Tenterfield is one of 80 regional NSW towns facing a water emergency, and residents are being urged to get over the 'yuck factor' about recycled water.

 

The Water Services Association of Australia has suggested it could be the next frontier for communities trying to build resilience to climate change.

Chief executive of the WSAA Adam Lovell acknowledged there were some emotional hurdles to overcome.

"Unfortunately that awful term 'toilet to tap', which is bandied about, is completely not true," he said.

"There are multiple treatment steps, over a very long process, which purifies the water extremely well, and we know is safe to deliver to a customer's tap."

 

 

The latest area to consider the move is Tenterfield, in northern New South Wales, where the local dam has dropped below 30 per cent of capacity.

The Tenterfield Shire Council will soon impose level 4.7 water restrictions, banning hand-held hoses and the use of automatic stock troughs from mains water.

The prospect of using recycled water for drinking supplies was raised at a heated public meeting, and drew a mixed response on a community social media site.

Kelly Cunningham suggested tourists would be turned off and property prices would slump.

"Who wants to buy a home where you're showering in poo?" she asked.

But Christine Davis responded that "Israel and Singapore use recycled water and tourists still visit."

 

 

The mayor Peter Petty was not surprised by the irate community meeting and said the idea of using recycled water for drinking was 'a hard sell.'

"It is about changing the mindset of the community and how we deal with the process as a council," he said.

"The reality is that water will be treated by three filtration systems before it goes through someone's tap."

Tenterfield resident Kerri Hampton said the prospect of running out of drinking water in the town might force her community to change tack.

"We have got 100 days of water left," she said.

"The drought is not going away in a hurry.

"Recycling could be a real solution for regional Australia.

"If you've got water security in your town, you've got everything," Ms Hampton said.

 

Purified recycled water does use the waste water that has been flushed down the toilet and household drains.

It is in use in 35 cities and towns across the world, including the nations of Belgium, Singapore, South Africa, Namibia, and projects across the United States.

Australia currently has two schemes capable of treating wastewater to the standards needed for drinking.

Queensland's Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme near Brisbane can filter wastewater and add it to its main water supply at Wivenhoe Dam, but it has never been completely turned on.

Perth adds about 14 billion litres of recycled water to the city's aquifers every year, with work to double capacity due for completion next year.

In parched northern NSW, Kerri Hampton said the community needed to be rational.

 

"With the right infrastructure in place, I think that it is a real solution."

 

 

-------From ABC News

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-21/towns-need-to-get-over-over-yuck-factor-of-recycled-water/11615622