Water Reuse Systems Building a Food Secure World
With more than 2 billion people living in regions that already experience high water stress and global demand for food projected to increase by 70% by 2050, food security can be enhanced by embracing water reuse systems.
Water reuse is the use of treated wastewater for beneficial purposes, which increases a community’s available water supply and makes it more reliable, especially in times of drought. There are many benefits of implementing water reuse systems including:
- Substitution: In agriculture, treated wastewater replaces the extensive use of freshwater, which increases the availability of potable water for other users and uses
- Diversification of water resources: The use of treated wastewater reduces dependency on surface water. This not only allows users to cover peaks in demand but also reduce the impact of seasonal droughts and variations in weather
- Cost and energy efficiency: Compared to developing new sources of supply in times of scarcity, such as pipelines from remote areas and desalination, reuse is more cost-effective (saved costs from not having to build infrastructure and operate energy-intensive desalination plants)
- Electricity production: The treating of wastewater provides numerous renewable energy opportunities
- Nutrient use: The nutrients contained in treated wastewater can be used as fertilizers in agriculture through irrigation
Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme
The South Australian Government is increasing the capacity of the Northern Adelaide Plains region to ensure the long-term viability of its horticulture industry as well as the social and economic future of its communities.
The $155.6 million Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme (NAIS), jointly funded by the South Australian and Australian Governments, will see new water treatment facilities built within the Bolivar precinct to increase its production of recycled irrigation water by 60%.
In particular, the NAIS is jointly funded by the South Australian and Australian Governments, with $45.6 million coming from the Federal National Water Infrastructure Development Fund, a matching $45.6 million contribution from the State Government, and the remaining $64.4 million to be funded by NAIS participants through connection fees, availability charges, and metered water use charges.
The project will deliver up to 12 GL of reclaimed water suitable for commercial food production. NAIS infrastructure will treat, store, and transport climate and season independent water to the farm gate. In the future, the infrastructure will deliver up to 20 GL to enable future growth.
The NAIS will deliver a wide range of benefits, including:
- Attracting $1.1 billion in private investment
- Add $578 million per year to the state’s economy
- Create more than 3,700 new jobs at peak employment for the plains and surrounding suburbs
- Result in more than 300 ha of new export-focused, high-tech horticulture production
The take-out
Water reuse systems can foster food security by providing climate and season independent water supplies.
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