In response to the issue of resource availability, Apa Water always aims to provide the solution best adapted to the local context.
Water is too precious a resource to be used only once. Based on this principle, Apa Water 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.
The rate at which water is withdrawn from aquifers is sometimes far greater than the rate at which they naturally recharge.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.
Seawater, 97% of the planet's water resources, is used for just 1% of the drinking water produced. Islands and coastal regions are particularly concerned by the development of alternative resources obtained through seawater desalination. The processes Apa Water uses for this purpose can provide, in certain circumstances, a significant share of a country's water needs which would not otherwise be satisfied.