The biggest barrier to widespread recycling, according to Dr Belinda Ferrari of Macquarie University's Research Institute for Biotechnology, is a stigma that recycled water is less safe, or palatable, than dam water. “Water recycling is increasing, but there's still a stigma attached, which needs to change," she says. "One of the major points is that we actually drink less than 1% of the water we use, so most recycled water doesn't need to be potable-quality."

It makes sense then that before tackling the difficult task of trying to convince the community that they should drink treated wastewater, its applications in other areas should be increased. Irrigation alone accounts for 75% of Australia's total water use and there are countless manufacturing and domestic functions - from heating industrial boilers to flushing toilets - that currently use up vast amounts of drinking-quality water.

Reprinted with Permission from Greg Welsh