Humans, the environment and the economy all require a sufficient amount and certain quality of water every day. This demand for water is increasing globally but is confronted with limited water resources, which leads to competing uses. Water scarcity increasingly threatens ecosystems and impairs the economic and political development of entire regions and countries. The recent dry summers in Germany have shown that solutions are also increasingly needed to counteract regional water shortages in the long term.
The reuse of water can help to sustainably increase water availability and water use efficiency. The reuse of treated municipal wastewater, the recycling of industrial water and the use of treated saline groundwater and surface water are particularly promising.
To develop innovative technologies and concepts for water reuse and desalination, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) launched the funding measure Water Technologies: Reuse. It builds on the funding measure WavE - Future-oriented Technologies and Concepts to Increase Water Availability by Water Reuse and Desalination.
On this homepage you will find more detailed information about the background and objectives of both funding measures and the ongoing and completed collaborative projects.
Projects in the field of water reuse through the use of treated municipal wastewater
Projects in the field of recycling of industrially used water
Projects in the field of treatment of salty groundwater and surface water