Author: Ollan Herr

From media reports it appears that there are worrying and often growing levels of pharmaceutical pollution being measured in our surface waters. Discharges from farms, municipal sewage treatment plants and septic tanks are the source of these chemicals. Anti biotics and hormone medicines that are consumed and excreted by humans and farm animals are causing un-natural damage to the health...

As the world’s population continues to grow, mankind needs to produce more food.There is therefore an ever-increasing demand for synthetic and mineral fertilizers suchas phosphorus. Phosphorus however is one of the nutrients in wastewater that mankindis wasting into our surface waters. We extract the mineral phosphorus from mines. The production of phosphorus fertilizerrequires the use of sulfuric acid. It is...

The devastating impact of the COVID pandemic and the associated lock down has given many of us a renewed appreciation of our natural surroundings and our fragile ecosystem. The focus on climate change and the general health of our plant has to date been focused on our carbon footprint but there is now a growing understanding of the need to...

The HANAPAK human urine treatment system is a new nature based method to treat a large part of the waste water nutrients in new Eco Houses. The separation of human urine and toilet solids from domestic waste water will prevent most of the nitrates and almost half of the phosphates from polluting ground water. The protection of ground water from...

United Nations Sustainability Goal 6 Water A Challenge for New House Building To end the wasting and dumping of phosphates, nitrates and potash from septic tanks into the ground  To protect the water quality in nearby rivers from these nutrient pollutants  To play a part in returning streams and rivers to their former pristine unpolluted condition and  To increase recycling and the...

With the latest water shortages in Skerries, County Dublin, should new buildings in Ireland be required to have Rainwater Harvesting Systems? Gravity based systems would cost less to install and operate. Every so often some community in Ireland has to manage without a reliable mains water supply. It’s the turn now of the people of Skerries to have to make...

Avoid hose bans and protect your home from water shortages by treating and recycling your own Grey Water.  The summer of 2018 will be remembered for the intense heat and the extended long dry period. Indeed likewise most of North America and Europe has been suffering from the same extended heat wave and drought. . https://www.pressreader.com/ireland/irish-independent/20180711/281706910445471 The report from Paul Melia 11 th July...

The national hose ban looks like it will be with us for months. With this present national and international heat wave being linked to climate change and with the increasing probability of more long term droughts; all new house buildings should install at least one waterless toilet in response to future water crisis situations.    Due to Climate Change, it’s...