Water Reuse and Recycling in Canada: A Status and Needs Assessment

Abstract

The Canadian experience with water reuse and recycling is reviewed under five theme areas: technology; policy and regulation; research; public acceptance; and coordination. At present, water reuse and recycling in Canada is practiced on a relatively small scale and varies regionally depending on the availability of water supplies and regulatory flexibility. Typical examples include using treated municipal wastewater to irrigate agricultural nonfood crops, urban parkland, landscaping and golf courses. Water recycling also exists in select industrial sectors and experimental greywater treatment and reuse for toilet flushing, irrigation or other nonpotable uses at the scale of individual buildings. Recommendations for further action are presented from a recent national experts workshop on water reuse. The interest in reuse will likely increase, driven to a large extent by steadily increasing water demands, conflict among users and opportunities to save on future expansion of water supply infrastructure.