Reuse of water for personal hygiene

Important results from the project

The project has achieved an extended dialogue with various actors eg. Graytec, Flow loop, SIS, Boverket, Miljöstyrelsen (DK), and LU. Regulatory requirements and standards have been identified and reviewed. New Standards in this area are desirable for forming opinion, however, there are national laws and regulations that need to be changed. Given that the appropriate quality of water is regulated for personal hygiene, methodology is needed for QMRA whose results can show that source water can be reused for personal hygiene.

Expected long term effects

Review of Standards and Guides (WHO) points to many water reuse initiatives. However, there is no guideline for personal hygiene. In national laws and guidelines, there are direct obstacles in legislative texts, or clearly underdeveloped opportunities for water reuse. The regulations are very conservative. Standardization around the area promotes a direction towards change rules and laws, the base (required purification technology and target quality for water) must be built around risk assessment (QMRA) that can be applied at national level.

Approach and implementation

From the project´s starting point, a literature study of national regulations for drinking water and water for reuse is relevant. The literature study and analysis were carried out jointly by the project partners. The result shows a fragmented conservative view on the use of water that extends from standards through test houses to public authority. However, the project lacks a picture of what the agenda looks like at a political level, which has proven to be a trigger for the development of regulatory requirements and standards in the area.