When school children visited Fraser Waste Water Treatment Works last Friday they were offered a glass of recycled final effluent water.
The children were shocked to discover that this water was once used to flush their toilets, and had now been purified to the point that it was perfectly safe to drink.
Seventy pupils from seven local primary schools visited the water treatment plant as part of Sembcorp Siza Water’s National Water Week activities, in partnership with Ilembe District Municipality.
Quality supervisor Koos Duvenhage explained to the children how the recycled water plant works, reassuring them that every particle of waste had been removed.
He said turning the waste water into the recycled water takes 72 hours (retention time) with a sludge age of 15 days.
The Fraser Waste Water Treatment Works capacity is 12 mega litres a day, the current capacity of the recycling plant is 1,5 mega liters a day with a maximum of six mega liters a day.
As of December last year the recycled water has been used to top up swimming pools, for fire fighting and for construction, as part of Sembcorp Siza Water’s efforts to not waste a single drop of water, especially during the current drought. The maximum daily demand was 500 000 litres during December and January.
The schools, which attended the Water Week event, were Dinuphozo, Shakaskraal S.A, Tinley Manor, Sizani Combined, Shakaskraal, RA Padayachee and Radha Roopsingh Primary School.
Earlier that day Wildlife Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) Zanele Gumede, Charissa Jaganath and Christine Hugo taught the pupils on the importance of taking care of water and natural resources.
Stanley Dlamini from Ilembe District municipality urged pupils and teachers of the schools to save water as much as they can.
The theme for National Water Week, March 17 to 23, is “water has no substitute”.
