Kerry Flanagan Wastewater in Sydney, Australia | Environmental consultant

Kerry Flanagan Wastewater

Locality: Sydney, Australia

Phone: +61 2 4572 1057

Address: 4/327 Bells Road 2753 Sydney, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.kerryflanaganwastewater.com.au

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• Environmental consultant
• Commercial and industrial
• Water treatment service
• Septic Tank Service

25.01.2022 Melbourne, 8th August, 3 day CET AWTS Service & Maintenance Course. I have had the pleasure of presenting this course for thirteen years. Pictured is my co-presenter Joe Whitehead explaining how to take DO readings using a colourmetric method of testing the effluent. Joe is also the Principal of the Center for Environmental Training. In attendance were technicians, plumbers, Enviromental Health Officers and Manufactures. They came from Tasmania, Victoria, SA, NSW, Qld and two officers from the Health Ministry of the Cook Islands.

25.01.2022 Personal wipes/nappy wipes are a major problem on both domestic treatment and municipal systems. These things dont break down, causing blockages, failure of the biological treatment and pumps. It appears they are impregnated with biocides and manmade materials which prevent their distruction. In systems which include a anaerobic (septic) process, the crust or scum layer does not form or collaspes this layer. This thens falls to the bottom of the tank with the sludge layer. This then takes up part of the clear zone. The clear zone normally is the zone from which the aeration recieves primary effluent.

24.01.2022 The ballet of the excavator. Our excavator contractor Daryl Sciberras filling a new install. If your wastewater system installer or plumber wants to use his own excavator its not the mark up he objects to losing, its the unknown factor of the ability of a client provided contractor. We have had jobs take days instead of hours due to lack of skill by some operators. This increases labour time and material costs.

24.01.2022 Sometimes home owners and property management agents are their own worst enemy. This rented property was having issues with its Biolytix BF6 between the yearly services which we perform. It had in the past few years had drip disposal problems. Unbeknowns to us the system had backed up, the agent claimed they couldnt contact us. Various people were asked to look at it and they settled on, wait for it, the guy that mowed the lawn, he did say he had experiance in water treatmen...t. So it was suggested that the wet weather storage tank would be suitable for the fitment of a Aqua Nova retro fit kit. Arr, what about the drip system. So what happen to the wet weather storage demanded by the original DA. Well, that wasnt taken into account because the lawn mowing guy didnt know it was required. The sorry saga is that the managing agent paid him over $15k and it doesnt work. The lawn mowing guy has done a runner. And you may ask why it dont work? The kit is in the tank, but he didnt fix the bottom of the cross bar, so the clarifier and contact chambers swing like a church bell. The air system wasnt finished and no sign of an air pump. The wrong disposal pump was fitted for the drip system and the wet composter was butchered. All in all a right cluster @$!%! So the owner contacts us on her first call I might add, to find out what happened to us. She was told we were no longer in the Wastewater game, (yes game, in NSW its a game of the good and ridiculous) I was having a baby and handed it to my son. I dont think at 60+ I am capable fatherhood, consecption may be and while my son has the capability, he has his own life. The agent didnt sign a contract and didnt know residential work over $5k needed it.The owner has resources which she will use to dissect, in no particular order, those which have muddy her water. We just have to fix it. That reminds me that my car has a problem, I wonder if the local Jims Mowing guy can fit it in. See more

