Water Innovations gives Water and Wastewater Engineers and end-users a venue to find project solutions and source valuable product information. We aim to educate the engineering and operations community on important issues and trends.
Issue link: http://wateronline.epubxp.com/i/694011
marine outflow for managed aquifer recharge was established as a potentially viable longer-term investment; it would also protect the amenity value of groundwater-fed lakes and hence, the capital values in an adjacent developing suburb. As a result, governance of water resources in the area is now being reviewed. Achieving Class A recycled water for irrigation from unfiltered secondary wastewater can be difficult, as suspended particles present in the wastewater can protect pathogens from UV and chlorination disinfection. A protocol was developed for the validation of pasteurization for wastewater recycling for use by future proponents of pasteurization technology as an alternative to UV and free chlorination. A particular challenge was the construction and testing in Tasmania of a small, stand-alone, minimum-maintenance advanced water recycling plant for ultimate use at an Antarctic research station to preclude environmental damage from previous wastewater discharges. After a further year of testing, it is intended to be deployed at the Australian Antarctic Division's Davis Station. The operators of other nations' Antarctic bases have expressed interest in the development, as those bases also face the same environmental issues as the Davis base. The validation project was established to minimize the necessity of the validation (confirming that the treatment technology meets the specified performance targets) of every new reuse plant where proven standard technology had been adopted. Developed in association with the National Recycled Water Regulators' Forum (comprising state/territory regulators), the research has explored validation protocols for membrane bioreactors (MBRs); RO membranes; activated sludge treatment; use of Bayesian Nets (BNs) to measure system performance, as well as producing validation conclusions through the formalized description of cause-effect relationships that define treatment process mechanisms and observational data; and methods for pathogen isolation, culture, detection, and enumeration. Coming To America The goal of seeking to gain acceptance of direct potable recycling for drinking has generated many products that can be used in community awareness and participation programs. More recently, the WateReuse Research Foundation (WRRF) has joined with the Centre because of the current concern about water resources in California. Some of the short videos developed by the Centre can be found on the WRRF website at https://watereuse. org/water-reuse-101/videos/how-reuse-works/. Other products include independent reviews commissioned from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, entitled Drinking Water through Recycling and Wastewater, an Untapped Resource (www.atse.org.au). The National Knowledge Base of information contains details of the AWRCoE research outcomes. In addition, a database of climate-resilient water sources, jointly developed by the Water Recycling Centre and Desalination Centre, is managed by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and lists 268 recycling and 92 desalination plants in the country, along with their technology and use (www.bom.gov.au/water/crews). However, despite the very substantial investment in water recycling facilities and technologies, Australia's water resources are not currently under great pressure, resulting in government policy orientation and investment turning elsewhere. The two Centres of Excellence have effectively completed their programs and potential sources of additional funds are not evident. Australia has much to show for its adoption of water recycling over the past 30 years. Yet there is a message for the U.S. — even after it has started raining and the snowpack has returned, innovation capabilities in water recycling should continue to be nurtured, as droughts will come again, and mankind's demand for water is increasing inexorably. n wateronline.com n Water Innovations 21 Dr. John Radcliffe outlines his perspective of water recycling in Australia from his position as chair of the Research Advisory Committee of the Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence. He is an Honorary Research Fellow of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and before retirement was its Deputy Chief Executive. Earlier, he was Director-General of Agriculture in South Australia. He has been a Commissioner of Australia's National Water Commission, is a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE). He has an Agricultural Science degree from the University of Adelaide and a PhD from Oregon State University. About The Author Figure 5. Water from an on-farm recycled water holding basin being used to irrigate dairy pastures in Shoalhaven, New South Wales WATERREUSE Some projects were developed in "near emergency conditions."