Water Reuse Essay

278 Words2 Pages
Water Reuse What is water reuse? Water reuse describes the process whereby wastewater treated to an appropriate standard, is reused for a variety of beneficial purposes. The treated water ready to be reused is termed recycled or reclaimed water. There are over 3300 reuse projects internationally with approximately 700 in Europe. The growth in the flow rate capacity each year is 25 to 60% in the countries that recognise the benefits of reuse. Click on the diagram to see an enlarged version of the reuse water cycle . Why reuse water? Water is an increasingly scarce resource for much of the World's population. Global warming, an increasing world population and generally increasing incomes mean the demand for water is likely to rise further. If current trends continue, we will use 40% more water by 2024 than we do now. In industrialised countries much of the water used for non-potable purposes such as industrial applications, toilet flushing and irrigation, is unnecessarily treated to potable-water standard. We have to carefully treat wastewater to protect water resources and ensure water is available for abstraction. We need to take care not to over-abstract water from rivers and aquifers but instead to reduce abstraction to within sustainable limits. Benefits of water reuse include: * Increasing water resource availability * Making scarce potable water previously used for non potable applications available for drinking * Reduced consumption of expensively treated potable water supplies (cost saving where there is water metering) * Reduced effluent flow loads to sewers * Reduced nutrient discharge to water bodies * Flood prevention potential (storage) * A less drought sensitive water resource * Enhanced recreation and tourism opportunities and biodiversity benefits through the restoration/creation of
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