Bookmark or Share
Grey Water
Grey water, or gray water, refers to the murky water that results from using sinks, showers, washers, and dishwashers. Grey water is pretty much all internal water usage, except for toilet water, which is known as blackwater (blackwater should not be reused). Up to 80% of the waste water generated in the home can be qualified as grey water, which makes it a prime target for a green solution to find a way to reuse and recycle this resource. Grey water reuse on water heavy hungry things like your plants and lawn is a great alternative, especially if you live in a dry environment that requires a lot of irrigation and manual watering. However, there are some things you should keep in mind if you're thinking about making your grey water into green water.
Grey Water Toxicity
There are several ways to accomplish grey water recycling so that you aren't doing more harm than good. First, you shouldn't be pouring down toxic soaps, shampoos, detergents, and other cleaners down the drain. Try to find eco friendly cleaners so that your grey water is healthy for you and your plants. If you use toxic cleaners, your grey water may actually be blackwater! Let's take a look at the various ways you can recycle grey water before it goes into your plants.
Grey Water Systems
Grey water pre-treatment systems, that is the filtering before you use the water on plants, is a largely DIY (do it yourself) project. The website oasisdesign.net has a large selection of books on the subject, while greywater.com goes into detail on the various types of systems one could use. There doesn't seem to be a packaged system to order because the current demand for grey water systems is still relatively low and the systems are rather bulky and hard to transport. Hopefully this will change with time!Regulations
The legality of using grey water systems vary from state to state and country to country. A good rule of thumb is that new construction or remodeling will probably require following local regulations and/or a permit while a DIY addon to your home will not. However, please check out the compiled list of grey water regulations, though this is not complete, it is a good start if you are serious about reusing your grey water.
World Usage
In developed countries there are usually some sort of regulations and restrictions in place for the usage of grey water. However, in water-starved third world countries there is very little choice and reuse of grey water is a matter of survival. Depending on the types of cleaners these people use, the long term environment and health implications are a major grey area. Not enough research has been done on the effects of reusing grey water and health and environmental issues are still not yet understood. If any of you are reading this article and feel like getting your hands dirty, this is definitely one of those areas that an advancement or solution could result in a huge impact on water usage. Remember, up to 80% of waste water is grey water.