Posted 29 November 2010
The National Water Commission considers that water recycling - including for drinking purposes - can provide a significantly greater proportion of Australia's future urban water supplies. Greater recycling offers the prospect of more secure, less climate-vulnerable water supplies. There is unrealised potential also for environmental and urban amenity benefits.
The Commission therefore argues that arbitrary policy bans on recycled water should be removed so that recycling options can be considered alongside alternatives on their relative merits.
The Commission recognises there are intrinsic risks associated with recycled water. However, in our judgement, advances in science and improved regulatory arrangements mean that such risks can now be managed to levels of safety that are equivalent with other supply sources.
To capture the full potential of recycled water, leadership is required by governments and water sector decision makers. For its part the National Water Commission is an unambiguous supporter of expanded use of recycled water throughout Australia, subject to four conditions:
Since 2004 there has been a significant increase in the use of recycled water by Australia's towns and cities as a response to the protracted pressures on water supplies driven by drought, climate change and population growth.
Large volumes of recycled water are now being used for non-drinking consumption. Recycling is thus helping to improve the resilience of our urban water supply systems. Despite this progress, the Commission considers there is considerable further scope for recycling water in Australia - including potentially for drinking consumption. The Commission advocates evenhanded assessment of recycling - including for drinking purposes - as one of a range of water supply options to support secure, safe and sustainable urban water systems.
Recycling for non-drinking consumption has been widely accepted across Australia and some jurisdictions have even set recycling targets. The risks with these schemes have been proven manageable, and governments and communities have been increasingly using recycling to secure their water supplies and deliver broader environmental and urban amenity benefits.
However, recycling for drinking continues to be contentious - policy bans remain in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. While South East Queensland has infrastructure in place it will only recycle water for drinking purposes if dam levels fall to 40 per cent. Western Australia has initiated a groundwater injection scheme that will, if successful, lead to highly treated recycled water entering the drinking water supply some years in the future.
The Commission acknowledges there are risks with all forms of water recycling. However, the Commission considers that the means and processes are now available to manage such risks to levels of safety comparable with existing supply sources.
The Commission argues that decisions on whether to use recycling for drinking purposes should objectively consider the risks, the costs and the benefits through a transparent and participatory process.
Each recycling scheme, as with other supply options, will present unique opportunities and risks that need to be systematically identified and managed. In the Commission's view, the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling (2006 and 2009), developed cooperatively by all jurisdictions (NWI Clause 92ii), provide an excellent framework for managing safety and guiding responsible decisions.
The weight of scientific evidence emerging since publication of the Guidelines reinforces the Commission's view that the risks of using recycled water, including for drinking purposes can be satisfactorily managed.
Australian communities have every right to know the costs, benefits and risks involved in all water supply options. Current governance arrangements and decision-making processes for recycling projects are impeding this.
The Commission suggests the following reforms need to be tackled by governments, the water sector and the community.
1. Governance reforms
2. Reforms to costing processes
3. Science and technology reforms
Source: NWC web site
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