- Alan Fielding - Resource Conservation Officer, Palmerston North City Council
- Malcolm Mackay - 90 Rogers Road, Bay View, Napier
- J.C. (Chris) Balemi - PO Box 38 016, Howick, Auckland
- N F Clooney - 20 Nikau Road, Oneroa, Waiheke Island
- Alex and Dean Tully - 1287 Ohauiti Road, RD 3, Tauranga
- Gary Brown - Gary Brown Construction, Oneroa, Waiheke Island
- Rosemary Mosheim - Oneroa, Waiheke Island
- Roy Boonen - 7 Leyland Road, Te Awanga, Hastings
- Ross Gilbert - 147 Onga Onga Road, RD2, Waipawa
- Rodger Pringle - 20 Birchwood Road, Waterloo, Lower Hutt
- Hawke's Bay Environmental Award
Alan Fielding - Resource Conservation Officer, Palmerston North City Council
To Whom It May Concern
Having responsibility for resources conservation and environmental
education in a local authority, I was extremely interested
to meet Don Sorensen and view his invention.
I remember being somewhat taken aback by this product and
wondering why it had not been developed a lot earlier.
With all the uncertainty of longer term climatic changes
and the present periodic droughts in this western region,
such a device is of great value and will become increasingly
so, particularly in peri-urban and rural zones.
The days of the endless water supply at little or no cost
are over. Reality is that water is finite and expensive to
produce at a quality level. Therefore, water will have to
move into the resource management hierarchy of REDUCE, REUSE,
RESTORE AND RECYCLE. Don Sorensen's product is a key
component in doing just that.
I strongly commend his innovative solution.
Alan Fielding
Malcolm Mackay - 90 Rogers Road, Bay View, Napier
An "ECOplus Water Recycling System" was installed
at our property, 89 Rogers Road, on 22 November 1997. It
has been in continuous operation since then.
We originally had the system put in to help overcome a problem
we had with effluent disposal from the septic tank, due to
the soakage field being in too high a water table to cope
with the added water. Our aim was therefore to reduce the
amount of water that was disposed of into this field.
We have continued to have excellent performance from the
system and I am very pleased to say that the effluent disposal
problems that we had before the water recycling system went
in are a thing of the past. We had our septic tank cleaned
last January, which had not previously been done for six
years. We had this done only as a matter of precaution and to take advantage
of access to the tank along the field, which is not always available. Nothing
abnormal was noticed with the performance of the septic tank.
As with any other installation containing water that comes
into contact with human flesh, such as a spa pool, regular
maintenance is required to maintain the water at a suitable
quality. The design of the "ECOplus Water Recycling
System" makes this task easy to accomplish.
Malcolm Mackay
J.C. (Chris) Balemi - PO Box 38 016, Howick, Auckland
Our experience with your greywater recycling system to
date has been excellent.
We use our system in a double holiday unit situation on
Waiheke Island, we don't live on the island so each time
we go over (every couple of weeks) we simply dose the unit
with a couple of Calcium Hyperchloride tablets.
Our guests never know they are using greywater to flush
the toilet. Any excess water is reticulated around the garden,
trees, etc. through 90 metres of plastic ram line. This has
proved very beneficial in the very hot dry summers on Waiheke.
Our unit draws water from two showers, two hand basins,
as well as two washing machines.
My initial reasons for putting the unit in were mainly to
do with my philosophy of environmental sustainability, which
encompasses an efficient use of resources at the same time
as lessening the impact on the environment. Also because
our section is steep, bringing water in would be
a real problem as well as very expensive should we ever need to do it.
In the early stage of planning the extension on our holiday
home, I planned to divert the greywater away from the septic
system and recycle it in some way. When I applied for the
different permits required I was pleased to learn that because
I planned to recycle the greywater, the drainage
approvals proved much easier to get and we did not have to enter into the huge
expense of increasing and improving the septic capacity. I would calculate
this saved us at least ten thousand dollars as well as a lot of work and hassle.
I would recommend these greywater units in any situation
where the greywater can be separated, to my way of thinking,
the whole system makes a great deal of sense.
J.C. (Chris) Balemi
N F Clooney - 20 Nikau Road, Oneroa, Waiheke Island
Just thought I would drop you a line thanking you for supplying
us with our ECOplus Water Recycling System.
Since fitting the system we have found that it has significantly
reduced our water usage. Being on tank water and relying
on rain water, conservation is a big issue for us as buying
water is expensive on the island. Before installing this
system we were buying 4 to 5 loads of water each summer,
but
since installing the system we have never had to buy any water at all which
is a very big saving for us even when we had a lot of extras staying over the
summer our water usage has been much less than before.
The other factor for us has been that we also have very
poor draining soil where we live so the added bonus of the
system is less water in the septic tank so it is absorbed
quicker though the drainage field and so our section is a
lot drier in the winter.
I would not hesitate to recommend the system to anyone and
have often mentioned it to friends who have also installed
it.
Congratulations on a wonderful invention and I wish you
all the success for the future.
N F Clooney
Alex and Dean Tully - 1287 Ohauiti Road, RD 3, Tauranga
We have owned an ECOplus Water Recycling System for over
three years now and would not hesitate to recommend the system.
We installed the system because we have a rainwater tank
as our only water supply and a septic tank which takes all
our household water waste.
The ECOplus Water Recycling System enables us
to water our gardens even during a drought without feeling
guilty. Even in a water shortage families need to wash clothes
and shower. Without a recycling system this water would be
going straight into the septic tank but once it has passed
through the ECOplus system it is perfectly OK to use for watering
the garden.
Your average toilet uses around 10 litres of water for each
flush. By using the ECOplus system in our toilet we are not only saving
water, which we can use to drink and wash with, but we are
also avoiding septic tank soakage problems.
