Relevance and subsumption of water reuse

Due to the world-wide growing demand for water, the significance of water reuse will have to be considered increasingly as essential component of sustainable water resources management. Although reuse is already an established practice in several countries, e. g. for agricultural purposes, the development of projects for reuse of purified wastewater still represents a complex setting of tasks. In addition to technological issues regarding the water treatment process, several further constraints have to be taken into consideration, varying from country to country.Municipal wastewater, even after conventional treatment, still contains a large number of health-hazarding content substances. Therefore, an assessment of the suitability of the application has to be taken into consideration for the choice of the treatment technology. For safe reuse of water, for example in agriculture, specific quality requirements on the water are to be ensured through adequate treatment technology. These requirements not only cover a wide range of aspects like for example, water disinfection, nutrients removal or the reduction of the solid matter concentration with regard to the irrigation facilities. Regarding the selection of appropriate wastewater treatment techniques comprehensive references and decision support systems are available world-wide.