Desalination & Reuse Handbook - Flipbook - Page 51
REUSE MARKET PROFILE
Reuse Market Profile
Global contracted reuse capacity has almost doubled since 2010, with cumulative contracted capacity rising from 59.7 million m3/d in
2009 to 118 million m3/d in 2017. The 58.5 million m3/d in capacity contracted between 2010 and 2017 has seen the epicentre of the
global wastewater reuse market move into Asia. Whereas North America made up 34% global reuse capacity contracted to 2009, 49% of
capacity contracted between 2010 and 2017 was located in China alone.
Industrial water demand is the key driver of the wastewater reuse market, especially in water-intensive manufacturing and extraction
industries. Population growth in water-scarce regions puts industry in conflict with municipal water users, which tend to be prioritised
in times in drought, leading industry to look at alternative water source. Regulations facilitating increased wastewater reuse are also
gaining ground worldwide as the urgency of water scarcity gains wider recognition, with impressive results in markets such as India and
Taiwan.
There is a growing preference for wastewater reuse over desalination as a solution to drought-induced water scarcity. Vast desalination
programmes prompted by unprecedented droughts in Australia, Israel and Cyprus have not been repeated in water-scarce regions since
2010. Both Cape Town and California are pursuing potable reuse of wastewater before large-scale desalination, and reuse of wastewater
in industry plays a vital part of policy responses to degradation of water resources in China and India.
Additional contracted and installed reuse capacity by year
Source: GWI DesalData / IDA
Cumulative contracted and installed reuse capacity by year,
Source: GWI DesalData / IDA
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