Volunteer(s) needed to run the wastewater treatment plant
25/07/07 15:58 Filed in: Services
News
John Heij has been running the Village WWTP
("sewage plant") essentially single-handed since
it was commissioned nearly 3 years ago. He would
like some relief - and it is also not wise to
have the management of such a critical piece of
infrastructure invested in only one person on
site. We are therefore looking for volunteers
(living on site) to train into this job.
Volunteers will need to be hygiene-conscious, but also not afraid to get their hands dirty. Being technically minded about plant and machinery is also very helpful. They will need to be "on call" and willing to do regular formal checks on the chemistry of the tanks and the performance of the equipment once to twice a week, and to keep accurate records of these checks. They will also need to liaise with outside contractors - e.g., Eimco (formerly Aeroflo who supplied the plant) and the Australian Water Quality Centre (AWQC, a division of SA Water) who perform the required regular water quality compliance tests.
We really do need a volunteer doing this job if at all possible. If an outside maintenance contract is required, there is only one firm available that is even willing to quote on this unique small-scale plant. They have quoted $5,808 (GST incl) per annum for one visit per month, with each extra visit to be charged at $350. All parts would be charged at cost plus 10%. (Currently, John or Malcolm Dispain have been picking up necessary parts to keep these costs to a minimum.) Note that the annual service contract covered by this quote would still require a volunteer to do the compulsory weekly checks. If the external contractor is needed to perform ALL the checks and services currently covered in-house, the annual cost to the Community could well approach $20,000 - 25,000. We can't let this happen!
If you would be willing to volunteer, please contact John by Email or phone - 8556 6892 - to discuss.
Volunteers will need to be hygiene-conscious, but also not afraid to get their hands dirty. Being technically minded about plant and machinery is also very helpful. They will need to be "on call" and willing to do regular formal checks on the chemistry of the tanks and the performance of the equipment once to twice a week, and to keep accurate records of these checks. They will also need to liaise with outside contractors - e.g., Eimco (formerly Aeroflo who supplied the plant) and the Australian Water Quality Centre (AWQC, a division of SA Water) who perform the required regular water quality compliance tests.
We really do need a volunteer doing this job if at all possible. If an outside maintenance contract is required, there is only one firm available that is even willing to quote on this unique small-scale plant. They have quoted $5,808 (GST incl) per annum for one visit per month, with each extra visit to be charged at $350. All parts would be charged at cost plus 10%. (Currently, John or Malcolm Dispain have been picking up necessary parts to keep these costs to a minimum.) Note that the annual service contract covered by this quote would still require a volunteer to do the compulsory weekly checks. If the external contractor is needed to perform ALL the checks and services currently covered in-house, the annual cost to the Community could well approach $20,000 - 25,000. We can't let this happen!
If you would be willing to volunteer, please contact John by Email or phone - 8556 6892 - to discuss.
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Aquaponics support website
25/07/07 15:48 Filed in: Villager's
News
Following up from the recent local aquaponics
seminar, if you are interested in aquaponics (the
coordinated production of fish with hydroponic
vegetables) you might like to check the big load
of information available through http://www.aquaponics.com/