A wastewater treatment plant has been operating in the Gansbaai area since 2009, providing the Overstrand municipality with much-needed water, and using an innovative new technology to do so. SSI, a South African engineering and environmental consultancy company, made a breakthrough at Gansbaai when it commissioned the first full-scale domestic demonstration sewage treatment plant in Africa. The plant implements a cost-effective and sustainable treatment technology called Nereda.
The global challenges in the water sector (both in water treatment and in water management) are daunting, with challenges like water safety, sanitation and adapting to climate change to name a few. Innovative, cost-effective and sustainable new technology is what the water sector needs, and the Nereda technology fits all the criteria. Nereda has proved more attractive than other alternatives in several applications, like green fields, retrofits and hybrid extensions, and it can be applied in new facilities as well as upgrades of municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities.
These granules settle much faster than the flocs, and the higher biomass concentrations mean that much smaller reactor tanks are needed, which results in a much smaller overall plant footprint. Polluting nutrients like nitrates and phosphates are removed biologically (known as simultaneous denitrification) in this process, which also means it is a chemical-free operation. Compared to conventional aerobic treatment, the Nereda system removes these nutrients easily and efficiently, and the treatment plants use less energy and construction material. This results in a reduced carbon footprint and lowers construction and operation costs, making Nereda a much more sustainable option.
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