Waste Water Management

Waste water at Uluru Children’s Home is absorbed in six large sinks, distributed across the grounds. The sixth of these was installed recently to cater for increased demand. There have been problems recently with reduced water re-absorbsion. This may be due to a rising water table during the recent wet season.

In the past, a small, residential grade RO filtration unit was used at Uluru Children’s Home to provide clean drinking water (without boiling). Unfortunately, this filter was under-utilized and became clogged.There has been encouragement locally to use EM (Effective Microorganisms) to reduce the volume of sewage sludge at Uluru Children’s Home. EM technology uses various beneficial, naturally-occurring microorganisms to decompose organic waste. The main organisms involved include: photosynthetic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and fermenting fungi. (Note that EM are already being used at Uluru Children’s Home for cleaning purposes).

In addition, there has been the discussion regarding dosing the drinking water with fluoride, to help prevent various dental problems. Dental hygiene is a huge problem in Alampara due to the consumption of sugar-filled foods, poor dental practices and a lack of dentists. Adding fluoride could be a fairly simple way of mitigating some of these problems.

Existing Well Pump


Design Project: Design a wastewater management system for Uluru Children’s Home. You may wish to consider the use of EM and take into consideration general stormwater drainage issues.