Wastewater management problems and the 'wastewater treatment and re-use philosophy
Wastewater discharged from costly, large-scale sewage treatment facilities also frequently results in pollution of and extensive environmental damage to receiving water ecosystems. In addition, for regions where water resources are relatively scarce, the supply of external high-grade water to meet all urban uses - domestic, commercial and industrial - often occurs at considerable environmental cost. It is widely recognised that less than ten percent of 'developed-world' urban water demand is used as 'potable' (drinking/cooking) supply. In recent years, opportunities have grown for local scale domestic and industrial wastewater treatment/re-use schemes meeting non-potable water demands. Appropriate re-uses in the urban environment include domestic toilet flushing - public, commercial and private space irrigation, public and private amenity and industrial needs.
UWRG recognises an enormous potential in this field and believes that in many cases, robust energy conserving, 'natural treatment' technologies can offer advantages over the 'hard-engineering' designs of the past. This acknowledgement enables UWRG to undertake innovative wastewater treatment/re-use projects that fall outside the scope of conventional wastewater schemes.
Wastewater treatment and re-use projects
UWRG has undertaken wastewater treatment/re-use projects either directly or through its affiliation with the University's graduate and post-graduate research projects, for the following organisations:
- Murray Darling Association for Conservation and Sustainable Development
- Portland Smelter Services Pty Ltd
- AV Jennings Pty Ltd
- The Construction Industries Institute
The projects are:
- Effluent disposal options for small settlements
- Industry stormwater and wastewater re-use study
- Intelligent home domestic water and wastewater management system