Although we originally purchased a ECOplus system because we live
in a rural area without urban water or sewage facilities,
we believe water recycling systems would be hugely beneficial
in urban areas. Cities and towns often suffer from water
shortages and waste water treatment problems. If in the future
we move house and end up living in an urban area we would seriously look into
getting a water recycling system.
Alex and Dean Tully
Gary Brown - Gary Brown Construction, Oneroa, Waiheke Island
Dear Don,
I have had an ECOplus Water Recycling System installed at one of
my rental properties for over two years now.
The reason I originally installed it was because the site coverage is only
650 m², so therefore with the house there was insufficient room for conventional
septic drainage.
To date we have no septic problems. The four soak holes
are coping with the outflow.
As you are aware on Waiheke we use rainwater supply so water
usage is just as important as drainage. The ECOplus System has
proven to conserve water as well as ease the out flow from
the septic tank. Estimated water saving is up to 30%
We have found we have been able to extend maintenance periods
with no problems.
Don, as I own 5 properties in all on Waiheke, eventually
I would like to have an ECOplus System installed at all my properties.
Gary Brown
Rosemary Mosheim - Oneroa, Waiheke Island
Dear Don,
We have had one of your greywater recycling systems for
several years now and it has made a real difference to our
water problems. Living on an Island we always have to be
mindful of our water use as we only have a 5000 gal. tank
and when we get the least rain we have the most use with
family and grand children coming to stay over the summer.
It is great being able to flush the toilet each time knowing
we are not draining precious fresh water.
One bonus there is that, any stain in the toilet bowl is
always so easy to clean now, - no more toilet cleaners required,
just a brush is sufficient. I am allergic to these cleaners
so I am very pleased.
Many of our neighbours seem to have grey mushrooms all over
their sections, which we haven’t had to have with just
the four neat green lids showing above the plants. We intend
putting a wooden deck over with a lift up section to get
at them. Atheistically they are much more pleasing and the
operation runs quietly.
In the summer it is a great water conserver –we run
an automatic washing machine, dishwasher, 2 showers and two
toilets and in the winter it relieves the dampness at the
back of the section by cutting down our wastewater. We are
on heavy clay that does not drain well.
Any excess in the tanks is a bonus for the garden in the
summer.
Thank you for your product. We have showed it to many of
our friends and our builder was so impressed with it he put
one in his own home.
The service for this product is excellent.
Yours sincerely,
Rosemary Mosheim
P.S. Since we have had your system we have had our septic
tank cleaned out and we were told it was looking very healthy
and working well.
Roy Boonen - 7 Leyland Road, Te Awanga, Hastings
Dear Don,
We installed the ECOplus Water Recycling system one year ago, after putting up with
an overloaded septic tank and soak field for five years.
The lawn that is over the soakage field would become saturated during winter, with
pools of water at the far end. This was clearly a health issue, and our efforts to
resolve this problem had all failed. Until ECOplus.
Since installing this system we have had no more problems with the lawn being unduly
saturated, and there is no more smell.
It is also great to have the extra water to use on the garden
Yours sincerely,
Roy Boonen
Ross Gilbert - 147 Onga Onga Road, RD2, Waipawa, Hawke's Bay To Whom It May Concern Two years ago I heard from a workmate about a new system for recycling grey water. I have a lifestyle block in rural Waipawa, Central Hawkes Bay so water is a huge issue for us. The previous owner and ourselves had constant problems with the septic tank system. It is a traditional one with a normal length soak line. Our soil is a heavy shale pan with only a shallow depth of topsoil. The shale is not water absorbent and is virtually impervious to water. Because of this the soak field did not work and the topsoil quickly became and remained a smelly bog. Despite all efforts this could not be fixed on a permanent basis. Central Hawkes Bay is a very dry, drought prone area so gardens are difficult to establish and keep lush when water is in short supply over the summer months. I made contact with Don from ECOplus and within a few days he was at our place to explain the system and make some recommendations. Because of our desire to water the garden with the grey water as well as the septic tank problem, Don designed us a system that made this more efficient. The system was very easy to install and is unobtrusive. I set up a watering system to water a stretch of shrub and flower garden approximately 40 meters by 3 meters. This worked so well that I have now put another irrigation line of the same length and switch between the two. The garden is watered automatically every day with 200 plus litres of grey water with no timers or taps to turn on and off. The irrigation water does not smell at all and looks no different to normal tap water when going on the garden. There is no film or residue of any type on the plants or soil. The major benefit of the ECOplus system has been for our septic tank. Because of the highly reduced volume of water going into the tank, the field has now dried up and is working as it should. There is no doubt that this solution was the cheapest of all except ignoring the problem. The concept of not wasting water, but putting it to practical use appeals to us and we can rightly feel that we are doing our little bit for conservation and the environment. The back up service has been second to none and I have no hesitation in recommending ECOplus, be it to help solve a septic tank problem, water shortage or garden irrigation. I am more than happy for anyone to contact me or come and have a look at how the system works for us. Ross Gilbert
Rodger Pringle - 20 Birchwood Road, Waterloo, Lower Hutt 28th May 2011 Since purchasing our new ECOplus system from Don and the team at WasteWater Recycling we have been totally impressed with the way in which we've been able to save , neigh make water. It's a fantastic concept and working system and as the world becomes more dependent on water, I'm sure these systems will become highly sought after. A quiet little pump, fully automated and needs minimal attention. Instructions and User Manual are more than clear and friendly. Thanks WasteWater Recyling. Rodger Pringle
Hawke's Bay Environmental Award ECOplus has also been awarded 'best product or service' in the Hawke's Bay Environmental Awards:  
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