Improving the distribution of wastewater onto constructed wetlands

Development of a Mechanical Siphon for the distribution of wastewater onto constructed wetlands for DEWATS plant

BORDA South Africa together with Partners in Development (PID) began the design and testing of a mechanical siphon for the distribution of wastewater onto constructed wetlands as one of the components of a Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS) plant. The purpose of designing a mechanical siphon was to allow wastewater to be pumped from a collection chamber to the surface of the constructed wetlands without using a conventional electrical pump system and this was achieved by employing the principles of Buoyancy, thus creating the mechanical siphon. After a series of successful testing scenarios with different test scale models, the final full-scale model was designed and will theoretically achieve a flow rate of over 60 litres/second and will be fabricated and tested before August 2021, for use on the Banana City DEWATS, currently being constructed in KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.