49
Annex 5, Parasitic nematode egg removal from waste water, and second use of water for
irrigation
Water can often contain parasites such as Cryptosporidium in drinking water, or nematodes including the human parasite
Ascaris lumbricoides in wastewater.
Ascaris infects more than 2 billion people in the world,
and is particularly acute and dangerous in the developing
world among people that are weakened through poor
nutrition or chronic illness. One of the main vectors for
the spread of the parasite is the use of wastewater for
irrigation that contains the parasitic eggs.
The parasite egg is large at 40 microns and easy to
remove by AFM® tertiary treatment. Sand will also
remove the egg, but because sand suffers from bio-
dynamic instability and transient wormhole channelling,
the infections eggs will break through the filter. This may
explain why almost 1% of the population in Europe and
North America, also have the nematode infection.
The parasite larvae infect your blood, internal organs and
lungs, and then end up back in your intestine where they
can grow up to 35cm in size.
Case Study
Kaipara District Council Location: Mangawhai, New Zealand
We have been monitoring water quality in Kaipara district in New Zealand since 2009. The municipal wastewater is treated
by AFM® pressure filters operating at 20m/hr. There are Ascaris eggs in the wastewater, but none have been detected in
the product water. The predictable high performance of AFM® has allowed the wastewater to be used for irrigation.
In addition to human parasitic nematodes, there are also nematodes that will infect plants.
Waste water will contain heavy metals and metaloids such as hexavalent chromium and arsenic. AFM® is very good at
removing these components. We have also shown that priority toxic chemicals tend to hydrophobic and are adsorbed onto
particles. AFM® is up to 10 times more efficient at removing these particles. It is essential that the water is of the highest
standard to avoid accumulation of toxins in the plants and in the aquifer. AFM® provides a solution to these issues.