Abattoir is working on better drain solutions

Lynette du Preez from Springs says she regularly drives past the flood of waste along Plantation Road to drop her children off at the nearby boxing club.

“The smell is horrible, and sometimes, when I have to drive through it, my car smells like it,” she says.

She adds that this has been going on for months and nothing is being done about it.

“Sometimes you can see blood in the water from the abattoir.”

Du Preez believes this is a health risk and says many people complain about the waste.

Jeanette Dyzel, a coach at the boxing club, says it has become embarrassing to host tournaments at the club.

She says the problem is worse over weekends.

“When it gets really bad, the water flows into the boxing club’s yard,” says Dyzel.

Dirk Groenewald, managing director of the abattoir in Javelin Road, says the abattoir was built in 1927 and there are many structural restrictions.

“With the expansions made since it’s original existence, it’s been hard trying to get everything in line with regulations,” he says.

The abattoir has taken measures to prevent waste from overflowing from the drain into the street.

“We have fat-traps and many sieves in our drains to stop the waste flowing into the sewer and causing a blockage.”

Groenewald explains they cannot do anything about blockages further down the sewer line, as this is caused by other sources in the area as well.

He adds they are currently constructing a biogas system that will eliminate most of the drainage problems.

He explains that this will be used for the ‘filthy’ water, blood and other waste products.

“What then happens is that the water and other products, such as the belly fat and blood that will usually land in in the drain, will be caught and fed into the biodigester.

The biodigester breaks down wet organic matter such as raw sewage or food waste, and produces biogas.

“We try to sift as much of it as possible, but there are still particles and blood that end up going through to the drain, and this is where the biogas plant will come in very handy.”

When this process is in progress, which the abattoir is hoping will take place by the end of September, the next step will be to build a water purification plant.

“Any water not used in the biogas process will be run through the purification system and fed back into the drains, which will also take more pressure off the purification works,” adds Groenewald.