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Non-conventional water supply measures

Water reuse

Water reuse represents a very low share of total water consumption in Europe, and it is mainly practiced in southern Europe (e.g. Cyprus, Malta, Spain) (Figure 4.16). Most reuse schemes target at generating alternative water supplies for irrigated agriculture or achieving managed aquifer recharge to mitigate saline intrusion in coastal areas (Buchanan et al., 2019). The European Commission aims at promoting water reuse further with its recently published regulations and guidelines(EC, 2020f, 2018a), which complement pre-existing regulatory legal frameworks in some Member States. It has been estimated that there is much higher potential for water reuse in Europe. In areas with significant intensity of agricultural activities, water reuse could help reduce water stress levels by an increment of 10%. The treatment and energy costs for water reuse are rather low compared with the total costs for developing the necessary infrastructure to carry reclaimed water from urban waste water treatment plants to irrigated areas. As these costs are highly variable, the economic attractiveness of reclaimed water for farmers may differ significantly. However, there are examples (e.g. Cyprus) where an incentive pricing policy is applied to promote water reuse further (JRC, 2017)

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