State-of-the-art sewerage system
The installation of Clem and Mona Randall’s state-of-the-art sewerage system. Photo: Supplied.
Clem Randall of Milnthorpe turned 91 last week, just a few days after he and wife Mona replaced their aging septic tank system with a $15,000 state-of-the-art effluent system brought up from Christchurch.
Explained Clem: “I suppose replacing your waste system is not something you naturally think of doing at our age, but because our daughter and husband [Robyn and Paul] intend taking over our property when they retire soon, we wanted to hand it over in an efficient state. Let’s face it, old-style septic systems have always struggled to cope very well with the pakihi soils we get around here, but this new one should work effectively for generations. It’s incredibly efficient. A system like this has the capability of handling a household of 15 people.”
The Oasis Clearwater (Series 2000) model they chose for their 10.5 hectares of bush-clad hillside treats sewerage and sullage using, as the first stage of the process, the tried-and-tested principle of separating solids from liquids, Liquids flow into the aeration chamber where a fine-air diffuser is used to aid aerobic digestion. The inbuilt pump returns settled sludge to the pre-treatment chamber for further processing. A high-performance filter ensures that what finally comes out of the disposal system is nothing less than clear and odourless water, which is then dispersed under the leaf litter of nearby bush by some 300m of hosing.
Part of the extensive site evaluation involved digging five test pits to determine the soil’s drainage capacity before the project could commence. “Everything was taken into consideration, but luckily the size of our property meant we weren’t too constrained by things like surface water, drains, wells, watercourses or minimum distances from boundaries that a smaller section would have involved,” said Clem.
Aside from the advance trenching needed for the intake pipe from the house, the electrical cable needed to operate the pump, and the actual hole for the preformed concrete contraption to fit into, all the installation was completed and made ready to use in a single day by local contractors, namely Chambo’s digger, Mark Hume plumbing and Elaine Sadowski as electrician.
Commented Mona: “It was a great flurry of effort and then it was all over and ready to use. That’s something we never have to think about again.” Their model does come with an alarm in the house should the system ever malfunction.
Established in 1990, Oasis Clearwater Environmental Systems were one of the first wastewater treatment companies to introduce advanced wastewater treatment systems onto the New Zealand market. As well as systems for domestic use, they now produce models for hotels and industrial situations from their own factory and batching site located just out of Rolleston.
The Randall job wasn’t the company’s first installation in Golden Bay; Oasis Clearwater systems already feature at Kahurangi Lodge and Farewell Spit Café, and in the odd house.
It should be said that Clem has a big connection with the company, having once worked for the same pumping and irrigation firm in Canterbury where Oasis founder and owner Lew Austin worked as well.
Clem said Lew was the apprentice back then. “But he learnt all the ropes plus some and then went out to found his own successful company, which drew on all the latest expertise coming out of the States.”
Gerard Hindmarsh
