Nationwide survey on water reuse

Although water reuse has not been one of the tasks of wastewater treatment plant operators to date, a large proportion of the companies surveyed see a need for reuse of treated and sanitized wastewater in the future or already today. This puts them in line with the trend set by the European Commission in its Regulation 2020/741. This is the result of the nationwide survey conducted by inter 3 2021 together with the DWA. In addition to the potentials, the survey also surveyed the obstacles to future water reuse.

Future increase in demand for hygienized wastewater

According to the survey participants, about half of whom are operators of wastewater treatment plants of sizes 5, 4a and 4b, the demand for water reuse will increase in the future, both for agricultural irrigation and for the irrigation of urban green spaces and industrial purposes. A quarter of the survey participants have even already been approached by a potential customer about reusing their clear water. For the survey, DWA wrote to a total of 481 plant operators, 74 of whom completed the online questionnaire.