Building the case for water and resource recovery in Canada: practitioners' perspectives

Jacqueline Noga, Jane Springett, Nicholas Ashbolt
2021 Water Policy  
Water and resource recovery (WRR) involves the harvesting of rainwater, stormwater, and/or municipal wastewater and treatment so fit-for-purpose (e.g. non-potable water, fertilizer and energy recovery). There is no national policy for WRR in Canada, and there are minimal WRR-specific provincial regulations; given this lack of regulation, current projects are highly specific to the local context and approved individually. We engaged people who work with water and wastewater services in the
more » ... ce of Alberta, Canada to discuss what WRR could look like in their context. During 3-h workshops, information on WRR was shared and participants engaged in discussions using a World Café process. Participants discussed the need for supportive regulations and government leadership, financial support, collaboration and knowledge sharing, education and communication, and accounting for risk and liability. Given that the participants are individuals who would be impacted by the development of regulations for WRR, we discuss concepts to provide the guidance needed for the successful implementation of WRR. This research connected experts in water and wastewater and gave space for developing ideas that make sense to those most closely involved in delivering WRR systems.
doi:10.2166/wp.2021.206 fatcat:luzrvypiwjgpbhgdsssa7loo2e