Water, Sewage & Effluent Mar Vol 30 No 2

industry debate infrastructure tech news Back to the future? networking “Roughly four-billion litres of below-standard sewage effluent is being released into South Africa’s waterways every day …” Anthony Turton wrote in @Liberty, the policy bulletin of the South African Institute of Race Relations. Yet, despite the system failing, the same procedures are being followed to treat wastewater. Fiona Ingham looks at affordable, passive processes as an alternative. I n the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s, virtually all South African municipalities used passive, biological processes and technology to treat wastewater. They were carbon neutral, needed very little energy to run and were not mechanised. But the tide of progress couldn’t be stemmed and this all changed: in the late 1970s and early 1980s mechanised wastewater treatment technology being used overseas was swiftly introduced and refined for South African conditions. The advantage this presented was that the footprint of these treatment plants became smaller and the nutrient and phosphate removal more efficient. The mechanised system worked well, since it only had to treat the sewage needs of a roughly 22 million people by the 1970s. “These systems are expensive to maintain and require large operational budgets and a highly qualified staff and management,” says Gavin La Trobe, CEO of WSE, a company that focuses on biological, passive, energy neutral, wastewater treatment. Water Sewage & Effluent March/April 2016 17

Water, Sewage & Effluent Mar Vol 30 No 2 | Page 19