24.01.2022 This post may help those that own or service a Aqua Claris Simply Natural system. A recently new service client on a water only access property required replacement of both the vegetation cell and application trench. The Aqua Claris Simply Natural needed some work but it was soon functioning as intended. These are a wet composter system with a recirculating trickling bed reactor. The incoming effluent falls on to the outside of a pipe that has an narrow open trough undernea...th it. The liquid contents runs around the pipe and collects in the trough, the solids fall off. This has a 50mm pipe that drains the liquid to a separate fine media chamber for treatment. Estabished beds should have a brown earth like surface which is worn castings. This chamber is open to the bottom of the trickling bed sump. The solids content of the effluent which has fallen off the pipe and is treated in the chamber below. This chamber is made up of media with large void spaces. This should show worm activity at all times and may need worms castings removed after 8 to 10 years, depending on the number of persons. Generally the older the bed the higher the treatment, due to the contact surface. Liquid from this is drained to a chamber which is fitted with a pump and is controlled by time and a vertical run dry float. This transfers to the vegetation cell for breakdown in the soil. Liquid from this chamber flows to the trickling bed sump. The disposal chamber has two pumps, the trickling bed pump (controlled by timer) and the disposal pump which should be higher to draw on only the clear effluent which is either disposed of in trenches or beds. It may also be sent to a Wisconsin Mound. Not all Simply Naturals are the same, there may not be a pump in the centre well and media materials can be cut corrugated pipe or wet suit material cuttings. Problems: A pump or power failure may require the removal of all the pumps for cleaning of both them and the media from the pump wells. It is very important to secure the lids on the wells to prevent this. If a full rebuild is required of one of these systems we recommend the media be bagged in 40lt onion bags.the The effluent quality is normally high and less than 5NTUs is normal. Further treatment may see a sand filter and UV in the treatment train with recycling to flushing WCs and spray disposal. This will be found on older models before Blackwater was banned for inside use. See more

22.01.2022 One of our Orenco systems treating the backwash from a filtration system that filters the water in a horse swimming pool. The backwash is passed through 2 x 16klt tanks and gravity feeds to the 6kl anaerobic tank beneath the 2 x AX20 textile biological filters. The end result is the recycling of the backwash into the pool. The water from this process is cleaner than the pool filtered water.

22.01.2022 This is the connection to the third septic. I must admit I had never seen these storm water repair coupling used in sewer. The inside is as smooth as the outside, (not smooth at all) so you can imagine that anything could get caught causing a blockage.

21.01.2022 Fuji Clean CE4200 small commerical treatment system. Veiw of clarification chamber with air lift to chlorination tube, note the graduated air valves. This is a 20ep system treating standard domestic wastewater.

21.01.2022 Another Fuji Clean CE1500EX going in. They really are a great system! Advanced secondary treatment with reduction in phosphorous of 87% and nitrogen of 57%. Land application areas are normally based on water balance, making it easier to fit on-site. FujiClean Australia - Wastewater Treatment Systems make their own air blower which is the lowest use on the market, 52watts, great for solar. Fuji Cleans are a much safer option in environmentally sensitive areas.

20.01.2022 A gravity outlet wet composter is an alterative to a anaerobic tank (septic). It produces higher quality effluent and reduced maintenance, no requirement for desludging and the quality of effluent gets better with age. We have systems with 20+ years of service without intervention. This installation is a 2 outlet distribution box to 2 x 16m Wick trenches with individual ground vents at the end of each trench. This provides convection venting through the trenches, up the the drainage lines to the base of the composting bed and up to the drainage system to the roof vents. On flat sites a pump is required to feed the treated effluent to the trenches.

20.01.2022 Grinder pumps and personal wipes dont mix. The owner has on several occasions had discussions with management of this child care centre about the use of personal wipes being flushed down the WCs. We have inherited a pump system which is not suitable for transferring what has been become to be know as the " plumbers retirement fund". So its time for a change of pump type as the grinder pump has called it a day. Matching the flow rates is not a problem as the pump is contro...lled by programmable timer. The new vortex pump has much larger delivery rate and would overwhelm the suspended growth digester if not considered In the change. The other mod to be done is to stop large objects flowing to the primary transfer well by fitting a more easily removed screen. This doesnt solve the problem caused by the wipes themselves. They distroy the anaerobic crust as it appears the wipes have a biocide impregnated into their structure. The other way to solve this would be to change first process type to suspended growth . This would increase power use as a extra air pump or enlarge of the present would be needed for the fine bubble diffusers. The simple solution is to stop using wipes! See more

18.01.2022 Its been serviced all its life! The sludge level was 30mm below the static level of the clarified. The inlet was below the anaerobic chamber level, at least the disused original inlet was capped. Pity not one entry point had been correctly sealed to stop root intrusion.

