A SOUTH AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE

We deploy advanced Gyroid™ filtration systems that capture pollutants at the source — before they enter rivers, lakes or the marine environment.

Our stormwater solutions:

• remove microplastics, hydrocarbons, sediment, nutrients and algae-seeding particles
• operate passively with low maintenance
• integrate easily with council outlets, culverts and drains
• provide data for pollution mapping and compliance reporting

This helps councils and agencies prevent harmful blooms, protect beaches, and reduce long-term maintenance and remediation costs.

We apply next-generation sorbent materials and Gyroid™ PFAS-selective filtration to intercept PFAS at extremely low energy and low pressure.

Our PFAS solutions:

• operate without high-pressure membranes or expensive thermal destruction
• capture PFAS precursors and fine fractions often missed in traditional systems
• support circular recovery instead of landfill or incineration
• provide scalable units for airports, industrial sites, fire training grounds and councils

This gives South Australia a practical pathway for PFAS compliance at a fraction of the cost and complexity of legacy approaches.

We can support desalination plants by filtering post-RO discharge streams to reduce chemical signatures and protect marine receiving environments.

Our post-RO use case includes:

• interception of ferric, bisulphite, antiscalants, acids and cleaning residues
• polishing filtration to reduce toxicity in outfalls
• adaptable systems that integrate with existing infrastructure
• circular recovery options for mineral-rich residues

This helps operators and regulators meet environmental obligations and improve ecological outcomes in sensitive coastal zones.

We transform captured pollutants and stormwater sediments into valuable materials instead of waste.

Circular Seed and partner technologies enable:

• recovery of magnesium, calcium, iron, silicates and carbonates
• conversion of captured sludge into pavers, tiles, composites and aggregates
• zero-landfill, zero-incineration pathways
• local manufacturing and regional job creation

This turns water contamination into a new local circular economy for South Australia.

We help builders, civil contractors and major project operators manage runoff, reduce fines, and protect nearby waterways.

Our solutions:

• intercept hydrocarbons, sediment, microplastics and site wash-down pollutants
• operate in confined or temporary construction-zone environments
• reduce EPA risk exposure and compliance breaches
• allow safe reuse, recycling or circular recovery of filtered materials

This supports environmentally responsible development across urban and regional South Australia.

We support councils and agencies in reducing nutrient loads that fuel harmful algal blooms and coastal degradation.

Our systems:

• remove particulate phosphorus
• limit algal seeding particles
• reduce turbidity and suspended solids
• support healthier marine and estuarine ecosystems

This strengthens long-term water resilience across catchments and coastlines.

We provide detailed pollutant mapping to help governments understand what is entering their stormwater networks and where intervention is needed.

Our services include:

• source-tracing and hotspot identification
• particulate and microplastic load assessments
• high-resolution reporting for grants, planning and policy
• GIS-compatible outputs for infrastructure planning

This helps councils shift from reactive response to proactive prevention.

We assist councils, state agencies, industries and communities with the knowledge to improve environmental outcomes.

Our support includes:

• educational programs on stormwater, HABs, PFAS and microplastics
• transparent reporting for stakeholders and elected members
• guidance on circular pathways and waste-to-value transitions
• alignment with State Government sustainability and water-quality priorities

This empowers South Australians to understand, manage and protect their waterways.

 Ballast Water Filtration

Preventing Marine Biosecurity, PFAS & Pollution Pathways with SAWI’s Gyroid Interception Technology

A Critical Pathway for Marine Risk

Ballast water is one of the most significant and under-addressed pathways for:

• Invasive marine species introduction
• Harmful algal bloom (HAB) seeding and re-seeding
• Pathogen transfer
• Fine particulate and nutrient loading
• Legacy and emerging contaminants, including PFAS
   

Every year, millions of tonnes of ballast water are discharged into Australian ports, harbours and coastal waters. While international conventions focus on organism viability, they do not address the nutrient, particulate and contaminant loads carried with that water.

This is a gap SAWI is designed to close.

