A research and demonstration project to treat and directly reuse wastewater, which will form a living laboratory to provide data to Swiss and South African researchers, has been launched at the Manger Care Centre, in Benoni, Gauteng.
The Manger Care Centre was selected because it is an operational facility. It provides a haven for about 250 homeless people, trains them in various skills and aims to rehabilitate them and enable them to find jobs.
It has a bakery, workshop, events centre and greenhouses for growing crops on site.
The aim of the water reuse project is to separate the wastewater streams, with so-called grey water captured from showers, kitchens and laundries that will be treated using biological remediation and then reused to flush toilets, for irrigation and laundry.
Black water, which is water captured from toilets, will also be separated and treated using the same biological treatment process, and the aim is to eventually use this treated water for irrigation.
