Wastewater must be treated to remove four classes of pollutants to levels that regulators consider safe for discharge to the environment: these are nutrients, micropollutants, total suspended solids and pathogens..
People excrete antibiotics and many types of bacteria, and this mixture can become concentrated in wastewater treatment plants…
Tonnes of microplastics end up in our oceans and waterways each year impacting animals and the environment, as well as wastewater treatments plants and other infrastructure…
‘PFAS’ are a large class of chemical compounds, some of which can bioaccumulate or be toxic to humans and animals…
The ‘One Water’ paradigm recognises the interconnectedness of groundwater, stormwater, wastewater, flooding, water quality, wetlands, watercourses, estuaries, and coastal waters, and integrates multi-use, flexible and environmentally sustainable systems while valuing all urban water flows as a potential resource…
Stormwater and treated wastewater can contain infectious pathogens…
Compliance with the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling ensures that recycled wastewater does not present a health risk due to infectious pathogens or disease-causing chemicals…
Water treatment by micro- or ultrafiltration, or reverse osmosis is applied to a range of purposes, including recycling wastewater or reducing contamination sufficiently to make it safe for discharge to the environment…
Wastewater often contains endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) such as ethinyl estradiol (EE2) which is excreted by women who use some oral contraceptive pills…
There are concerns that recycled wastewater used for watering gardens or washing cars might be accidently ingested…