In the civilized world we find ourselves in today people take long, hot showers every single day, wash their hands multiple times and do at least one load of washing every week. With the scarcity of fresh water in many parts of the world today, there has to be an efficient and effective system for re-using dirty water in a safe, hygienic way.

What is Greywater?

Greywater is basically dirty water that has been used to wash things such as food and household items. However, it contains no fecal matter (this is known as blackwater). This type of waste water needs a very specific treatment protocol to be re-used for watering plants or flushing toilets. This leaves the septic tank and drain field from becoming flooded and it is also good for the city’s sewer system as there is less greywater to process overall.

Manual or Package:

There are two main types of systems for greywater treatment: manual, gravity-fed ones and package systems. The manual ones can be run without electricity or pumping as they use gravity for distribution. Package ones can be installed indoors and take up less space but require electricity to operate.

Advantages:

The upside to using a greywater treatment system is that your fresh water usage will be much lower, you will be putting a lot less strain on the septic tank, your plants will likely be much healthier (greywater contains great nutrients for plants) and it saves you money by consuming less water.

How It Works:

More simple greywater treatment systems use filtering to get rid of particles while more complex options use chemical treatments. The many different chemicals either break down the contaminants or kill the micro-organisms in the water.

Systems:

Greywater treatment systems vary greatly in their application but there are a few core things that are present in almost all of them. The hand-activated valve is one of these key components. It allows the water user to decide whether the waste water from the sink or bathtub will go to the garden or the septic tank. If it is sent to the garden it will quickly meet a filter. This filter will remove any large particles before it is sent to a surge tank. This tank ensures that there is a standby reservoir of water for the garden and helps prevent flooding. Some systems allow the treated greywater back into the home for further washing or flushing of toilets.

Two main types of irrigation are used to deliver this treated greywater to the plants: Subsurface drip irrigation and drain field irrigation. Subsurface drip irrigation systems send the water out to key areas of the garden such as to big trees or plant beds. Drain field irrigation uses a network of pipes with holes in them to deliver the water in a more evenly distributed way.

While this technology is constantly changing, has no set standards and is not legally mandatory yet, it is without a doubt a very effective solution for the earths’ current water crisis. It is up to us to find the best way to implement it for our own use because it will definitely be illegal not to have one in the near future.