18.01.2022 Many times we have heard complaints from clients regarding the need for a Council inspection for the renewal of their "Permit to Operate" particulary if a fee is involved. The majority of Council EHOs do not lift the lid on the system, and pass or failure is dependant on weather the application area is ponding, has the right number of sprays, no odours and warning signs are in place. Councils monitoring can vary from nothing to checking every service sheet. A recent new serv...icing site was found to be in total failure, and not for a short period, even though service sheets indicated all was well. Without looking too hard we found the following: Turbidity >400ntus Sludge return turned off Chlorine 0 Crust thickness <1300mm Lower than the 2mg/lt Sludge level in clarifier 800mm 3 ponding failures in the feild Below pressure and flow volume from the air pump A Council permit was issued 11 years ago, the permit expired 6 years ago, however in this case the permit would not of been issued because the system was in failure, the lack signs and the ponding would of been the failure indicators and the saving grace that a desludge would be required, as no evidence of one being carried out in the last 3 years. Council inspections are neccessary while the level of knowleadge of service providers is low and that a licence is not required in NSW. However the level of knowleadge of the inspecting Council officer must also be raised and a full inspection must be carried out before a permit is issued.

17.01.2022 Another one!! This is a commercial system for a childcare. The original Clearwater Bio-digester was increased in capacity by the addition of a deep invert 7klt anaerobic tank and a 4.6klt suspended growth aeration tank. Addeded to the Clearwater was a airlift sludge and skimmer. The first SG tanks mixed liquor is passed to the second stage and begins the batching process. The client had two pumps replaced. This was the beginning of the problem. The transfer pump from the a...naerobic tank had been installed in the main chamber, pumping the sludge throughout the system all the way to the sub-surface disposal.(note the sludge in the valve box) The pump vault within the tank had been ignored. The main di-gester pump had failed. Shown is the air venturi manifold and the pic with the PedrelloTop Vortex tied to a bike tube. The venturi manifold laying the shed. This pump is to be position 600mm from the floor of the tank, not on it. Its back in service. The system was sludge wasted and at present the sub-surface drip is undergoing treatment for both root and blockages. It does make me wonder what would of happen to this if the client had not come to us. Would they have fallen for we cant save it, well give you a quote for new one. See more

17.01.2022 The design brief for this project required a passive system with minimum on going service costs to treat effluent from 5 cabins and 22 persons. Pic 1 is a Vermicell GG3 wet composter to remove the grose solids. Pic 2 is a Vermicell SG3 which is a secondary effluent producing wet composter without disinfection. Pic 3 is a Flout in a 450lt Everhard well feeding a 50mm manifold to 3 x 23m "Wick" trenches. Flow to the individual trenches are controlled by 32mm balls. Each trench has a air admittance valve at the opposite end to the dosing end.

16.01.2022 Wet composers, terrestrial filters, biolytic filters including Biolytix, AA Worm Farms and our own Vermicell units are mysterious things to most in the wastewater industry. With this lack of knowleadge, leads to many misconceptions. I have hear many times that they dont work, when questioned it is revealed that their opinion is based on a lack experience and training. This includes former Brand Agents, their knowleadge based on information provided by a sales based training ...of the brand. Pictured is a 12year old Biolytix BF6 3000 which has served 4 persons without more than a yearly sump wash and sub-surface drip flush. The only modification was the fitment of a 25mm vents to the sump of the bed on both sides in its fifth year. No worms castings have been removed and it continues to maintain a bed gap between the bed and inlet. The layflat pictured will be directed into the sump inspection shaft (white screw cap) to circulate a chlorine mixture using a vortex pump in place of the standard 32m head pump while the level in the sump is at 450mm. If the bed is retentive this is carried out using a 100lt air blower for 20mins. This will require a extended expanding plug to seal the inspection shaft. The air is pumped through the centre tube of the plug. The air agitates the mixture and contacts the filter layer above the sump. The environment in the sump and the filter should be aerobic, as anaerobic slim will block either. This visit was an alarm call for high level, a megga test confirmed a fused 12 year old disposal pump. High level alarms need to be attended to before the bed is completely flooded to prevent drowning the mostly terrestrial biology in the bed. In most cases the bed will float and provide a haven for the creatures, of which there can be up 260 types of living organisms, the worms and beetles being the main digesters. See more

