Review of water treatment technologies for remote communities water supply

completed

Australia is home to more than 1,100 diverse and culturally rich First Nations communities. Many of these communities face challenges in accessing clean affordable drinking water. This includes desert regions where groundwater is the only reliable source. The project provides an overview of the common water supply and water quality issues across remote communities. The challenges are complex and include: The NWGA Science Program funded CSIRO to undertake this review. The review looks at current, alternative and emerging water treatment technologies available. These technologies are needed to treat and deliver safe and reliable drinking water to remote communities. As part of this project, CSIRO conducted rapid desktop research over 10 weeks. This utilised existing evidence and research, and included: Different technologies provide different results at varying costs. They also must be matched against the needs of the community and the capacity of available resources and conditions. Providing drinking water to remote communities will involve a comprehensive and integrated approach. The review does not recommend specific technologies for specific locations. A variety of water treatment methods are already used effectively in many remote communities. The suitability is different for each community, depending on their size and location. Suitability also depends on the existing water availability and quality. These current technologies include: The 2 main issues for suitability of technology are the size of the community and the availability of support. Larger communities (100 to 500 people) often have a water service provider like a town or city. These communities have potential for options such as larger-scale water treatment plants. Smaller communities need treatment systems that are designed for lower water demand. These include lower-tech solutions that are reliable enough to perform with limited maintenance. The review identified small scale technology suitable for individual households or small communities. These include point-of-use chlorination or UV disinfection. Emerging technology has the potential to improve on currently used water treatment systems. This includes reducing costs, increasing efficiency, reducing operational risks and improving system lifespans. The review identified the need for emerging technologies to address specific challenges. These include technologies that improve current solutions or are new solutions that: Further research and development recommendations were provided to address the above challenges. In particular, partnerships could help research development, including water service providers, researchers and commercial manufacturers. A framework was also developed to rank current and emerging technologies against: