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Cabramatta Golf Club is saving water while protecting its employees as a result of upgrading its washdown procedures for mowing equipment and golf carts by installing a WaterStax system that continuously purifies and recycles the wash water.
Craig Wright, Superintendent of this picturesque, challenging golf course in Sydney’s west, pointed out that the previous system – a wash pad with a drain connected to the sewer – wasn’t adequate for the cleansing of 20-25 mowers and 28 golf carts every day.
“Besides grass clippings, the machinery tends to collect grease as well as residues of insecticides and herbicides from the course.
“While the club wasn’t being compelled by regulations to upgrade, we wanted to do the right thing from the point of view of both employee safety and conserving water,” he said.
Cabramatta Golf Club chose and installed the WaterStax wash water treatment system from Enware Australia, an advanced biological system that uses all-natural remediation to purify wash water used for cleaning down machinery used to maintain golf clubs, parks and gardens, turf farms, council and private sports facilities, agricultural businesses, commercial and residential estates and resorts.
It economically removes hydrocarbons, herbicides, pesticides and insecticides typically encountered by washing equipment – so that the water can be re-used for washing or irrigation, or discharged into the sewer.
“Grass clippings are collected by the screen across the sump in the wash pad. The grass stays on top of the pad and doesn’t go into the system. We just collect that,” says Mr Wright.
“Then the wash water goes through a clippings screen before entering the four-tank WaterStax. This gets rid of more clippings into the grass bin. The fewer grass clippings that go into the system, the better for us.”
From there, the wash water enters a pre-treatment and solids separation tank, which enhances the settling and removal of suspended solids in the waste stream. The next stage is bioremediation, where oil-loving Bio-Media filter bags provide the breeding ground for microbes to effectively remove hydrocarbon-based pollutants.
Enhanced bio-digestion occurs in the third tank before the water is further polished with a UV ozone generator and transferred to a recycled water holding tank ready for re-use on the equipment wash pad.
“I’m happy with the WaterStax treatment system. It’s working well for us. Enware don’t have to come here often for servicing. It’s very maintenance-free. The only work we have to do is ‘replacing the bugs’ – a monthly topping up of the microbe solution,” he said.
Both the four-tank recycling version installed by Cabramatta Golf Club and the three-tank discharge version of the WaterStax from Enware Australia are among the most advanced biological systems for treating wash water used on machinery for maintaining golf clubs, parks and gardens, turf farms, council and private sports facilities, agricultural businesses, commercial and residential estates and resorts.
The system has been proven in 250 applications worldwide, including the Hyatt Regency Coolum Golf Resort and Spa, the venue of the Australian PGA golf championship and a centre of a major residential development.
WaterStax is a natural process with no chemicals or filters used. A special blend of microbes literally eats contaminants, converting them to water and carbon dioxide.
The WaterStax Enware disinfection process reduces the spread of fungal disease carried by mowers and wash water by flocculating the spores and sterilising the treated wash water before reuse.
It also kills infectious bacteria (eg, gastro-intestinal or E-coli) that can find their way into wash water through dead animals, bird droppings, animal fertilisers or using secondary treated sewerage water. Unless sterilised, this bacteria could be inhaled by workers when high pressure washing.
In addition, the process treats endotoxins – allergens that can be released during the breakdown of microbe cell walls, a process which may cause major allergic sensitivity to workers if inhaled.
Unlike filtration systems, which can create a hazardous sludge requiring regular cleaning and waste disposal, the WaterStax combines specialised BioStax microbes and BioNutrient to naturally convert wastes into water and CO2.
“WaterStax biosystems employ the latest biotechnology for treating and recycling commercial and industrial waste water that would otherwise produce waste that legally needs to be collected and chemically treated by approved waste management companies,” said Enware Environmental Product Manager Mr Scott Whittaker.
“The systems are particularly useful and cost-effective in maintenance applications where there is a high organic content in the wash water and where efficiently removing such pollution is vital to maintaining environmental, regulatory and property values in sensitive and attractive areas.”
For more information on WaterStax treatment systems - click here
For more information, please contact Enware Australia Pty Ltd, 9-11 Endeavour Road, Caringbah NSW 2229 Australia,
Ph +61 2 9525 9511 Click here to email us
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