Volume 191 - Issue 4
Water recycling — forwards or backwards for public health?
Authors: Karin S Leder, Joanne E O’Toole and Martha I Sinclair
Med J Aust 2009; 191 (4): 238-239. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02770.x
Published online: 17 August 2009
Published online: 17 August 2009
In reply: We agree that augmentation of drinking water sources with recycled sewage goes against the traditional policy of separating the two, and that many factors including cost and energy use need consideration in securing future water supplies. Our editorial1 was not written to promote potable recycling, which ultimately is a political and societal decision, but rather to point out that the carefully considered Australian guidelines for water recycling2 have been developed to ensure that, if this form of recycling is contemplated, it is done in a manner that safeguards public health.
Main messages in the recycling guidelines include the importance of risk assessment for each individual scheme; avoidance of complete reliance on any single technical step (including reverse osmosis) for removal of contaminants, via a “multiple barrier” approach; adequate operational and water quality verification monitoring; and optimising training and skills management within water treatment facilities. Importantly, credits given for “log removal” for each treatment step are based on verifiable on-line performance, not theoretical values.2
These practical messages are also fundamental to the way we manage our conventional drinking water supplies.3 Consequently, discussions about recycling help reinforce the importance of continual assessment of water management, regardless of the source, and help ensure we do not become complacent.
References
- Leder KS, O’Toole JE, Sinclair MI. Water recycling — forwards or backwards for public health [editorial]? Med J Aust 2009; 190: 293-294. 0_CHDFHJEA
- National Water Quality Management Strategy. Australian guidelines for water recycling: managing health and environmental risks (Phase 2). Augmentation of drinking water supplies. Canberra: Environment Protection and Heritage Council, Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council, and National Health and Medical Research Council, 2008. http://www.ephc.gov.au/sites/default/files/WQ_AGWR_GL__Augmentation_of_Drinking_Water_Supplies_Final_2008_05.pdf (accessed May 2009, link no longer available).
- Natural Water Quality Management Strategy. Australian drinking water guidelines 6. Canberra: National Health and Medical Research Council, and National Resource Management Ministerial Council, 2004. http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/publications/synopses/eh19syn.htm (accessed May 2009).