15.01.2022 The following pics are examples of how not to install a two tank AWTS on a flood prone site. Car tyres and rope are not an acceptable way of anchoring tanks in the ground. These tanks are on a property which has three homes all of which had their tanks "pop" up out of the ground. Added to the lack of ballast and anchors, the tanks have been incorrectly positioned. Tanks are not installed with the connections in a line. Tanks should be connected at 90 or 45 to allow support of the pipes on dug benches on natural ground. This is particularly important in highly reactive clays. Ground forces move tanks and some allowance must be made for movement of pipes and their tank connections or else this happens!

13.01.2022 Our large security staff member, Cooper.

13.01.2022 This will be the beginning of a few posts that will hightlight the lack of knowleadge in the industry. (No pictures in this post) Its been a busy week. We rebuilt a trickling bed system (OZFLO no longer sold) this week which had been serviced by a less than competent service provider. After a sludge test on both tanks it was decided a desludge of both tanks was in order. We were puzzled by the reading in the first tank which had been pumped out not that long ago. The Branste...rs pump out driver told us he had attended to this tank with the service provider and been told to leave the 800mm of sludge in the first tank and pump out the disposal chamber in second. When in fact the whole contents of both tanks should have been removed. The result for the owner was a wasted $900.00 for the pump out. There are basic rules that apply to all treatment process types and one which must be followed is sludge wasting. This knowledge should be known by all persons in the industry, however in NSW because of the lack of control by local government (Council), the lack of a licence for both install and service, and no education level to claim to be able service these systems, homeowners will be at the mercy of idiots, criminals and persons who wont bother to get educated on the basics. Control of this part of the plumbing industry is particularly important as spray disposal of treated effluent continues to be allowed. To be continued. See more

13.01.2022 Attended to a failed Biolytix BF6 PAV3000 on the south coast. Well, where do I start. Tank over flowing on arrival. Pulled the under sized pump out, not a little, a lot under sized 8mhead doesnt take the place of a 30mhead pump. The pump lasted 6months before spitting it. The fitting of the pump gave us a fair idea of the amount of knowledge the technician had. The standard float arc was ignored, the separate starting float was removed as the pump fitted was an auto which al...lowed the float to come on at approximately 550mm water depth. Biolytix beds require no more than 220mm. This causes the final filter to be under water and to top off the 4.9watt air blower was removed. The combination of these two changes allows the sump and filter to turn anaerobic, thus causing a biological retentive bed. The system was treated by additional air sump therapy. At this stage installing a new pump would be a quick way to destroy it. We will return in fourteen days having set up a vortex pump spray system and adding a temporary erosion chlorinator. The contents of the sump was pumped into both 350m2 zones to kill and clean the sub- soil system. The bed was passing water on departure. Unfortunately the electric control box was left open to the tank and corrosion will require gang connections and switches to be replaced along with the air switch. A further investigation of the sub-surface drip is required to ensure all laterals flush evenly. Next visit we will go into more details. See more

12.01.2022 Designed for a water access property featuring a Vermicell (a multi-layer terrestrial wet composter). This gravity drains through a 30watt UV with recirculation to a holding tank. This has both has a disposal pump to drip application and a timed vortex pump which removes sludge back to the composter on a 5 day cycle.

