Arris Blog

Arris is thrilled to announce that our Rhizopod^®/RET onsite wastewater treatment and reuse system has now been granted product approval by the Department of Health in South Australia. This greatly simplifies the design approvals process for the installation of this technology in SA. The Rhizopod^® has been successfully used in Queensland for 15 years.

The Rhizopod^® system is an on-site wastewater treatment and reuse technology that takes advantage of evapotranspiration – the use of water from the soil by evaporation and by transpiration from plants. This product is a unique, completely contained, recirculating pod system. It utilises beneficial plants that treat and use the wastewater produced from a site. The pods resemble a raised garden bed and a wide range of plants are suitable for use.

The Rhizopod^® system is the result of 15 years of research and development. The oldest systems have worked continuously for 15 years with no external irrigation or soakage trenches. Examples of Rhizopods in operation:

• Hindmarsh Island SA, where normal set-backs could not be achieved between soakage trenches and the Murray River Mouth
• Bororen Qld, where the combination of high effluent flow and poor soil conditions meant that the only option was a closed system
• Gem Air Caravan Park, Queensland, this award winning system is the largest no-release system install with a peak flow of 30 kL/day, this site had problems with: set-back distances, highly variable flows and poor soil conditions

The Rhizopod^® system has been successfully used in conjunction with holding tanks to significantly lower (in some cases to zero) the number of pump outs. The Rhizopod system has also been used in conjunction with recycled water irrigation systems. In this situation, the Rhizopod provides additional treatment and reduces the amount of irrigation water. The standard configuration is ‘no-release’ but other applications are possible and have been successfully used for over a decade.

The Rhizopod^® water treatment and beneficial reuse system is:

• Environmentally responsible onsite wastewater treatment,
• Low energy requirement,
• Sites with poor soils
• Ideal for decentralised locations,
• Ideal for environments where traditional leach or soakage drains cannot work,
• Can be installed where set back distances or space is a limiting factor,
• An enclosed recirculating system enabling no-release or limited release configurations,
• Rhizopods ™ to treat effluent lowering nutrients, solids, and BOD,
• Beneficially uses plants and evapotranspiration for use and treat effluent water, and
• Low maintenance and low operational cost where traditional systems cannot be used.

The Rhizopod system can even be retrofitted to existing holding tank installations to provide advanced treatment and reduce the cost of offsite disposal.

Arris the exclusive holder of the license has partnered with Hydroscape Pty Ltd for the use and installation of Rhizopod. For more information, contact Ben Kele 0407 268 069 or Tim Woods on 0409 840 515, or to read more about our Rhizopod/RET onsite wastewater treatment system, visit Rhizopod.