Why Do Some Water Utilities Recycle More than Others? A Qualitative Comparative Analysis in New South Wales, Australia

Although the recycling of municipal wastewater can play an important role in water supply security and ecosystem protection, the percentage of wastewater recycled is generally low and strikingly variable. Previous research has employed detailed case studies to examine the factors that contribute to recycling success but usually lacks a comparative perspective across cases. In this study, 25 water utilities in New South Wales, Australia, were compared using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). This research method applies binary logic and set theory to identify the minimal combinations of conditions that are necessary and/or sufficient for an outcome to occur within the set of cases analyzed. The influence of six factors (rainfall, population density, coastal or inland location, proximity to users; cost recovery and revenue for water supply services) was examined for two outcomes, agricultural use and "heavy" (i.e., commercial/municipal/industrial) use. Each outcome was explained by two different pathways, illustrating that different combinations of conditions are associated with the same outcome. Generally, while economic factors are crucial for heavy use, factors relating to water stress and geographical proximity matter most for agricultural reuse. These results suggest that policies to promote wastewater reuse may be most effective if they target uses that are most feasible for utilities and correspond to the local context. This work also makes a methodological contribution through illustrating the potential utility of fsQCA for understanding the complex drivers of performance in water recycling.

Catalogue of the scientific books in the library of the Royal Society of New South Wales. Part I. General catalogue.

Cover-title.

Centenary history of the Presbyterian Church in New South Wales,

Mode of access: Internet.

Reports of cases argued and determined in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

Reports cover cases from 1862 to 1876.

Current supplement to the catalogue of the public library of New South Wales, Sydney : for the years 1896-98 /

At head of title: Under Revision.

Upper Permian insects of New South Wales.

From Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, v. LI, LX.

Supplementary catalogue of the Public Library of New South Wales, Sydney for the years 1888-[1910] ...

v. [1]. 1888-1892.--v. [2]. 1893-1895.--v. [3]. 1896-1900.--v. [4]. 1901-1905.--v. [5]. 1906-1910.

Official year book of New South Wales.

Vols. for 1904/05-1907/08 called also 1st-3rd issue; vols. for 1908/09-1917 lack vol. numbering; 1918- called also 26th issue-

The Sydney gazette and New South Wales advertiser.

Each vol. of the facsim. edition includes an index of all news items, advertisements, letters and poetry.

The journal of a journey from New South Wales to Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, performed in 1838.

Mode of access: Internet.

Memoirs of the Geological Survey of New South Wales.

Mode of access: Internet.

Extracts from the letters of James Backhouse : whilst engaged in a religious visit to Van Dieman's Land, New South Wales, and South Africa, accompanied by George Washington Walker.

A reissue of the 10 separate parts with collective title pages.

Extracts of letters from Arthur Phillip, Esq., Governor of New South Wales, to Lord Sydney : to which is annexed a description of Norfolk Island /

Mode of access: Internet.

America and the British colonies : an abstract of all the most useful information relative to the United States of America and the British colonies of Canada, the Cape of Good Hope, New South Wales, and Van Diemen's Island : exhibiting at one view the comparative advantages and disadvantages each country offers for emigration : collected from the most valuable and recent publications, to which are added a few notes and observations /

Mode of access: Internet.

The official year book of New South Wales.

Mode of access: Internet.