Challenging the planning assumptions for recycled water schemes

Posted on 26 Feb 2021
Updated on 26 Feb 2021
1-minute read

Questioning perceptions of recycled water presents opportunities to innovate.

A collaborative project between ISF and the planning team at Sydney Water incorporated interviews with Sydney Water staff, cross organisational workshops within Sydney Water, and the analysis of case studies to challenge the current approach to non-potable recycled water planning. The project identified a number of tangible opportunities for improving recycled water planning, optimising the total infrastructure investment, and delivering it in a way that more closely matches uncertain development timelines and demand profiles.

By challenging the assumptions that currently make non-potable recycling schemes unviable, and facilitating the identification of technical alternatives to make schemes more viable, ISF together with Sydney Water, identified 20 opportunities for change and innovation.

The outcome was a compendium of potential shifts in the technical design of recycled water schemes and/or planning practice that could significantly decrease total scheme costs and/or increase scheme viability for Sydney Water.