Oz -Aquarec

Background

Water is a salient issue for many Australian communities. With increasing population pressures coupled with a protracted drought, Australian communities both large and small are facing significantly complex water management challenges.

Water recycling has long been recognised as a means of achieving a more sustainable water management system by more efficiently utilising existing water resources for a variety of applications.

OzAQUAREC - Integrated Concepts for Reuse of Upgraded Wastewater is a national research project aimed at investigating possibilities for and overcoming obstacles to water recycling in Australia, and is a collaborative partner of the international research project AQUAREC.

Aims

The objective of OzAQUAREC and AQUAREC is to explore a range of interdisciplinary topics associated with water reuse including issues of planning strategy, community engagement, scheme management and technological innovation. The projects are designed to work in partnership allowing for the transfer of knowledge and experience between multiple partners across Europe and Australia. 

The knowledge gained through this research will provide guidance, support and practical strategies for end-users, scheme operators and policy makers facing decisions regarding the planning, operation and management of water reuse schemes and to further the profile for water recycling as a major component of sustainable water management practice. 

Outcomes

Outcomes of the projects include a collection of best management practices to ensure safe, publicly supported, economically favourable and sustainable reuse.  Handbooks for the pre-implementation, implementation and operation phases have been developed as reference manuals and step-by-step guides for future end-users.  Topics covered include feasibility studies, community consultation and stakeholder engagement studies, design, operation, maintenance and quality control of water reuse systems.

Research areas of the OzAQUAREC project were divided into work packages:

• Establishing Water Quality Parameters (WP2)
• Participatory Planning and Community Consultation Strategies (WP5)
• Failure Management, Risk and Regulation (WP6)

Sponsors 

OzAQUAREC was supported by the International Science Linkages programme, established under the Australian Government’s innovation statement Backing Australia’s Ability, and funded by the Commonwealth Department of Education Science and Training (DEST) (CG030025). AQUAREC was supported by the European Commission under the 5th Framework Programme.