Recycle treated water
Water is too precious a resource to be used only once. Based on this principle, SNE recycles wastewater at the outlet from its treatment plants to produce, after appropriate treatment, industrial process water, water for farming, for watering parks and gardens, or recharging the aquifer. This practice has become relatively widespread in the world's more arid regions (Australia, Israel, etc.). In some cases, such as Namibia, the recycled treated water is used to produce drinking water for human consumption.
Recharge aquifers
The rate at which water is withdrawn from aquifers is sometimes far greater than the rate at which they naturally recharge. In cases where water is scarce, recharging these aquifers artificially with treated water (surface water, storm water, wastewater, etc.) is a way of storing water to provide an immediately accessible resource when consumption increases (in tourist areas, for example). In the case of coastal aquifers, this technique also prevents the infiltration of saline water.
