A couple of times a day people use the bathroom sink to wash up or brush their teeth. Several times a week families do one or more loads of laundry depending on the size of family.
Where does all of that used water go? If you have a septic system this water mixes with your black water (from flushing toilets) and eventually goes into the septic tank and drain fields. Possible ground or drinking water contamination could result. If you live in a municipality it might go into the sanitary sewer system. In many parts of the country fresh water is scarce, especially during the hotter seasons of the year. Lawn watering contributes a great deal to freshwater depletion. Lower reservoirs, wells and rivers result from increased fresh water usage.
There may be a better way. Gray water systems allow homeowners to filter gray water for use in watering gardens, yards and plants. Not disposing of gray water into septic systems keeps the septic tank and drain field from becoming overtaxed with fluids. In cities the sanitary sewer system also benefits from less volume of gray water to treat and process which would decrease the treatment load and expense.
Ignorance of the facts contribute to the reason behind the lack of acceptance in using gray water systems. In the vast majority of septic or sewer systems, the gray water from showers and laundry mix with the black water from the toilets and go into a septic tank or down the public sewer. The mixed grey and black water then goes into the drain field to be dispersed underground.
There are basically two types of gray water systems, gravity fed manual systems and package systems. The manual systems do not require electricity or pumps because they work on gravity taking the gray water to the area needed. They may require a larger yard area to install the system outside. Packaged systems require electricity but are self-contained and can be installed indoors. With each option codes and local ordinances must be considered.
Manual gravity fed gray water systems can vary greatly in their design. Some use various means of filtering. Others dispose of the gray water while some store gray water for watering plants, lawns and gardens. Local codes may restrict or dictate the type of system you install. Here’s a great book on manual gray water systems available from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0964343304?tag=cedahousinnyu-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0964343304&adid=0B27XZEXZG0TQRKGD87T&
Packaged gray water systems are difficult to find in the USA. In fact very few are manufactured in the USA. Most are made by companies in drought prone areas like Australia. One issue with gray water systems is code approvals in the US. As I mentioned earlier many local and state health officials do not understand gray water reuses. Some systems available in the US contain a tank to filter and hold the gray water. Installing some of these systems in an existing home can be expensive depending on where the gray water system is located since filtered gray water must be piped separately from black water from the toilet. Most local codes now require a low flow or dual flush toilet. A segregated system would allow using the gray water for the yard and gardens and collect gray water in a plastic storage tank to reuse. Such an arrangement may not meet local codes since the stored gray water can harbor bacteria. Those systems that hold gray water in storage tanks longer that 24 hours require disinfection with chlorine or UV light. Watering a flower garden or yard with chlorinated water could be detrimental to plants. So if you consider installing a gray water system make sure you are aware of the maintenance requires
I prefer a gray water system that filters the gray water and directly discharges the water into the yard. When yard watering is not required the gray water could go into the sanitary sewer or septic system or help replenish a small pond. Such systems exist in Australia and other drought prone areas of the world.
Here is a web site with some state (not all and not necessarily current) regulations http://www.gray water-systems.com/regs.htm
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