Innovation hub to tackle climate-induced water shortage

Industry and researchers will explore new ways to recycle wastewater through the use of smart technologies at a new centre.
More of Perth’s water supply could soon come from treated wastewater as part of a new innovation hub launched this week to tackle the state’s water shortage.
The city already derives almost half its water through desalination and groundwater replenishment, since Western Australia in 2016 became the first state to use recycled wastewater as drinking water in response to its profound climate-induced water shortage.
But there are new efforts to further increase the state’s water supply by exploring new ways to recycle wastewater through the use of smart technologies.
Dr Qianhong She, an expert in wastewater management at the University of Sydney, told Government News that technological innovation is very important to ensuring the sustainable management of wastewater in Australia.
“To address the issues of water scarcity in Australia, wastewater recycling is one of the most sustainable ways in addition to seawater desalination,” he said.
So some important aspects for the government to think about when consulting with technology providers are the cost, maximum water recovery and footprint, in addition to the product water quality,” Dr She said.
“Innovative approaches to water recycling offer the opportunity to keep costs down for customers and mitigate climate change impacts at the same time,” Dr Khan told Government News.
“All state governments should be as focused as the Western Australia Government on developing the water supply solutions of the future: those which can provide reliable safe drinking water at low cost and low carbon footprint,” he said.
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