grey water systems presentation 6 18-2015 final

Grey Water Systems: What they are, why their time has come and how you can participate in converting our most

precious resource

ECO Green Group Thursday June 18, 2015by

Tony Green

Copyright @ Tony Green 2015

Agenda

• How have we arrived at this point?

• What is Grey Water? What is in Grey Water?

• What are Grey Water Systems types/benefits of using/risks?

• What should be in our water anyway?

• What are the parts of a Grey Water System?

• Grey Water System Regulation?

• To Permit or not to Permit

• Case Study

• Takeaway/Summary

• Question and AnswersCopyright @ Tony Green 2015


Will California’s future look like this?

http://www.ohwy.com/history%20pictures/dustroad.gif

http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/

http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/media/water0201.jpg

Water Use Statistics


18.5 gallons a day for flushing toilets, 5 times a day for the typical home, 5.7 billion gallons of water a day

nationally.

The largest consumer of water in the US is the water used in the generation of electricity. Not hydroelectric but coal

gas and nuclear power for cooling and making steam. 49% of all the water in the US. 7x of homes and 1.5 times of

farms.

16% of water is lost due to leakage which winds up back in the ground.Source: The Big Thrust by Charles Fishman Chapter 1 the Revenge of water

How have we arrived to this point?


Three main sources of water sustain California –

Mountain Snowpack

Water stored in ReservoirsWater pumped from underground Aquifers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaden_Reservoir https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_in_California http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/05/29/california_s_snowpack_now_zero_percent_of_normal_a_worst_case_scenario_for.html



All are connected, and when the Governor declared a drought

emergency on January 17, 2014, all three had been depleted by

an extended dry period.

The Sierra Nevada snowpack stood at 14 percent of

normal.

The state's two biggest reservoirs held less than 40 percent

of their capacity and

Aquifer levels from Siskiyou County to San Diego County were in decline.



http://www.water.ca.gov/waterconditions/background.cfm

Drought can best be thought of as a

condition of water shortage for a particular user in a particular location

Droughts occur slowly, over a period of time.

There is no universal definition of when a drought begins or ends

Drought is a gradual phenomenon

Significant statewide droughts occurred during 1928-

34, 1976-77, 1987-92, and 2007-09. The last significant

regional drought occurred in parts of Southern California in 1999-2002.

http://i.livescience.com/images/i/000/025/737/iFF/drought-weather.jpg?1332776088

Where did the water go?



http://www.californiadrought.org/drought/current-conditions/




http://www.californiadrought.org/drought/current-conditions/http://cnas.ucr.edu/drought-symposium/presentations/Hydrology-2-CA.pdf.

No Rain , No Snow pack , No Water Accumulation ---- No Water to stockpile our reservoirs

What Is Grey Water ?


Greywater is all water from house except from toilets and garbage

disposal.

Kitchen

Shower

Sink

Washing machine

This comprises from 50% to 80% of

residential waste water

http://www.slideshare.net/AshrafRefaat/greywater-44033346?related=1

What should (or Shouldn’t) be in our water?


Radiation

Silicone

Octane

Lysol

Bacteria

Chloroform

Potable Water Requirements


http://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1040

Where do we get our Potable Water ?


Source : http://www.watereducation.org/all-california-water-sources

Central Valley Project

State Water Project

The Colorado River

Local Streams and

Reservoirs

Groundwater

Other Major Water Systems

Where do we get our Potable Water ?


Source: https://www.ebmud.com/water-and-

drought/about-your-water/water-supply/ebmud-and-

delta/

Other Major Water Systems

A number of large population centers in

California have developed their own

extensive water projects.

The Hetch Hetchy Project transports

Tuolumne River water 156 miles from the

Central Sierra to San Francisco and

peninsula cities.

The East Bay Municipal Utility District

supplies cities on the east side of San

Francisco Bay with Mokelumne River water.

