Landmark study declares recycled water safe ... for toilets and gardens ...

The Australian:

Treated effluent 'is safe'

13 August 2009

A pioneering Australian study has quietened years of controversy by declaring it safe to use treated effluent in loos and gardens.

The research, to be launched today, found no difference in rates of acute gastroenteritis, skin or respiratory conditions between people serviced by the nation's biggest residential recycled water scheme and those on conventional water systems.

Hawkesbury-Hills Division of General Practice chief executive Darren Carr said almost 36,000 patient records over two years were analysed to check how commonly residents of Sydney's Rouse Hill presented with the complaints, compared with those living nearby. "This is the first study of its kind in Australia or internationally to measure the health impacts of living in housing served by a dual-reticulation recycled water scheme," he said.

Rouse Hill in Sydney's northwest supplies up to 1.4 billion litres of recycled water a year to more than 18,000 homes for washing cars, flushing toilets, watering gardens and other outdoor uses.

The water has been used in bathrooms, laundries, kitchens and business operations, but is treated before being returned and is separated from drinking water pipes and taps.

Concerns about the health consequences of reusing water flushed down the cistern have slowed the take-up of water recycling by households and councils, despite falling dam levels.

See - The Australian - Treated effluent 'is safe' - for loos.