Purified recycled water as part of thriving Australian communities – what can we learn from our journey so far?

This figure shows the topic areas of rainfall-independent water supply, including seawater desalination and purified recycled water, prompting discussion on regulatory aspects, Australian status and saline residuals management. Australia is continuing to experience high population growth. About 82% of its utility water supply is currently met from surface water. Climate change is resulting in declining average rainfall rates, reducing run-off into rivers and storages. Many of Australia's water utilities are identifying a shortfall of water supply either imminently or within the next 20 years, due to a combination of population growth and increasing demand from specific industries such as data centres. Since 2008, purified recycled water (PRW) has grown to become an important water supply strategy in a number of Australian cities. White many Australian cities have embraced seawater desalination to supplement water supply, the high costs of implementation are coming under greater scrutiny. PRW is known to be a safe water source, uses significantly less energy, and is frequently of lower capital and operating cost, as well as providing very significant environmental advantages. This paper reviews the status of PRW implementation in Australia from the viewpoint of an adviser's hands-on planning lens.