Source: http://bawsca.org/water-supply/hetch-hetchy-water-system/

What Is breakdown of Grey Water?


50%

15%

30%

5%

Percent of Greywater

Bathroom (bath, basin,shower)

Kitchen

Laundry

Other - other taps/Dishwasher

What is in our Grey Water?


SourcePercent of

Greywater Contaminants

Bathroom (bath,

basin, shower)50

contaminated with hair, soaps, shampoos, hair

dyes, toothpaste, lint, nutrients, body fats, oils and

cleaning products. It may also contain some fecal

contamination (and the associated pathogens)

through body washing

Kitchen 15 food particles, oil, grease, etc.

Laundry 30

lint, oils, grease, laundry detergents, chemicals,

soaps, nutrients and other compounds. It may

also contain some fecal contamination

Other - other taps

/Dishwasher5

food particles, oil, grease, etc.

Total 100


What is in our Grey Water? Parameter Units Minimum Maximum TypicalpH - 7.2 9 7.5

Alkalinity (as CaCO3) mg/l 75 200 100

Total Suspended Solids mg/l 20 45 30

Conductivity uS/cm 1,000 1,600 1300

TDS (measured) mg/l 500 1,000 800

BOD5 mg/l 20 45 30

COD mg/l 60 400 200

Oil & Grease mg/l 10 20 15

Calcium mg/l 50 80 65

Magnesium mg/l 10 35 20

Sodium mg/l 150 760 390

Chloride mg/l 200 1,050 520

Fluoride mg/l 0.8 5 2

Potassium mg/l 30 60 50

Sulfate mg/l 10 70 50

Silica mg/l 60 75 70

Total Silica mg/l 75 100 85

Temperature deg C 20 30 25

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/MelvinEldin/grey-water-recycling-system


The Difference between Gray & Potable?

Wastewater contains some soap, salts, hair, suspended

solids and bacteria, but that is clean enough to water plants.

- San Francisco Water Manual June 2012 Version


So what are the risks of using Grey Water ?

Human health disease-causing organisms

(human pathogens such as bacteria, viruses

and protozoa).

Environment contaminants including fats and

oils, food scraps, nutrients, salts, sodium,

phosphorus, detergents, cleaning products,

sunscreens and personal care products. Long-

term watering with greywater containing these

contaminants can affect sensitive plants and soil

Source: Urban Greywater Design and Installation Handbook November 2008 RMIT University in Australia


What are the types of Grey Water Systems?

Laundry-to-Landscape (L to L)

Branched Drain

Pumped System

Manufactured

Sand Filter to Drip Irrigation

Source : San Francisco Water Manual June 2012 Version

More complicated systems (gravity

versus pumps), (treatment versus

application) the

cost more !

All but L to L require permit


Benefits of Grey Water Systems

Source : San Francisco Water Manual June 2012 Version

Decrease potable water use by 16 to 40 percent,

depending on the site.

Decrease water and wastewater utility bills.

Diversify the water portfolio and provide an alternate

source of irrigation water, reserving treated potable

water for high-quality water needs..


More Benefits of Grey Water Systems

Reduce the energy (approximately 2 watt-hours per gallon

of water) and chemicals needed to treat wastewater

Facilitates home-grown food production

Connects people to their yards

Sources : San Francisco Water Manual June 2012 Version and Christine Bertea of Greywater Action presentation


Grey Water Systems –Government Regulation?

In 2009, California revamped its greywater

codes. The new code allows simple

laundry to landscape systems without a

permit, but requires permits and

inspections for most greywater systems.

Regulations vary across the US by state.

If you’re not happy with the greywater

codes in your state, contact your

legislators about changing them!


To Permit or Not to Permit You can install a graywater system for outdoor irrigation without a

permit if you meet all of the following requirements:

Graywater comes from the washing machine only.

Graywater system does not alter the household plumbing (you

access graywater from the hose of the machine, not by cutting

into the plumbing).

