Building the case for water and resource recovery in Canada: practitioners' perspectives

Water and resource recovery (WRR) involves the collection and treatment of yrainwater, stormwater, and/or municipal wastewater to a fit-for-purpose standard. There is no national policy for WRR in Canada, and there are minimal WRR-specific provincial regulations; given this lack of regulation, current projects are highly specific to the local context and approved individually. We engaged people who work with water and wastewater services in the province of Alberta, Canada to discuss what WRR could look like in their context. During 3-h workshops, information on WRR was shared and participants engaged in discussions using a World Cafe process. Participants discussed the need for supportive regulations and government leadership, financial support, collaboration and knowledge sharing, education and communication, and accounting for risk and liability. Given that the participants are individuals who would be impacted by the development of regulations for WRR, we discuss concepts to provide the guidance needed for the successful implementation of WRR. This research connected experts in water and wastewater and gave space for developing ideas that make sense to those most closely involved in delivering WRR systems.

Automated summary

There is no national policy for Water and Resource Recovery (WRR) in Canada, leading to specific projects being approved individually based on local context. Through workshops in Alberta, Canada, professionals in water and wastewater services discussed the importance of supportive regulations, government leadership, financial support, collaboration, knowledge sharing, education, communication, and managing risks for successful WRR implementation. This research aimed to connect experts in the field and develop ideas that resonate with those directly involved in delivering WRR systems.