SAWI’s Approach: Interception, Not Just Compliance

SA Water Innovation (SAWI) is not focused on minimum compliance.
We are focused on risk reduction.

Our ballast water strategy is built around physical interception of pollutant carriers before they enter South Australia’s marine environments.

Central to this approach is the deployment of the SORR Gyroid polymeric interception material — a passive, non-chemical filtration medium designed to capture:

• fine suspended solids
• organic loads
• hydrocarbons
• toxic metals
• PFAS
• and biofilm-associated organisms
   

This is not a biocide.
This is not a chemical treatment.
This is physical removal of risk.

Why Ballast Water Matters to South Australia

South Australia’s marine environment is uniquely sensitive:

• high endemism
• seagrass-dependent fisheries
• shellfish aquaculture zones
• reef and nursery habitats
• and semi-enclosed gulfs vulnerable to nutrient accumulation
   

Ballast discharge into these systems introduces not just organisms, but the very nutrient and particulate loads that enable blooms and ecosystem stress.

If we are serious about preventing:

• HAB outbreaks
• biosecurity incursions
• and cumulative nutrient loading
   

then ballast water must be part of the prevention strategy.

The Gyroid Advantage

The SORR Gyroid material was originally developed for hydrocarbon recovery and has since been independently validated to adsorb:

• PFAS (including PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS)
• Toxic metals (including copper, mercury, arsenic)
• High organic and particulate loads
   

This makes it uniquely suited to ballast water interception, where contaminants are often:

• particle-bound
• biofilm-associated
• and transported as part of mixed pollutant loads
   

How SAWI Deploys Gyroid for Ballast Filtration

SAWI’s ballast water model is designed to be:

• Non-invasive to vessel systems
• Low energy or passive
• Rapidly deployable at port infrastructure
• Compatible with existing ballast operations
• Reversible and recoverable
   

The Gyroid material can be deployed as:

• inline filtration modules
• discharge point interception systems
• port-side capture systems
• or temporary risk-reduction barriers during high-risk periods
   

This allows SAWI to work with:

• port authorities
• terminal operators
• shipping lines
• and regulators
  without requiring major vessel modification.

What We Are Removing

Ballast water carries more than organisms. It carries:

• nutrient-rich fine particulate 
• organic matter that fuels bloom 
• metals and industrial residues from source ports
• PFAS and persistent pollutants
• biofilm fragments and microbial communities
  

By intercepting these carriers, SAWI is not just meeting a regulation —
we are reducing the conditions that allow damage to occur.

Why This Matters for HAB Prevention

Harmful algal blooms are not random events. They are enabled by:

• nutrient availabilit 
• organic loading
• stable water conditions
• and repeated seeding
   

Ballast water is a recognised pathway for:

• algal species transfer
• cyst transport
• and ecosystem destabilisation
   

SAWI’s interception model is designed to reduce both the seeding risk and the nutrient load — addressing cause, not just consequence.

A Smarter, Safer Model

SAWI’s ballast water filtration approach is:

• Non-chemicals
• Non-toxic
• No biocides
• No secondary pollution
• No energy-intensive processing
   

It is a physical, reversible intervention aligned with:

• marine ecosystem protection
• port operational realities
• and community expectations
   

Our Position

Ballast water is not just a shipping issue.
It is a coastal protection issue.
It is a biosecurity issue.
It is a HAB risk issue.
It is a water quality issue.

SA Water Innovation is integrating ballast water interception into a broader prevention-first framework that includes:

• stormwater pathway control
• coastal interception
• industrial discharge risk reduction
• and habitat protection
   

The Gyroid system gives us a practical tool to do this — now.

In Summary

SAWI’s ballast water filtration strategy using SORR Gyroid material provides:

• physical interception of pollutant carriers
• reduction of nutrient and particulate loads
• disruption of PFAS and contaminant pathways
• lower risk of invasive species and HAB seeding
• a deployable, low-impact solution for ports and terminals
   

This is not about treating symptoms.
This is about closing pathways.