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Concerns for the effects of pollution of the earth’s groundwater by pretreated sewage has prompted a change of view by South Africa’s Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) about the use of conventional septic tank / soak away systems. These are found on most farms, reserves and in rural communities through out the World. DWAF will no longer allow new developments to install septic tanks /soak-away. They must use an alternative environmentally friendly system, such as this one designed by GES (Gauteng Environmental Services). The GES system is simple to construct, requires almost no maintenance, has very low running costs and yet produces water that complies with standards for irrigation. It can be sized from single households up to complete towns. It’s a win–win system!
Bearing this in mind and the huge costs involved in providing sewage connections to all communities, it is not surprising that the authorities often cannot afford to provide the necessary services. In most cases the authorities cannot afford new outfall sewage lines to connect remote areas to the existing waste water treatment plants (WWTP). GES researched this science and designed a system to treat domestic and industrial effluent.
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