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"Aqua-brooks" About Us

Deryck Brooks was from Zimbabwe, a land-surveyor by profession, and has been an inventor since 1953, filing his first patent in 1965. Among his inventions are interlocking concrete blocks to prevent erosion, interlocking paving, combining bacteria to optimize septic tanks, fly traps, a disposal method for chicken carcasses and in 1984, the Aqua-brooks float valve.

This float valve featured in articles in the Sunday Times Business Times (3 times), The Star, Landbou Weekblad, Farmers' Weekly, Management and Eureka magazines.

It earned Deryck a special Barnib Industrial Inventiveness Award and was runner-up in the Plastics Federation Design Awards in 1984. He took out a mortgage on his house in Montgomery Park to get the float valve on to the market as a water saver for toilet cisterns. It came into use in roof tanks, water troughs and swimming pools. Over time the Aqua-brooks became the "Ball Valve for the Farmer" and continues to be a low-cost and effective alternative to long-arm, brass, ball-float valves.

In 2005, having sold in excess of 200 000 float valves, Deryck became ill with various lung complaints related to sliding down asbestos waste dumps in his youth, smoking and breathing hazardous chemicals during his career as an inventor and manufacturer.

He has sold the business to Jonathan Vieler, a mining geologist by training, but continues to consult to Aqua-brooks on technical issues. Deryck now has time to get back into his garage and pursue his career as an inventor. Jonathan and a technician trained by Deryck, Theophilus Dlamini, continue with the production and sale of Aqua-brooks valves out of Greenside, Johannesburg.

Water remains a scarce resource, particularly in Africa. We have a vision of the Aqua-brooks float valve as the "Float Valve for Africa" and to this end are planning to distribute beyond the borders of South Africa. We are also looking at simple and inexpensive water management and information systems, based around the Aqua-brooks float valve.