Sewer mining (or sewage mining) is a concept where municipal wastewater (sewage) is pumped from a trunk sewer and treated on-site to accommodate a range of local, nonpotable water needs.
Another benefit derives from the fact that no further capital costs for sewer infrastructure are needed, because a treatment scheme can be directly linked to the already existing pipeline system.
More specifically, in Sydney Olympic Park, a large scale sewer mining unit has been installed for using recycled water for irrigational purposes.
[5] In Greece, an example that applies sewer mining as a decentralised wastewater treatment method is the DESSIN Athen's pilot plant, which is implemented under the European Union Seventh Framework Programme.
[6] The Athens demonstration site pumps municipal sewage directly from the central sewage network and treats it by the use of a membrane bioreactor, while a reverse osmosis unit assures that the water quality lies within the legislation limits.