Graywater system is for a one- or two-unit residential building.

Building

Graywater system follows 12 guidelines set forth in the

California Plumbing Code (see Appendix B, “Operation and

Maintenance Manual for Laundry-to-Landscape Graywater

System”). Follow Laundry to Landscape O & M


Case Study – Laundry to Landscape


What do we need to Install?

Three Way Diverter Valve

Anti – Siphon Vent

Piping – PVC & HDPE

Mulch Basin

Valve Box


Thoughts about Piping – PVC&HDPE

PVC = Poly Vinyl Chloride

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) piping is the

most widely used plastic piping material.

PVC piping systems are:

Environmentally sound.

Provide long service life.

Easy to install and handle.

Corrosion resistant.

Cost effective.

Widely accepted by codes

HDPE = High Density Polyethylene

The number one characteristic that sets

HDPE apart from other pipe types is that it

can be made to be flexible.

This quality opens HDPE pipe up to a

different world of applications than rigid

pipe.


Thoughts about Piping – PVC&HDPE

Source: http://image11.photobiz.com/3907/20110424125559_113181.pdf

HDPE is definitely moresustainable

PVC issues with process and residuals


Mulch Basin

A type of irrigation or disposal field

filled with mulch...of sufficient depth,

length and width to prevent ponding or runoff

Mulch. Is an organic waste material including but not

limited to leaves, pruning's, straw, pulled weeds and wood

chips.

Permeable enough to allow rapid infiltration of greywater


What do we need to avoid with our Grey Water System once installed? Soap and Products

Salt (Sodium Compounds)

Boron (Borax)

Chlorine Bleach (H2O2 OK)

Recommended

Liquid detergent: Oasis

Soap Alternatives: Soap Nuts

Note:

Read Ingredients: Biodegradable Garden Friendly

Sodium common in fabric softeners and water softeners

Adapted from Christine Berthea Presentation

Ground Rules for our Grey WaterSystem once installed?

Adapted from Christine Berthea Presentation


Avoid contact with people or domestic animals

No above ground spraying or sprinkling

No surfacing ponding or runoff

No storing for more then 24 hours

Irrigation or disposal field may be Mulch basin

Discard point covered by 2” of mulch, gravel, soil or solid shield



.

.

Why Grey Water System ?

Source: www.fotolia.us

Source: www.dreamstime.com.

Concerned Bay Area Citizen Mother of Three – two

teenage kids with single home on San Francisco. 2

years ago it became obvious that we needed to

conserve water.

Came across the Laundry to Landscape (L-

to-L) program and attended class in the city of

San Francisco - gives you the materials but the

system has to be designed for your home.

In this case she planted a lemon tree and a lime

tree to produce fruit using Grey Water since in

San Francisco these are expensive.



. The Project

6-8 loads a week with an old type of top loading dryer

Her soil in her back yard is sandy, fruit trees

are Two feet in height

Needed to connect outlet in washer to soil in

yard where fruit tress would be planted

Mentioned that urban provides you a kit with the tools

in order to make installation easy



What was the hardest thing?

Source: www.wisgeek.com

Source: www.fotolia.us

Connecting the plumbing from the outside of the house to the garden.

Hired a plumber to take the connectionfrom her dryer.

$300.00 and took him an half an hour



Today/looking ahead

Lemons a growing!!!!

System installed for two months. No

maintenance requirements.

The next job in her view should be

to convert the shower water to use

to flush the toilet

3 way valve operated it once a

week (bleach). Otherwise all of the

water goes directly into the garden

Takeaways/Summary

1. Did I mention we need to Conserve

Water?

2. Grey Water system is achievable

help IS available

3. Parts are not expensive

4. Do not need to be technical to

install

What are you waiting for?


Final Thought…………………….


Good to the last drop?

Why take chances when all we need to do is conserve?

Thank You!!!!!
