Recycling Water

Recycled water is treated wastewater repurposed for agriculture, industrial applications, irrigation, and municipal uses. While it plays a crucial role in water conservation, its safe use requires specialised sampling, testing, and monitoring to prevent potential health and environmental risks. Compliance with Australian Water Recycling Guidelines ensures that microbial, chemical, and physical contaminants remain within acceptable limits for intended uses​.

Proper risk assessment and water quality control measures help mitigate pathogenic, chemical, and emerging contaminants, ensuring that recycled water meets safety, environmental, and regulatory standards​. We can help tailor testing programs based on the final intended water application, ensuring the most relevant parameters are sampled and analysed for irrigation, industrial cooling, environmental discharge, or municipal reuse.

Recycled water may contain microbial, chemical, and physical contaminants that require specialised sampling and testing and treatment to maintain safety.

Microbial Contaminants:
Pathogens in recycled water can pose serious health risks through ingestion, inhalation, or direct contact. Viruses, including norovirus, adenovirus, rotavirus, and hepatitis A & E, can survive in wastewater and cause gastrointestinal and liver infections, requiring advanced treatment methods like ultrafiltration, chlorination, and UV disinfection. Bacteria: E. coli indicate faecal contamination and biofilm formation, increasing risks in cooling towers, irrigation systems, and public water reuse applications. Protozoa like Cryptosporidium and Giardia are resistant to chlorine and require membrane filtration or ozone treatment to prevent outbreaks​.

Nutrient Pollution & Biological Treatment Efficiency:
Elevated nutrient levels, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, can result from non-optimal biological treatment processes, leading to algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and waterway degradation. Insufficient removal of organic matter and ammonia during treatment can increase nitrate and phosphate concentrations, negatively impacting aquatic ecosystems, soil structure, and irrigation systems​. Proper biological process optimization and secondary treatment monitoring are essential to reduce nutrient loading and maintain sustainable water quality for reuse applications.

Chemical Contaminants:
Recycled water may contain industrial, pharmaceutical, and agricultural pollutants that impact human health and environmental quality. Heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and mercury can leach into water from aging infrastructure and industrial discharge, affecting neurological and organ health. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including PFAS, pesticides, and hydrocarbons, can bioaccumulate in aquatic ecosystems and enter the food chain. Disinfection by-products (DBPs), such as chloramines and trihalomethanes (THMs), may form during chlorination and pose long-term carcinogenic risks​.

Physical & Corrosion Indicators:
Physical contaminants in recycled water affect treatment efficiency, infrastructure longevity, and public perception. High turbidity and suspended solids reduce disinfection effectiveness and promote pathogen survival. pH imbalances and fluctuating salinity accelerate pipe corrosion, increasing metal leaching. Microplastics and plastic-derived chemicals in wastewater are emerging pollutants requiring advanced filtration for effective removal​.