Like its valuable end-product, the original sewage treatment plant at Sardinia Bay Golf & Wildlife Estate is as good as new.
The works, which plays the starring role in recycling sewage water destined for the irrigation of the golf course, has recently undergone a deep-clean to ensure the system continues to operate optimally.
It is the first thorough cleansing it has received since being constructed by Clear Edge Projects several years ago.
Its revitalisation means that the property can continue to benefit from this clever piece of infrastructure that simultaneously drives sustainability and cost saving.
Sards manager Hugh Wiblin said the system was “bullet-proof” provided it was cleaned every five years.
It is a simple but highly-effective scheme.
Water flows from each home into a septic tank, where solid waste remains.
The liquid then moves into the estate’s sewer line and gets to a point where it is pumped through the sewage treatment plant’s different chambers.
Bacteria and air get to work on the waste material, leaving the water to flow through an outflow pump where chlorine tablets are added. This kills any remaining “nasties” in the liquid.
From there the water is pumped into a reed-heavy dam on the estate where it undergoes further purification. By the time it makes its way to Sards’ storage dams it is ready to be used for irrigation and is even safe enough for the estate’s wildlife to drink.
At any one time six pumps run 24/7 to keep the system working, while others are used intermittently.
Wiblin explained that cleaning out the plant was essential.
“What will happen over a period of time is that you get a buildup of sludge,” he said.
“The sludge is so dense that the bacteria can’t break it all down. The result is that your storage capacity becomes less and less.”
In this instance, the sludge was so thick that a person could walk on top of it, he added.
It was by no means a small operation; the honeysucker used for the job took out between 15 000 and 16 000 litres of water.
Once this phase had been completed, the chamber was sprayed down and restored to its original state.
“What we’ve done has given us more storage capacity but it also means that we don’t have to use our intermittent pumps as often, which obviously saves on our electricity costs,” Wiblin said.
A second sewage treatment plant has already been constructed on the estate but will only come online once all the remaining homes have been developed.
One of the most impressive aspects about the plants are their strategic positioning on the estate.
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The original is neatly tucked away in the bushes near the recreation centre while the newer one is hidden in thicket well beyond one of Sards’ two bird-hide dams.
Unless a person is deliberately looking for them, no one will even know they are there.
Conspicuous-by-absence has never looked better at one of South Africa’s most beautiful lifestyle estates.