Effluent Bladders: Stephen’s Simple Storage Solution

After thorough research, Stephen reached out to Nevada for help. Mike visited the farm to learn more about it and what Stephen wanted to achieve. He did some storage calculations and suggested two options:

1. Stephen could install a lined effluent pond. This would remove the need for the sump and simply create one larger storage area. However, the ideal site and size of the pond would require significant work due to other infrastructure already in place.
2. He could install a 300 cubic metre effluent bladder tank. Effluent would be pumped to the bladder once the sump reached a certain capacity.

Stephen liked the idea of the bladder.

‘I liked that it would be easy to install and cause minimal disruption to the farm. I’ve got a contract milkers that manage the farm and I wanted something that would be easy to operate.’
Stephen Trenberth – Dairy Farmer

Once Stephen had decided on the effluent bladder option, Mike assisted him through the consent process (consent is not always required for effluent bladders, this depends on the local council).

‘Mike’s been great. He made the whole process simple and easy, including pushing back on a few things.’

Stephen decided to install a second stone trap to ensure no unwanted debris are making their way into the bladder. The original pump will still be used for irrigation, however a second pump with a float switch got installed which will trigger to pump effluent from the sump to the effluent bladder once the sump is 3/4 full.

Stephen’s decision to install the effluent bladder tank proved to be a smart one. Not only did it provide him with the additional storage he needed, but it also ensured compliance with council regulations.