Recycled water - The fourth water utility

Around the world the use of recycled water, either from stormwater or from treated wastewater, is gaining in popularity. Many water utilities are utilising recycled water for non-potable uses, such as open space irrigation and industrial use, or for augmentation of drinking water supplies though aquifer and reservoir recharge. Recycled water is also being used to enhance the environment with schemes such as reduction of salt water intrusion and boosting river flows.

Water recycling is a relatively new process, for both the water utility provider and for the communities they serve, so in recent years there has been much written on the public perception of recycling schemes and, to a lesser extent, the technical aspects of building and commissioning such projects. But little consideration has been given to the day to day management of water recycling schemes which can be complex at both an operational and management level.

Drawing on experience gained from a water recycling scheme in Western Australia this paper looks at some of the challenges of establishing and managing a water recycling asset, and asks whether these assets, which can simultaneously be both a wastewater and drinking water asset, should be fitted into the existing asset management structures or should in fact be considered as a separate, fourth, water utility.