Water reference group - assisting industry in adopting direct planned potable recycled water for use

AMPC commissioned the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) to identify barriers to the uptake of Direct Planned Potable Recycled Water (DPPRW) with the objectives to:

1. Form a Water Reference Group (WRG) comprising industry and government representatives to inform and advise the project.
2. Consult industry on water reuse/recycling and identify barriers to adoption.
3. Facilitate discussions with the WRG to design trial projects for possible implementation at a later stage of the project.
4. Deliver a position paper on future pilot trial designs related to DPPRW and other reuse/recycling initiatives.

Findings

Discussions with industry personnel identified four major impediments to implementing reuse/recycling initiatives:

1. Regulatory requirements were both stringent and involved several authorities.
2. The risk assessment required by regulatory authorities was onerous and complicated.
3. The business case needed for initiatives, particularly DPPRW, was difficult to justify.
4. The negative public perception of using recycled water as DPPRW
5. A number of recommendations were made and are found in the final report on this page.