Newlands Mashu Research Site (Field Site)
The Centre, together with eThekwini Water and Sanitation, operates and maintains a research field site. The Newlands Mashu Research Site is situated at 71 John Dory Dr, Newlands East, and houses the first functional working DEWATS (Decentralised Wastewater Treatment System) in South Africa, constructed in 2012. Designed by BORDA and EWS and managed by the Centre, the research conducted over the years on the DEWATS has provided valuable insights into design, construction, optimisation, and suitable front-end systems to improve the performance of the treatment processes integrated into the system configuration and improve the quality of the final effluent. More recently, the Centre has been evaluating the climate resilience of the system. Lessons learnt have allowed for the design and construction of the hybrid-DEWATS system at Bishopstowe, Julakandoda, and at the informal settlement upgrade in Westville, Banana City.
FACILITIES
The Research site contains the following facilities:
- A BORDA-designed Decentralised Wastewater Treatment System (DEWATS)
- Vertical and horizontal constructed wetlands
- A protected growing tunnel
- Agriculture field for agroecology projects
- Toilet testing trailer
- Prototype solar dryers
- A urine evaporator for the production of liquid fertilizer
- A piggery (inactive since June 2024)
- Experimental wetland towers for multiple research purposes
- Multiple low-cost demonstration toilet technologies
- A satellite WASH R&D laboratory for on-site experiments
- Space for the testing of sanitation technologies
Project SUMMARIES
Some key projects that have been conducted at the site include:
Urine processing into fertiliser: The Valorisation of Nutrients from Urine (VUNA) project to produce struvite and nitrified urine as fertilisers. On completion of this project, reactors were mothballed, but have recently been reinstalled to determine the business case for fertiliser production. More information on this project can be found here.
DEWATS operation: Assessment of the DEWATS over many years and many different projects from the installation of the system in 2010. This includes understanding the operation and maintenance requirements, the impact of different effluent loading, the use of constructed wetlands and the different types of media, and what contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are present in the wastewater. This research work continues today and more information can be found here. Many visitors come to the site in order to understand the application of DEWATS as a low-cost sanitation solution.
Drying of faecal sludge: Two solar driers (screw and green house) prototypes were installed to allow for multiple student projects to investigate options for the drying of faecal sludge. more information can be found here.
Pig Farm: Construction of a Pig farm which housed piglets for the ethical collection of Ascaris sum eggs. More information on this project can be found here.
Agricultural trials: Agricultural trials at both field and plant-pot scale to understand the impact of DEWATS effluent and sanitation-waste derived fertilizer on the growth of plants. This research work has generated a number papers and reports that can be found on the Circular Economy Research Unit page.
Testing of sanitation systems: This site has allowed for the installation and testing of many different sanitation systems. This includes:
- Urine diversion, low flush, and pour flush toilets
- Kaloola dry sanitation system and waste separation prototype.
- Flush and water volume testing for three different low flush toilet pedestals.
- Flushing urine diversion toilets
- Protype for the separation of trash from pit larine and urine diversion toilet sludge
Publications and Reports
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The Newlands Mashu Research Site, located in Newlands East, Durban, provides a controlled and safe environment where sanitation systems, resource recovery, and agricultural recycling of recovered resources can be evaluated and developed. Various waste products from on-site sanitation systems and decentralised wastewater treatment systems can be used beneficially in agriculture as sources of water and nutrients. Agricultural trials at the site are part of the eThekwini Municipality’s long-term strategy for the development of sanitation systems for both existing and new housing projects. The research focus encompasses several important life cycle considerations that support planning for services that extend beyond a single goal of providing sanitation.
The main focus areas of research at the Newlands Mashu Research Site are to:
- Evaluate the decentralised approach to sanitation from an urban perspective
- Explore and test new sanitation technologies
- Close the nutrient loop by recycling and returning nutrients to the soil from properly sanitised waste streams for use in agriculture
- Test and evaluate the use of sanitation-based fertilizer products in agriculture in a controlled and safe environment
Test models of urine diversion dehydration toilets and a pour-flush toilet are also evaluated on site to provide important design and maintenance information to the municipality.
The following projects have been conducted at the Newlands Mashu Research Site:
- DEWATS Project – Newlands Mashu project page
- INTEGRATING SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN THE DESIGN OF LOW COST SANITATION TECHNOLOGIES BY USING PLANT NUTRIENTS AND WASTEWATER RECOVERED FROM HUMAN EXCRETA-DERIVED MATERIALS (K5/2777)
- PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS IN A BORDA-DESIGNED DECENTRALISED WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM (K5/2579)
- The evaluation of the DEWATS plant (WRC K5/2002)
- The VUNA project
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