Call for water recycling debate

Perth should consider increased use of private water recycling infrastructure in new residential developments to reduce costs for consumers and lower the capital burden on the taxpayer, according to a report by ACIL Allen to be released today.

The report, prepared for Water West and titled “Future opportunities for water services in Perth”, said that the city lags behind other major locales in the usage of wastewater recycling.

That creates a two fold problem, with a large and costly network to collect and pump wastewater into the ocean, and increased use of more expensive drinkable water for activities such as gardening.

ACIL also predicts that by 2050, if Perth’s population reaches 3.5 million, there will be a supply shortage of around 238 gigalitres annually, about five times the size of the existing Kwinana desalination plant.

An alternative model would be decentralised wastewater treatment, which if rolled out in 25 per cent of new developments in the next 35 years would save the state government’s Water Corporation a capital cost of around $1.5 billion, ACIL claims.

Water West director of strategy and business development Rob Breden said recycled water could be used for parks, gardens, for non-drinking purposes around the house, or for some industrial purposes.

About half of household water consumption could use the recycled water, he said.

Decentralised water recycling was already in use on the East Coast, Mr Breden said, and would enable the state government to reduce the scale and expense of new capital investments.

But he believed big public monopolies would find it difficult to use the model, with private players likely to benefit from their extra flexibility, he said.