CRISIS REVISITED Calcamite emphasises the need to improve and maintain the country's wastewater treatment systems
Amid the country’s water crisis, packaged wastewater treatment plant service provider Calcamite highlights the importance of treating wastewater and reintroducing it to the environment.
Calcamite, as a subsidiary of JoJo, adds that water placed back into municipal systems should be of the highest standard.
The company’s offering includes wastewater treatment plants, septic tanks, conservancy tanks, greywater solutions, sand, oil and grease traps and sophisticated sewage reticulation systems, adding that its competitively priced products are targeted at individual households and the lower end of commercial, industrial and agricultural industries.
Calcamite notes the dire state of the country’s wastewater treatment systems, especially following the Green Drop report classifying a significant portion of wastewater treatment works as “critical”. The pertinent features affecting municipal wastewater treatment works include sewer blockages, poor operations and maintenance and pollution from mining operations.
Water solutions provider JoJo Tanks CEO Grant Neser stresses that water and sanitation are intrinsically linked, averring that the improper management of wastewater compromises water quality across the water cycle, polluting it and making it unsuitable to use for drinking or growing edible food.
Referring to its septic tank, Neser adds that Calcamite products need suitable ground conditions to allow for partially treated water to seep into the soil for further processing. He notes that there is a danger of polluting sizable groundwater aquifers that can run across provinces, affecting the supply of municipal water.
“With government struggling to build and maintain wastewater treatment plants to cope with the increase in the construction of housing and business estates, many companies and homeowners are opting for onsite sanitation and domestic wastewater treatment. Like with harvesting and solar, we believe the demand for onsite sanitation and domestic wastewater treatment will continue to increase as users opt to take greater control of their own services,” Neser notes.
Calcamite says its products are quick to install and commission, adding that they are durable and easy to operate. With a design life of 30 years, these products are said to accommodate between four and 500 people, owing to its construction from polymer.
“This is why JoJo, as part of its evolution to a complete water solutions company, acquired Calcamite, which provides practical, fit-for-purpose onsite wastewater and sanitation solutions,” Neser comments.
Calcamite says it hopes to change the current perception of wastewater management as “invisible once it goes down the drain”.