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Introduction

The infrastructure of Nature's Valley differs from in so far as it is fairly isolated from the rest of the world.It is low lying at the mouth of a river and sandwiched in between mountains at the bottom of a pass. Potable water is obtained from a purification plant drawing water from the river. No sewerage plant exists and use is made of septic and concervancy tanks.

Franscois Wagener (Chairman)

Mission:

To investigate and monitor the  Nature's Valley infrastructure, recommend improvements and points of concern to the Bitou municipality and to report  to all ratepayers on an ongoing basis.

Objective Long Term:

To maintain and improve the infrastructure of Nature's Valley with special emphasis on the rectification of ground water pollution.
To improve the quality of roads. Short Term: To prepare a plan for the rectification of pollution problems.
To prepare a plan for the upgrading and repair to Nature's Valley roads.

Background Nature's

Valley lies virtually at sea level and as such water does not drain away easily. It lies in a basin and is surrounded by the sea and river on the one side and mountains on the other.
Waste water is difficult to manage in such an environment and where properties are in low lying areas, such as Forest Drive, the problem becomes even more difficult.
The tarred roads in Nature's Valley are being eroded and broken away by a number of factors like passing vehicles driving off the road and chipping away on the verges as well as the roads becoming water logged and breaking up when it rains.  

Project Status

The following projects are in progress:
The sinking of strategically calculated boreholes throughout the Valley to determine the level of pollution in order to formulate and present a  solution for waste water handling to the ratepayers and Bitou.
An investigation to control traffic on Nature's Valley roads to minimize the eroding of road verges and the feasibility of  instituting one way traffic on our main tarred roads.

Sewage do’s and don’ts Conservancy

tanks:  Phone 044 531 2057 for the sewage removal service (“honey sucker”) at least 2 days in advance to avoid overflow panic calls.  If their service is slow or poor, please record details of time and clerk on duty and report to the NVRA office, tel. 044 531 6668 Spillage presents a serious health risk, please report spillage time, place and tanker no. , to the NVRA office, 044 531 6668.
Septic tank plus soakaway systems If your “soak away” is situated in an area where there is at least 1,4m of sandy soil above the water table, you should have trouble free service from your system, provided you stick to the following simple guidelines:
Don’t overload a system which was probably designed for a certain number of bathrooms, toilets and bedrooms, with two people per bedroom.
Don’t kill the organisms that need to do the job, i.e. don’t flush or drain chemical disinfectants or bleaches, nicotine, petroleum products, chlorine etc; use only products specified to be safe for use in septic tanks.
Don’t flush indigestible materials, e.g. plastic bags, sanitary towels, household sweepings, etc
Use only good quality toilet paper and use it sparingly
Don’t wash beach sand down the bath or shower drain
Do boost a system which has been in disuse or in heavy demand by a dosage of a product such as “Sannitree”, “Saniteck”, “Septic Tank Reviver”, etc
• In time sediment accumulation will inevitably
reduce your tank’s capacity, which must then be pumped out. As a rough guide, a 3-bedroomed house with permanent occupation by 4 people may require cleaning after 3 to 5 years.
• Don’t ever allow fluid from your system to seep onto the surface or reach the surface drainage system. Those who do so are guilty of creating a serious health threat.
In a crisis, call in the municipal tanker to drain your septic tank.