Water bills in Macao are expected to start falling once parts of the city begin to use reclaimed wastewater from early 2026, the head of the Marine and Water Affairs Bureau (known by its Portuguese initials DSAMA), Susana Wong Soi Man said yesterday.
On the sidelines of a water conservation event, Wong told local media outlets that reclaimed water, which is treated wastewater made safe for reuse, would “definitely” be cheaper than ordinary tap water.
She added that details about the pricing and residents’ right to choose between the water types would be unveiled in due course.
Currently, the plan is to introduce recycled water to over 8,000 residences in Coloane’s Seac Pai Van public housing estate, and the University of Macau (UM) campus in Hengqin, for non-drinking purposes such as flushing and irrigation.
Regarding the possibility of expanding the uses of the treated water in the future, DSAMA points out on its website that this is on the table, “subject to the development of the technology in the city and the meeting of conditions.”
To prepare for the switchover to recycled water, the government began building the city’s inaugural water reclamation plant at Colaone’s Concórdia Industrial Park last October.
[See more: 5 things you should know about Macao’s water]
Phase 1 of the project is due for completion in the first quarter of 2026, supplying the residents in Seac Pai Van and UM with up to 2,500 cubic metres of recycled water per day. A second phase that will boost the plant’s capacity to 15,000 cubic metres is also planned, although no concrete deadline has been given.
As well, plans are underway to construct a wastewater treatment plant on the artificial island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, with aim of supplying up to 25,000 cubic metres of recycled water to the as yet unnamed reclamation areas known as Urban Zone A, B, C D, E and the temporary housing estates in Areia Preta’s Lot P.
According to DSAMA, the long-term plan is for treated water to make up at least 10 percent of Macao’s total water supply between 2030 and 2034.
Currently, Macao imports almost all of its water from the neighbouring mainland city of Zhuhai.
Shifting to reclaimed water use may be a more cost-efficient strategy, according to Tianwei Hao, a UM academic, who told local media that water recycled would only cost between 30 to 50 cents per cubic metre against the 50 to 60 cents per cubic metre that Macao currently pays for Guangdong imports.
Countries that lack a steady source of water, including Australia, Namibia and Singapore, have been using recycled water to bolster their supply. In fact, the treated water in all three nations has already reached a standard deemed safe for drinking.
