to state and national government organisations such as the National Recycled Water Regulators Forum, the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities and the National Water Commission. Such research is outlined below.

Economic benefits of water recycling

The centre is currently funding several projects that are investigating the economic benefits of water recycling.

‘The economic viability of recycled water schemes for non-potable use’, led by Marsden Jacob Associates, is a project to identify areas where non-potable recycled water schemes are economically viable and to develop the first national assessment framework to enhance the value of such schemes. The framework will distinguish between values held by different parties and will be based on the analysis of six modules: value of recycled water to water authorities/businesses; value of recycled water to users; value of recycled water to the community; value of recycled water to the environment; commercial and institutional issues; pricing implications. It will identify locations and circumstances for the greatest economic viability for schemes and eventually be turned into a practical tool to assess business cases for projects.

‘Opportunities to expand recycled water with Australian food processing and manufacturing’ is being led by CSIRO. The main focus of the project is to collaborate with industry to demonstrate higher-value water recycling opportunities that deliver economic, environmental and social benefits to the agrifood industry and community, through integrated systems analysis, technology assessment and targeted research. The project will focus on addressing current industry challenges, including regulatory and policy pressures, developing strategies to increase acceptance by consumers and enhance the sustainability positioning with customers. The project will address water recycling interests with stakeholders in meat, dairy, horticulture and broader food manufacturing and retail sectors.

‘Building industry capability to make recycled water investment decisions’ is being led by the University of Technology, Sydney. The project’s aim is to identify the benefits of recycled water schemes, and to use this to shape the knowledge and actions of key players in assessing whether recycling makes sense. This knowledge will allow more transparent and equitable sharing of costs, risks and benefits in environmental, economic and social terms at individual project level. The project aims to refine the approaches to investment decisions, therefore helping to improve the financial performance of recycling projects and enable public and private proponents to build better business cases for recycling schemes.

Achieving public acceptance of water recycling

With all these benefits identified, they need to be communicated to the public in order to increase acceptance of, among other things, recycling drinking water. This is the aim of the National Demonstration Education and Engagement Program, coordinated by the University of New South Wales in partnership with a consortium of 24 organisations from Australia and overseas, including water utilities, universities and private companies. This $10 million program is focused on providing a national (and potentially international) communication network so that the public, politicians, local interest groups, the media and elements of the private sector that are engaged in developing water policy can access resources which will enable stakeholders to be better informed and to engage in the decision-making process.

The program is developing tools, methods and materials which will provide consistent information across Australia, helping to increase understanding, dispel fear and achieve acceptance of water re-use as an alternative drinking water supply. The R&D program involves three research streams:

• Stream one is investigating water quality data, the reliability of treatment technology and an assessment of drinking water production from schemes in Australia, USA, Europe and Singapore. It aims to show that the whole treatment system from catchment to tap is safe and reliable.
• Stream two is an evaluation of social, economic and governance challenges, with recommendations about how to overcome these challenges.
• Stream three is developing and testing options for a national education and engagement program, mapping the influence of traditional media, grassroots community activism, science communication and new media in influencing the community and policy makers.

Each of the streams will produce content and findings that feed into the work of the other streams. Content will be created and shared in various formats - including video, audio, graphics and text - on a variety of online platforms with water re-use projects across Australia and around the world.

The future?

With so many schemes and so much funding, it is hopeful that Australia will move forward into new and innovative areas of water recycling. International schemes for recycled drinking water are already in place: the Orange County Groundwater Replenishment Scheme near Los Angeles produces water that exceeds federal drinking water standards and injects it into a large underground aquifer; and Singapore has been active in developing recycled water schemes to meet their water needs. Both these areas are participating in the National Demonstration Education and Engagement Program, so it seems only a matter of time before Australia joins them in drinking from the tap of recycled water.