The WateReuse Association (WateReuse) and the International Desalination and Reuse Association (IDRA) are collaborating on a global dialogue on water reuse examining the drivers, challenges, and opportunities for accelerating the adoption of water reuse around the world.
The organisations will produce a white paper later in 2025 reflecting the consensus of experts participating in this initiative. This began at the 2024 WateReuse symposium from 11-14 Mar 2024, in Denver, Colorado, US, and continued at the IDRA 2024 world congress from 8-12 Dec 2024 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Supporting organisations include Veolia, the International Code Council (ICC), and the North American Development Bank.
“Water reuse is on the rise in every region around the world,” said IDRA executive director and secretary general Shannon McCarthy. “From drought-prone regions to traditionally water-abundant countries, water reuse is helping to solve a variety of water resource challenges.”
“We are seeing an exponential growth of interest in water recycling projects,” said WateReuse executive director Patricia Sinicropi. “These projects require a huge amount of expertise to pull off successfully. That is why we are excited to forge this partnership initiative with IDRA and with the dozens of thought leaders around the world who contributed their time and expertise to this effort.”
Inspired by a discussion on water reuse that began at the UN 2023 Water Conference and continued later that year in Seville, Spain at IDRA’s water and climate Change Summit, WateReuse and IDRA embarked on an ambitious effort to unite international thought leaders for a comprehensive, global conversation about the future of water recycling.
The global dialogue on water reuse explored four topic areas crucial successful water recycling projects: communications, financing, governance, and treatment technology. Participants shared their knowledge on the drivers, challenges, and opportunities to accelerate the adoption of water recycling as a resiliency tool to help countries around the world.
WateReuse and IDRA are now working to synthesise the discussions into a global dialogue on water reuse white paper. The white paper will summarise key takeaways, best management practices, and lessons learned from these practitioners to help guide both public and private sector water professionals across the globe as they seek to implement water reuse projects in their respective countries. The analysis will highlight drivers, challenges, and opportunities for water reuse from the perspective of water professionals who have undertaken water recycling projects and offer practical insights for how others can get started.
