Fast-growing population, decreased rainfall runoff and emerging industries requiring high-quality water are each leading to increased competition for sustainable water sources in Australia. Increasing demand for high quality water will lead to increased saline and complex wastes requiring brine management and disposal. Community expectation and environmental considerations will drive new brine management outcomes. In addition, emerging contaminants of concern including PFAS and microplastics require consideration in concentrated residuals produced. A crucial focus on brine and salt is required from the outset of projects, requiring comprehensive project and treatment planning. If brine is not managed adequately from the start, it leads to larger and more costly legacy issues to deal with, leading to higher ultimate costs for consumers. 

The key considerations for inland brine management are fundamentally financial and require assessment of the cheapest (direct reuse or disposal of dilute brines) through to most expensive options (valorisation from concentrated brine or landfill of crystallised salt), minimising the proportion of brine requiring higher-technology and higher-cost treatment. 

Seawater based systems often consider brine to be a hydrodynamic or ecological problem. For that circumstance, the dispersion of brine and impact upon the localised ecosystem are frequently the primary considerations.