Current water recycling initiatives in Australia: scenarios for the 21st century

doi:10.1016/0273-1223(96)00404-0

Current water recycling initiatives in Australia: scenarios for the 21st century

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1996.0659 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 33 (10-11) ◽

pp. 37-43 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

John M. Anderson

Keyword(s):

Water Resources ◽

Urban Design ◽

21St Century ◽

Reclaimed Water ◽

River Basins ◽

Advanced Treatment ◽

Water Recycling ◽

Water Diversions ◽

Beneficial Reuse ◽

Current Water

Australia is a relatively dry continent with an average runoff of 50 mm per year. The use of water resources in some river basins is approaching the limits of sustainability. Some adverse environmental impacts have been observed resulting from water diversions and from both reclaimed water and stormwater discharges. The paper describes current water recycling initiatives in Australia. These include: beneficial reuse of reclaimed water for urban, residential, industrial and agricultural purposes; recycling of greywater and stormwater; advanced treatment using membrane technology; and water efficient urban design. Some possible water recycling scenarios for Australia in the 21st century are examined. The implications of these scenarios are discussed.

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Potential of global land water recycling to mitigate local temperature extremes

Earth System Dynamics ◽

10.5194/esd-10-157-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 157-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Mathias Hauser ◽

Wim Thiery ◽

Sonia Isabelle Seneviratne

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

21St Century ◽

Regional Climate ◽

Extreme Temperature ◽

Local Temperature ◽

Temperature Extremes ◽

Water Recycling ◽

Global Mean Temperature ◽

Local Water ◽

Land Water

Abstract. Soil moisture is projected to decrease in many regions in the 21st century, exacerbating local temperature extremes. Here, we use sensitivity experiments to assess the potential of keeping soil moisture conditions at historical levels in the 21st century by “recycling” local water sources (runoff and a reservoir). To this end, we develop a “land water recycling” (LWR) scheme which applies locally available water to the soil if soil moisture drops below a predefined threshold (a historical climatology), and we assess its influence on the hydrology and extreme temperature indices. We run ensemble simulations with the Community Earth System Model for the 21st century and show that our LWR scheme is able to drastically reduce the land area with decreasing soil moisture. Precipitation responds to LWR with increases in mid-latitudes, but decreases in monsoon regions. While effects on global temperature are minimal, there are very substantial regional impacts on climate. Higher evapotranspiration and cloud cover in the simulations both contribute to a decrease in hot temperature extremes. These decreases reach up to about −1 ∘C regionally, and are of similar magnitude to the regional climate changes induced by a 0.5 ∘C difference in the global mean temperature, e.g. between 1.5 and 2 ∘C global warming.

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Potential of global land water recycling to mitigate local temperature extremes

10.5194/esd-2018-48 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Mathias Hauser ◽

Wim Thiery ◽

Sonia Isabelle Seneviratne

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

21St Century ◽

Regional Climate ◽

Extreme Temperature ◽

Local Temperature ◽

Temperature Extremes ◽

Water Recycling ◽

Global Mean Temperature ◽

Local Water ◽

Land Water

Abstract. Soil moisture is projected to decrease in many regions in the 21st century, exacerbating local temperature extremes. Here, we assess the potential of keeping soil moisture conditions at historical levels in the 21st century by recycling local water sources (runoff and a reservoir). To this end, we develop a land water recycling (LWR) scheme which applies locally available water to the soil if soil moisture drops below a predefined threshold (a historical climatology), and assess its influence on the hydrology and extreme temperature indices. We run ensemble simulations with the Community Earth System Model for the 21st century and show that our LWR scheme is able to drastically reduce the land area with decreasing soil moisture. Precipitation responds to the LWR with increases in mid-latitudes, but decreases in monsoon regions. While effects on global temperature are minimal, there are very substantial regional impacts on climate. Higher evapotranspiration and cloud cover in the simulations both contribute to a substantial decrease in hot temperature extremes. These reach up to about 1 °C regionally, and are of similar magnitude as the regional climate changes induced by a 0.5 °C difference in the global mean temperature, e.g. at 1.5 °C vs. 2 °C global warming).

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