11.01.2022 Coffs Harbor presenting the CET Service & Maintenance Course

11.01.2022 So are those quarterly inspections worth getting done? Are those services worth getting done by a qualified, experienced and knowledgeable wastewater technician and business? These are two systems which have been serviced for the past 12years by two different service providers. The first two pictures are of an Econocycle. The sludge is so high and thick in the clarification chamber both sludge and scum returns would not work and the aeration chamber sludge depth was over the... growth media. NTUs (turbidity) over 200. The verdict on previous companys service sheet "system working well"... The second two pictures are of a Garden Master. The sludge depth in the aeration chamber was deeper than the media. The up flow filter in the clarification chamber would not flow, resulting in high levels through out the system. The sludge pump had long given up. NTUs (turbidity) 400 and again the service sheet from yet another company that used to service this system says "all is well".

10.01.2022 Direct hit by lightning. We have seen concrete systems fair not much better. This burn out a large area of grassland as well.

10.01.2022 Not sure it hasnt been photo shopped, but its amusing.

10.01.2022 Pressure compensating drip disposal installed in 2 zones with auto and return to tank flush. The design provided by the OWMA&D did not mention that the laterals were to be installed on the contour or details of the pipe layout. In this clay based soil the bare pipe drip ideally should be at 600mm spacings. The land application sizing was governed by the nitrogen calculations, which included very low up take values and the output of of a standard secondary AWTS. This resulted in 2 x 300m2 areas.

08.01.2022 This Aerated System is being used to treat sewer from a bay side surburb home. The resulting treated effluent is then pumped to the road level sewer. By treating the sewer the specfic gravity is reduced allowing relatively less power and pump sizing to be used for delivery to the sewer line. Unfortunately the tank which is next to the shoreline has been under mined by stormwater from a broken pipe draining a carpark next door. This has resulted in the retaining wall collapsing and further damage being done by wave erosion. What seems like a simple job to repair requires the removal of the contents of the tank and its removal. Then the building of the platform of the tank and building of the wall. Thankfully the tank is not damaged. All done by barge this will top the $20k mark.

08.01.2022 Some sites just dont want to play the game. Rockheadache!

06.01.2022 The internals of a AX100 Orenco Systems, Inc. filter pod.

06.01.2022 A Vermicell PUV 1200 for a water access holiday home. Excellent for properties that are not used all that often.

05.01.2022 It's been serviced all it's life! The sludge level was 30mm below the static level of the clarified. The inlet was below the anaerobic chamber level, at least the disused original inlet was capped. Pity not one entry point had been correctly sealed to stop root intrusion.

04.01.2022 Latest figures show Australians are building homes 20% larger than the USA. The Accredited 10 person system can not service a 9 bedroom home. In this case we have fitted a Fuji Clean CE 4200. We see many reports across our desk, and have been approved by local government, that allow a 10 person system on 6+ bedroom homes. In soom cases the Local Government Area Development Control Plan has no allowance for anything other than a 10 person system for domestic homes. To comply with stupid local rules requires the installation of two systems. This results in higher costs, both in installation and on going maintenence costs.

02.01.2022 No its not fungi or staining from beetroot, these vivid patches on the bed are juvenile worms, thousands!

02.01.2022 For those in need. Nova Clear wiring diagram.

01.01.2022 The Orenco Systems, Inc. pod and apparatus have arrived now we work a bit of magic to turn it in to a commercial treatment system for Benedict XVI Retreat Centre.

01.01.2022 This is the second set of tanks of the three houses in the previous entry. There is no end to the under handed lengths that this previous installer has gone to covering up his bad planning of this install. As you can see a second entry has been drilled in the septic tank. This reduced the capacity of the tank by 1300lts. The aeration tank capacity has also been reduced. However to enable the tank to function the levels would need to flood the entire sewer pipe system all the ...way back to the house. In other words it would never work correctly. Solution? both tanks removed, holes repaired, sewer tracked back to the house and lifted for correct entry height and fall, new hole dug for tanks. Reconnect tank, commission and test. We wouldnt want to be the installer after the insurance company is finished with them, they plan on recovering their costs. See more

01.01.2022 Kentgrove Village Color is a bit light, the foaming is not good needs sludge wasting and some DO monitoring to set the PLC on this IDEAL system.