As climate change begins to bite, water resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Regulations are getting tougher and restrictions are increasing all the time. As part of adapting to the new realities of water stress, industrial companies have the opportunity to introduce reuse solutions. Reusing their treated wastewater will help them to boost their environmental and financial performance going forward.
In Europe, the objectives have already been clearly defined, and the reuse of treated wastewater is being encouraged as one way of limiting the environmental impact of human activity on the environment at a time when resources are diminishing. Nevertheless, French industry currently reuses less than 1% of treated wastewater. To achieve the 10% target that will soon be recommended, the principle will have to be incorporated into regional development plans. This will inevitably impact industrial users either directly or indirectly in the wider context of integrated resource management.
Over and above the issue of regulatory changes and central government directives to save water, reuse is an integral part of any greener development strategy for industrial water users. Not least because it offers an effective way of boosting company financial and environmental performance.
As water becomes an increasingly precious commodity going forward, its price will inevitably rise, and so will taxes on wastewater treatment. So despite the significant investment required, implementing reuse solutions will then have a very real effect on reducing production costs.
As water stress becomes increasingly common throughout Europe and abstraction from water resources continues to exceed replenishment in many regions, it can only be a matter of time. This is particularly the case for those industries that consume high quantities of water and those that have already installed systems to improve water quality at source, for which the level of investment will be less.
Against this background of supply tensions, it is only natural that reuse becomes appealing as an effective way of ensuring security of water supply for industrial facilities and limiting the impact of the water stress already being felt by increasing numbers of industrial water users, who will, in future, no longer have priority access to water resources. So to develop their businesses without consuming greater quantities of water, or perhaps simply to survive, they will have no choice but to find sources of savings. They will also have to work on extending the lifespan of the water used in their production plants, with the aim of consuming less at every stage of the water life cycle. All with the ultimate goal of making reuse a key element in financial performance.
Environmental performance is another good reason for adopting a strategy to reuse treated wastewater. As part of practicing and applying strong values of corporate social responsibility (CSR), today’s industrial companies are now committed to limiting the waste they generate as part of contributing to a more sustainable model of development. The benefits of doing so include more effective management of the risks related to water supply, accompanied not only by financial savings, but also the opportunity to stand out distinctively from competitors and secure the ongoing loyalty of both employees and customers.
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