Since 2003, the WASH R&D Centre has provided eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS) Division with scientific support in the Division’s efforts to develop and implement innovative water and sanitation services to the under-served, along with their mission of maintaining cost-competitive waste treatment service to industry and ensuring the health and environmental status of the rivers and beaches. Over the years, EWS and the Centre have established Memoranda of Agreements (MOA) to formalize their collaboration. While internationally there has been a sustained research effort over a period of at least 90 years on conventional wastewater treatment, the Centre and EWS are virtually unique in their focus on dry on-site sanitation and small-scale anaerobic processes focusing on providing nutrient-rich irrigation water for poor communities. The combination of large-scale rollout and scientifically valid investigations has attracted international interest and collaboration. Visiting scientists use the Centre laboratories to clean-up samples so that they can be safely taken overseas for specialised investigation and analysis.
In the past 10 years, the municipality has built and renovated different testing facilities used by the Centre and other groups for research purposes. EWS has facilitated the expansion of the Newlands-Mashu site and the building of the DEWATS plant. The Newlands-Mashu field site is used to evaluate crops growing on urine diversion solids, ventilated improved pit latrine solids and grey water. In addition, Newlands-Mashu houses a laboratory in which data from the VUNA reactors and the operations of the DEWATS plant are analysed.
In addition to Newlands-Mashu, EWS has co-developed the LaDePa machine for drying and pelletizing faeces. The LaDePa machine is located in a treatment works in Tongaat, which is also the site for the evaluation of sludge. EWS is refurbishing the anaerobic digesters at the Amanzimtoti Wastewater Treatment Works in order to research the treatment of high-strength or toxic liquid effluents.
Through the MOAs, EWS and the Centre have collaborated on a number of international collaborative research projects and Water Research Commission research projects. These projects include: VUNA, Mechanical Properties of Faecal Sludge, Reinvent the Toilet, Co-digestion of sewage sludge and industrial concentrates; Characterisation of on-site sanitation material and products; Decentralised wastewater treatment systems (DEWATS), amoung others. Support is also provided for the monitoring of community ablution blocks, assessing customer satisfaction, modelling of wastewater treatment works and the development of a Shit-Flow Diagram (SFD) for Durban.
Further information on research related to EWS can be found under here or on the navigation bar on top.
