State of the Environment

2006

Indicator: HS-44 Urban stormwater and wastewater reuse

Data

Reuse Water Use 1996-97 and 2000-01
2000-01 1996/97
Agriculture 423 264 38 118
Forestry & Fishing (a) 7 249 3 068
Mining (b) 5 441 41 811
Manufacturing 16 536 4 769
Electricity & gas supply 4 991 6 912
Water supply, sewerage & drainage services 23 056 4 339
Household 167 –
Other (c) 35 859 35 407
Total 516 563 134 424

– nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) includes services to agriculture, hunting and trapping
(b) on-site reuse water use was included in Mining and Manufacturing industries in 1996-97
(c) includes mainly Services and Administrative industries

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Water Account Australia 2000-01, Australian Bureau of Statistics, viewed N/A, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf
/b06660592430724fca2568b5007b8619/9f319397d7a98d
b9ca256f4d007095d7!OpenDocument, p.54.

Recycled water use in State capital cities
(Percentage of sewage effluent treated) - 2001-2
State capital % recycled water use
Sydney 2.3
Melbourne 2.0
Brisbane 6.0
Adelaide 11.1
Perth 3.3
Hobart 0.1

Source: Radcliffe, J C 2004, Water Recycling in Australia, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Victoria, viewed 28 Nov 2005, http://www.atse.org.au/index.php?sectionid=600, p. 7.

Annual water reuse from water utility Sewage Treatment Plants
Australia – 1996-99 and 2001-02
Region 1996-99 2001-02
Effluent GL/yr Reuse GL/yr % Effluent GL/yr Reuse, GL/yr %
NSW 548† 40.1† 7.3 694 61.5 8.9
VIC 367 16.9 4.6 448 30.1 6.7
QLD 328* 38* 11.6 339‡ 38‡ 11.2
SA 91* 9* 9.9 101 15.2 15.1
WA 109 5.5 6.1 126 12.7 10.0
TAS 43 1 2.3 65 6.2 9.5
NT 21* 1* 4.8 21 1.1 5.2
ACT 31* 0.25* 0.8 30 1.7 5.6
Aust. 1538 112.9 7.3 1824 166.5 9.1

† = 1996; * = 1998; ‡ = Subject to revision

Source: Radcliffe, J. 2003, An overview of water recycling in Australia - Results from the recent ATSE study.

Source: Australian Water Association 2004, Water Recycling in Australia, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Victoria, p.7

More detailed information is available from the ABS National Water Account 2000-2001:

What the data mean

The use of reuse water has increased from 134 424 ML in 1996-97 to 516 564 ML in 2000-01, an almost three-fold increase.

Reuse water made up 4% of total water supplied by water providers in 2000-01 compared to 1% in 1996-97.

The agriculture industry was the largest user of reuse water in 2000-01, accounting for 423 264 ML (or 82% of all reuse water use in Australia), followed by the other industries with 35 859 ML (7% of total reuse water use), and the water supply industry with 23 056 ML (4% of total reuse water use).

In 2001-02 a total of 166.5GL (9%) of effluent was reused. This is in contrast to the estimated 112.9 GL (7% reuse) per year in the 1996-99 period.

In the capital cities percentage of recycled water use (from sewage effluent) ranged from 0.1% in Hobart to 11% in Adelaide.

Issues for which this is an indicator and why

Human Settlements — General responses provided to improve the environment - Other responses 

Water is an important natural resource that supports both the environment and human settlements. It is of particular importance in Australia given the high level of variability in rainfall and current water resource management regimes. Water withdrawal is a major pressure on freshwater resources and water reuse is a critical response to that pressure.

Other indicators for this issue:

Inland Waters — Catchment scale influences — Hydrological condition - Surface-water availability and human use 

Water supply for human settlements is often extracted surface water sources. Increased use of water efficient appliances in households will contribute to reducing the demand for water extracted from these sources.

Other indicators for this issue:

Inland Waters — Catchment scale influences — Hydrological condition - Ground-water availability and human use 

Water supply for human settlements is often extracted from groundwater sources. Increased use of water efficient appliances in households will contribute to reducing the demand for water extracted from these sources.

Other indicators for this issue:

Further Information

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Water Account Australia 2001-02, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, viewed 17 Nov 2005, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/b06660592430724fca256
8b5007b8619/9f319397d7a98db9ca256f4d007095d7!OpenDocument.

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