Wastewater pioneer back to clean up

After a five-year hiatus, New Zealand’s pioneer of advanced wastewater treatment has returned with a new company and a new system that once again promises to set the standard for rural wastewater use.

Austin Bluewater is the latest venture of former hydraulics engineer Lew Austin, who in 1991 rolled out the country’s first standalone systems for turning kitchen, laundry, toilet and other everyday waste into clean irrigation water.

It helped define the industry for a generation and set the stage for reforms to the Resource Management Act that saw in Austin’s bio-film model a solution to the thousands of aged, polluting septic tanks scattered across the country.

With awareness of water quality now at an all-time high, Austin is back in business at Rolleston after years of research and international travel.

The system we have now is, I believe, the most adaptable. It’s the most economic, it’s simple to operate, and it’s going to last a long time. Lew Austin Austin Bluewater

Joining him at the new Austin Bluewater business is a team of some of the industry’s most familiar faces, working to deliver systems built from the latest technologies to emerge out of Japan, Scandinavia and the United States.

Any scale or location can be catered for, Austin says, from the rural household on a hilly slope in Golden Bay to the regional council grappling with peak flows in the tourist season.

Wastewater, if you listen to Austin, has never been more exciting.

‘‘It’s a very technical industry that I have a real passion for. I’ve been doing this a long time and there are lots of other systems out there, but they’re either very expensive or expensive to maintain.

‘‘The system we have now is, I believe, the most adaptable. It’s the most economic, it’s simple to operate, and it’s going to last a long time,’’ he says.

‘‘We’ve gone for quality every step of the way.’’

A new era

Austin Bluewater’s flagship wastewater treatment system, the ABS 2000, improves on several aspects of earlier models.

Instead of one aeration unit, the ABS has two giant bubblers, each in its own chamber. It’s a first for New Zealand and doubles up on the system’s main method of purification.

A purpose-built water clarification chamber also features among the system’s six zones, all of which are housed in a frame of exceptionally strong, 45MPa concrete.

Lightweight polyethylene tanks that can be carried to hard-to-reach places by boat, helicopter or trailer are also available. However, it is the concrete of Canterbury that keeps Austin so close to his hometown.

‘‘We’ve got some of the best gravels in the world here and we can manufacture concrete less expensively here than anywhere else.

‘‘A house foundation is about 20MPa. This is twice the strength of that, so it’s a very structurally sound product,’’ he says.

For the homeowner who wants a minimum of fuss, Austin Bluewater covers all bases.

An electronic panel on their systems alerts users if a pump, aeration device or filter needs attention, and lets owners know when it’s time to get the sludge pumped out.

It also monitors daily usage and automatically scales back operation to save power if users go on holiday.

Maintenance services can be provided by Austin Bluewater, and even in the earliest stages the company can navigate the consenting process for landowners.

‘‘We can go out and look at soil structures, the size of the property and other factors, then recommend what type of system they should have. We make it very easy for people,’’ Austin says.

‘‘I enjoy the industry, so it doesn’t feel like work at all.’’

Austin did try to give it all up for a while. After selling his business almost six years ago, he bought a house in the Marlborough Sounds with a view to retiring.

A lifelong engineer, he couldn’t rest on his laurels, though, and soon found himself discovering ways to advance earlier designs.

Back with him now is his brother, Steve Austin, who oversees logistics, and concreting expert Greg Neill, who is in charge of production. Lew’s daughter, Melissa McDonald, is involved in marketing.

A lean operation is part of the appeal this time, Steve says.

‘‘We bend over backwards for a client and we can do it because we’re small and we move fast,’’ he says.

‘‘We can cut through the red tape. We have a lot of experience in what we do.’’

Austin Bluewater owner Lew Austin, left, his daughter Melissa McDonald and his brother Steve Austin display one of the advanced bacteriological filters the Rolleston-based company uses in its state-of-the-art wastewater treatment systems. The team...