If water may once have been a resource people were inclined to take for granted, we are now learning that isn’t at all the case in many parts of the world, including significant parts of Australia and Africa. Recycling grey water will become an increasingly popular method of smart water conservation. The following guest post from Jim Duer at 21st Century Gardener provides some useful information on this topic, including a link to his AquaLoop grey water recycling system.
Grey water recycling is not a common practice in the US but trends are leaning in this direction. In countries like Australia all new homes are equipped with grey water recycling systems. The amount of fresh water available in Australia is not much different than the Southwestern United States. In fact, some cities are encouraging residents to be more aware of the issue of clean water. Tax incentives are also available for homes that build these systems into the plumbing system. It is likely that homes located in areas of scarce fresh water supply will be required to recycle grey water.
Since this may be a new concept please allow me to explain. Every home or building has at least two types of wastewater. Black water is sewage water that requires treatment at a sewage plant; this water comes from the kitchen sink and water closets. Grey water is water that is produced primarily from the washing machine, lavatory sinks, and showers or bathtubs. This water is contaminated but can be processed and then reused in places such as outdoor irrigation, cloths washing, and toilet flushing. The amounts of water used for toilet flushing and showering nearly equal each other in the average household in the US. That means grey water from laundry and lavatories will cover outdoor water use such as gardening and landscape, washing automobiles, and filling the swimming pool.
The initial costs of these systems are like any other household equipment that will take time to pay off. In comparison please consider the on-demand water heater that has become so popular. The difference in cost between the standard storage tank water heater and the on demand is roughly $1200 dollars. At this rate it will take 10 to 12 years for the on-demand to pay for itself using efficiency ratings and average usage. Unfortunately the payoff happens right around the lifespan of the product.
Now consider the grey water collection systems cost and payoff. The household using 150 gallons per person per day spends approximately $120 per month depending on the region. If the grey water were reclaimed conservatively the water bill could be reduced by one third. The payoff on the grey water collection system is on the high side eight years. Of course this all depends on where the residence is located but you can see the payoff is significantly less than the water heater example. To guarantee a quicker payoff I suggest collecting rainwater and adding it to the recycling system. For people living in Santa Fe, NM the payoff could be as low as four years with a bonus of having water for outdoor use.
The cost of recycling grey water and the investment payoff is much more attractive than most people think. There are also significant benefits to the environment and the community. If you are building a new home you should take into consideration the cost of water and how you can recycle what you use. If your existing home offers access to drain lines please consider a greywater recycling system. The Aqua Loop system, sold exclusively by 21st Century Gardener, is the most inexpensive, easy to use, and highest quality water treatment system on the market.
Graphic credit: 21st Century Gardener
About Glenn Meyers
I am afraid your author is factually wrong. New homes in Australia are not fitted with grey water treatment systems at all. Some new home owners buy grey water systems but most do not. Most of the Australian population live in coastal areas that have relatively consistent rainfall and have no interest in saving water. Populations living in different geographic locations have different attitudes towards keeping gardens and greening the environment so that too creates different attitudes towards saving or producing treated water. To install grey water systems in Australia each state has different laws and regulations and in most council areas it is the council that has last say in what is installed and to what use the treated water can be put. There are no states in the country that will allow treated grey water to be used in swimming pools and that will probably remain the case for many years. There are different incentives in the grants available to encourage waste water treatment – most council areas while subsidising rain water tanks do not subsidise grey water treatment.
The definition of grey water varies from council to council and state to state. The inclusion of kitchen waste and dish washers is not considered grey water in some councils while most regulators understand that the technologies now used to treat grey water have changed dramatically since to original biological systems that were unable to handle FOG – fat, oil and grease and strong dish washing chemicals. The newer technologies can now treat those contaminates with ease and with no odour.
The writer is correct in that the treatment of grey water is well worth considering as grey water is produced every day while waiting for a rain water tank to fill can be a long wait. The payback question really doesn’t work the way it is suggested and using present water rate figures and the system maintenance and running costs the sum can show that it will take 45 -50 years to pay back the investment. Not a good sum if it is only the cost of the investment that concerns you and you have no interest in saving the environment.
Thanks for your clarification!
Good article to help raise awareness and understanding of the importance and potential for greywater systems. We would like to add that when these systems are installed in larger multi-unit residential housing buildings, the value and return on the systems jumps many fold. That is because one system can process many times the gallons of greywater produced by the residents and apply it to the higher use of non-potable water for toilet flushing or irrigation. A typical commercial system can save 1-2 million gallons of municipal water each year at a much lower cost per gallon than a single family residence. For more information, see this link: http://www.wahaso.com/greywater_system.php.
John Bauer, President
Wahaso – Water Harvesting Solutions, Inc.
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Thanks and Regards
Shane Boyle
water treatment
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