WaterStax environmental technology proves itself in wash water treatment

An environmentally sensitive way to treat wash water generated by maintaining parks, public facilities, golf courses, turf farms and intensive agricultural industries is being proved in Australia by Enware Waste Water Treatment.

Its WaterStax technology is a low-cost, low-maintenance system for treating waste wash water generated in diverse applications, such as equipment washpads including the washpads of the 2000-plus golf courses in this country, which serve more the 1.3 million players involved in Australia’s number one participant sport.  

WaterStax uses bioremediation technology to economically remove oil, grease, hydrocarbons and grass clippings from the thousands of litres of wash water that is typically generated on wash pads every day by cleaning mowers and diverse landscaping equipment employed by hospitality, local government, agricultural and other sectors.

Unlike filtration systems which create a residue that must be disposed of with legally regulated great care, WaterStax installations use a highly effective blend of microbes, Baseline Bugs, that literally consumes and converts wastes to harmless H2O (water) and CO2 (carbon dioxide). The water can then be recycled or discharged either to the sewer or used for irrigation, says Enware Product Development Manager Mr Graeme Hansen.

Baseline Bugs is nontoxic and free of pathogens. It meets all current and proposed EPA regulations for biological treatment and is highly suitable to Australian conditions, says Mr Hansen, who has been involved in the country’s first, highly successful, installations of the technology at golf courses in Victoria and Queensland at the Kew, Gold Coast and Hyatt Regency golf courses. They are part of a programme of more than 250 WaterStax installations worldwide, including the two major models available in Australia:

• WS1000-D three-stage system, of 3785 litre nominal daily capacity, which discharges to sewer or for irrigation
• WSR-1000D four-stage system, of 5675 litre nominal daily capacity, which recycles treated water for re-use on the washpad.

“One of the first installations was so effective in cleaning up a lagoon where wash runoff was previously held that it is now breeding frogs. All that goes into the lagoon now is clean water, which the frogs like, whereas previously staff didn’t like having to do a manual cleanout of the lagoon when it became choked with sediment,” said Mr Hansen.

The modular WaterStax system – with galvanized frame and UV and chemical resistant high density polyethylene tanks – is fed from a half-horsepower submersible sump pump from which accumulated waste is fed through an easily cleaned screen to the series of tanks. As the liquid moves through the series of tanks, air and the Australian-manufactured Baseline Bugs microbe solution is injected to commence the progressive bioremediation and water polishing process.  

“The whole system is engineered so that handling is minimal, screening processes are easily cleaned and staff do not have to touch toxic material,” said Mr Hansen. “This is a low-maintenance, all-natural water treatment, which has been tested for compliance with EPA and local regulations (Test results Available).” 

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