Why Focus on Water Reuse and Climate Resiliency?
What is water reuse?
Simply, water reuse is the practice of reusing water that has already been used for other beneficial purposes, after it has been collected and treated. Water reclamation or recycled water are other terms for water reuse. Reused water can come from a variety of sources and be used in many different ways. For example, stormwater, rainwater, or treated wastewater can be reused for non-potable applications such as watering gardens, in car washes, toilet flushing, or maintenance of green spaces. Water reuse must adhere to formal regulations involving water testing, monitoring, and approvals.
The Centre for Healthy Communities is interested in water reuse as an actionable response to mitigate the impacts of climate change on water availability in municipalities. For example, changes in climate and weather patterns have increased risk of drought and the risk of water scarcity for many municipal areas and also limited the water supply available for agricultural uses or fighting wildfires.
Why is the topic of water reuse timely in municipalities now?
- Climate change, water scarcity, and population growth represent a trifecta of challenges for water security across North America, including in southern Alberta.
- The Government of Alberta has recently released their Drought Response Plan and called upon municipal leaders to take action. This is in response to many places in Alberta being in a Stage 3 or 4 drought (out of 5 stages), which means that they are experiencing either significant water shortages or water management is a priority. Considering options for water reuse is a critical strategy to deal with this challenge.
Creating healthy and resilient communities equipped to deal with the negative impacts of climate change - like water scarcity - requires that we come together to strategically shift our mindset towards adapting as a society to an insecure water future and find solutions to better water management.
What are some of the crucial elements that should be considered when discussing action on water reuse in the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation?
- Recognize facilitators and barriers to facilitating water reuse. These can occur at multiple levels - from public perceptions of water reuse to developing and implementing policy.
- Seek out different points of view about water reuse (e.g., the public, decision-makers, and other stakeholders from local to national levels). These perceptions are critical to understand to effectively develop water reuse strategies as one element in a broader water management system.
- Understand different roles, interests, and needs around water reuse in the municipal context
- Consider municipal and industry concerns about infrastructure and infrastructure maintenance
- Recognize uncertainty in regulatory authority and guidance for final approval and commissary of systems (e.g., municipal or provincial regulatory approvals and compliance)
- Strategies for public education to foster the general public’s awareness, understanding, and acceptance of water reuse
- Facilitate dialogue among people involved in water reuse to stimulate collaboration and encourage proactive measures
Advancing water reuse and climate resiliency in municipalities - next steps:
The Centre for Healthy Communities 2024 Innovation Forum was an opportunity to bring stakeholders from across sectors together to share insights and experiences, and generate ideas and actions to collectively advance water reuse and climate resiliency in municipalities.
*Note: For the purposes of the Centre for Healthy Communities 2024 Innovation Forum, the discussion focused on non-potable water reuse as an actionable response to climate change.