Enabling localised wastewater reuse

Freshwater scarcity is undeniably an urgent issue for communities across the world. The planet’s demand for clean water is expected to increase by an alarming 40% by 2050, underscoring the reality that freshwater is a finite resource. A significant relief to the water shortage crisis lies within water reuse.

Existing water reuse solutions predominantly use centralised systems, collecting large volumes of municipal wastewater from different households and treating it at a single site. Although effective in many urban settings, centralised networks are not as viable for dispersed, off-grid or otherwise water-stressed communities in need of access to clean water.

While Estonia is awash with groundwater, both its population and water resources are unevenly scattered, making it difficult and inefficient to solely rely on centralised systems. Estonia’s concerns are a drop in the ocean –  by 2025, half of the world’s population could be living in water-stressed areas.

The current Estonian regulations do not support, and in some instances do not permit the introduction of local waste water recycling facilities. As various aspects of the law remain subject to interpretation, market participants wishing to provide decentralised water reuse systems are left with little legal certainty over regulations governing their technology.

Decentralised water reusage systems, such as the one provided by the Estonian startup Spacedrip, offer localised alleviation in both urban and off-grid water-stressed areas.

Spacedrip’s fully automated wastewater treatment technology enables localised water purification in areas faced with limited clean water access and logistical issues of wastewater disposal without having to rely on an already existing centralised water infrastructure. Having previously raised €1.5 million for their solution, the company provides water purification robots to clients in industries such as the military, real estate development, hospitality as well as the public sector.

Our goal is to work with relevant public institutions to establish a legal framework, which allows for greater legal certainty and, in turn, wider-spread adaptation of decentralised water reuse systems in water-stressed areas.

The project aims to demonstrate the benefits of localised wastewater treatment and reuse on fresh water resources and local ecosystems as well as to introduce greater efficiency in energy, infrastructure and cost for both the locals and the municipality. Decentralised water treatment and on-site reuse likewise pursues to increase water security.

As a result of the project, a decentralised water treatment and reuse plant will be piloted, monitored, and its outcomes will be shared with the public. A roadmap will be developed for various stakeholders, including municipalities, water technology companies, real estate developers, and the Environmental Service (Keskkonnaamet), to improve transparency and assist the government in identifying and addressing any blind spots in the process.