A Comparison of Regulatory Frameworks of wastewater reuse feasibility assessment across two jurisdictions

This paper reviews and compares legislative and policy frameworks under which two water and sewerage corporations determine the economic costs and benefits of urban wastewater reuse. The water and sewerage corporations selected for comparison are located in North East Tasmania and the Hunter region in New South Wales. Selection was based on observed similarities between populations served, water availability and the availability of recent assessments for consideration. Differences were recorded with respect to the legal and policy background in which assessment of wastewater reuse feasibility was conducted. In the Tasmanian case study the State’s environmental regulator may require a water and sewerage corporation to assess the feasibility of wastewater reuse for one or more individual facilities for which the corporation holds an authorisation under the State’s environmental legislation. In the New South Wales case study similar wastewater reuse feasibility assessments were undertaken in order to assist a State government department to develop a long term water security catchment strategy. The comparison is relevant to any future process of development of national guidelines, which describe a methodology for analysing economic costs and benefits of wastewater reuse schemes. Areas for future research include assessing whether there are opportunities to impact on the demand for wastewater by creating a national or regional database of individual wastewater reuse feasibility assessments.