Grey Water Guerrillas
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.31.07
We have written about going off-pipe, about the problems with society's methods of managing waste water. We did not know that there was a movement, and like movements everywhere, a manifesto: Dam Nation — Dispatches from the Water Underground, edited by Cleo Woelfle-Erskine, Laura Allen and July Oskar Cole. According to the New York Times, they are "a team focused on promoting and installing clandestine plumbing systems that recycle gray water — the effluent of sinks, showers and washing machines — to flush toilets or irrigate gardens." with a mission: “It’s about trying to use resources to their full potential and interact with ecosystems in a beneficial way.”
This is not just using a hose to spray your garden with shower water, this is a sophisticated recovery system. the picture above shows "A pipe running from the house deposits shower and sink water into an elevated bathtub in the yard that is filled with gravel and reeds, and the roots of plants begin filtering and absorbing contaminants. The water then flows into a second, lower, tub, also containing a reedbed, before flowing into a still-lower tub of floating water hyacinths and small fish."
Building codes are pretty restrictive about plumbing and most of these systems would not pass inspection; Thus the Underground movement. However reading excerpts from the website, one realizes that they are on to something bigger. Their chapter on composting toilets hits some of the notes we have talked about on TreeHugger:
"Reputable research in urban and rural settings worldwide has shown that human excreta can be collected simply and inexpensively, can be processed to remove harmful pathogens, and can then be put to use as nutrient-rich fertilizer. In the process, ecological sanitation can reconnect us to human waste as a valuable resource. Through nutrient cycles, we are intrinsically and symbiotically connected to plants: we eat plant foods, and plants turn the nutrients we
excrete back into food. This is known as a closed loop system. In the industrial world, most such natural cycles have long been broken. Ecological sanitation closes the loop."- we don't need to be connected to a massive sewer system if we know how to deal with it ourselves.
:: DamNation via ::New York Times
Something I'm looking for is a way to use the water that flows out of my central air system to flush my toilet automatically. I get about 2.5 gallons a day, which should be enough for a couple flushes. Unfortunately, I have no easy way of getting it out of the basement.
This is going to face some uphill battles. Can people be trusted enough with cisterns to not have them become reservoirs for mosquito larvae? Maybe enlightened green people yes, but the more this catches on, the more the risk of idiots not doing it right.
Talk to an every day Australian mate there is an overwhelming number of people who rely solely upon cistern rain water for their household usage.
Australians are probably self-reliant enough to handle a cistern properly, but so many Americans are un-educated about the dangers of larvae, even enviro-conscious people. I think rainwater use is a great idea, but maybe someone should research an oil to inhibit the growth of larvae that isn't also poisonous to humans, as petroleum is. Citrus oil?
It's new all over again...
I have childhood memories of my grandparents in San Jose using their grey water for the garden.
Their lifestyle seemed to have taken the impact of WWII and carry that reduce/reuse ethos the rest of their life.
for as long as i can remember we have always had a pipe that runs from the clothes washer out in the yard so we can use that water for the grass. Living in Texas, some summers that is the only water is would get all summer.
I live in Albuquerque, NM--the heart of the desert. I have "swamp" (evaporative) coolers. My plumbing has some sort of flaw that requires several (2-4) minutes of full power flow to get hot water to reach most fixtures. (I timed the kitchen, and it takes 6 minutes of full flow to get hot water to the kitchen sink!) I am currently trying to reduce my energy usage via home remodel--new windows, a new furnace, etc. Can you suggest inline heaters or anything to reduce water waste at my fixtures? I have learned of a pump/manifold system that constantly circulates HOT water through the plumbing, but that sounds like a huge waste of fossil fuels (nat. gas hot water). I am looking at the "on-demand" hot water heaters to replace my hot water storage tank, but I can't find accurate, useful information on these types of plumbing retrofits--any suggestions?!!?
My friends are telling me the beautiful lakes in northern California are getting lower and lower...the temperatures getting hotter each summer...time to think ecology again...
I am a plumber and ready to start to save our water tables..How about starting at your house?
Addressing the long wait for hot water at the sink.
there are several kinds of recirculation.
Most use the cold line to circulate the unused water back to the water heater, if you insulate your pipes, that is a help and a pain unless you can access the pipe route easily..
Or you can ad a pipe back to the cold water inlet on water heater bypassing the cold water pipe option(insulate the hot water and cold pipes anyway.
PEX is a good and very long lasting and if you can string a garden hose you can run PEX, its very easy to work with.
the pipe and parts are standarized . It is easy to cut and to put the fittings on. You will have to buy a few tools, but it will last a lifetime. There are some tests being run on some pieces that have been under heat and pressure for about 23 years with no failure.
You will need a pump those are low energy use type.
Now for the second part.
You can get an automatic valve that comes two versions.
One has a thermostat that senses when the temp drops by an adjustible preset, the other is on a timer.
Your other choice is a simply a button you push to start the pump and it will circulate the cooled water back to the tank.
The instant water heaters are very nice option too.
the come in several levels. whole house,. they are fast and efficient. If your kitchen and baths are far apart then you will need more than one. They cost between 300 and 700 depending on how much and how hot and how fast you want hot water. The gas versions will need and outside exhaust and intake You can look at thisoldhouse.com or is that .org. I dont recall, Bob Vila site also has info on instant water , or you can google. instant water heaters. I hope that helps.
We just moved to our own house that has a 50 gallon electric water heater and it takes forever to get hot water.
We will be putting in a solar collector and use out current tank and a recirculator with an on demands button
to start the circ pump.
Robert
Southern Energy Solutions of Marietta, Georgia, in suburban Atlanta, is a dealer of a packaged system called the Brac Greywater Recycling System.
The Brac System takes in greywater (bath/shower/laundry/air conditioner condensate), filters and treats it, then sends it on demand to be reused for toilet flushing. This can save the average homeowner 30% or more on potable water usage.
This system is most easily installed in new construction or major remodeling of homes because of plumbing considerations.
Southern Energy Solutions
www.soenso.com