Biokube: A Septic Tank That Waters Your Lawn
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California 
on 10.29.08
Photo via GreenLight
Most days when I wash my dishes, I cart bowlfuls of water out to my hopelessly brown California yard and dump it, the whole time snarling at the neighbor’s bubbling sprinklers and thinking that even if the yard won’t green up past a pale yellow, at least the water isn’t going down the drain. I know, it'd be easier to use a take-away sink. But while carting bowls, I’m also thinking of all the different ways I could use gray water for irrigation.
Run a hose from the washing machine out to the lawn. Check.
Rig the shower pipes to flow out to the yard. Check.
But, here’s one idea that definitely hadn't crossed my mind.
Danish company Biokube is bringing Venus to California. Venus is a septic system that takes your household wastewater – including sewage – and cleans it up to the point where you can use it for yard irrigation.
Now that is something to drought-ridden Californians – and everyone – have to appreciate.
From GreenLight:
The Venus effectively works by cleaning the water to a much higher degree than ordinary septic systems. In ordinary systems, solids are settled out via gravity. The remaining water then enters a tank with bacteria to clean it. After that, it gets released into a leaching field, where bacteria in the soil cleans it further. In the Venus, the water passes through several bioblocks, or membranes housing bacteria. Further purification in soil isn't needed at that point.
In California, about 1.2 million septic systems will have to be unplugged or renovated to comply with new regulations, so the Venus may just be a far more appealing option for our water-strapped state since it solves waste treatment and potential irrigation problems at the same time.
However, the Biokube website is fairly vague on specifics. So I'll sit tight and see if these start popping up in neighbors' yards.
Via GreenLight via Cleantechnica
More on Gray Water:
Big Steps in Building: Install Gray Water Recovery Everywhere
Drought Stricken Atlantans Get Conflicting Advice On Gray Water ReUse
Gray Water Package Units from Brac Systems
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The main problem I see with this Bioluke is the need to have your tank cleaned 1 to 2 times per year rather than every 2 to 3 years. Cost wise you are adding around 2 hundred dollars a year on septic care. Drought-ridden Californians and others it could justify with the lack and cost of water.
I hope it comes with a yard sign so your neighbors don't hate you for wasting water.
There are certainly other options that are cheaper and easier to use.
http://www.biolytix.com/index.php
These ones can even be retrofitted into old septic systems with minimal fuss.
I have one and it serves my lawn and orchard.
So essentially, I can water my yard with my own pee! But for real that's sweet, but I do agree it's a pretty expensive way to go green, there are many other alternatives for going green with a lawn/yard.
Hey Californians - don't expect to see this product ANYTIME SOON! California has NO statewide septic regulations, so each County has their own septic rules and regulations (over 60 California counties!). Most California counties require onsite advanced treatment systems to comply with performance standards set forth by ANSI/NSF (specifically to the ANSI/NSF Standard 40). Question #1, is this Danish company going to obtain their NSF certification? (note it’s a 2-year minimum test period) Question #2, is this technology going to be IMPORTED, or manufactured locally? Look more closely at the Hoot System, which is mfrd locally in each US market and is certified to BOTH the ANSI/NSF Standard 40 (a Class-1 Treatment Unit) and the new Nitrogen reduction Standard 245. Plus, over 150,000 Hoot Systems have been installed across the US since 1976...
I do think that this sounds like a great opportunity to save water. From what I understand CA is the United States largest consumer of water. This is a great way to show that we are trying to cut back.
I have seen this unit at some conferences in the US. It is true that this company is not approved in the USA. They do not have any NSF certification.
However we have seen a system that seems to be really well in Europe called "BIO-TECH". This system can reduce the septic water and they have it designed in a way that you can wash your yard or irrigate your garden. Engineers have been installing these units into houses on golf courses. The water that comes out from each BIO-TECH tank is stored and used to irrigate the golf course. That saves the town water consumption.
Plus these guys are designing systems that are solar run. From what I understand they are applying for NSF 40 and 245. BIO-TECH plan on manufacturing in the USA and creating jobs over here. I met these guys among other companies at these conferences and found that these guys are genuine and they do CARE about the environment and building a strong relationship with the USA. I think they are an irish company but I'm not sure.