GGrreeyywwaatteerr iiss water from your sinks, showers and washing machines. It is NOT water from toilets or anything that has come into contact with feces. Greywater is safe and easy to reuse in your own yard, saving water and money. To build any type of system you need to follow these basic guidelines.

Before you install a greywater system there are many cheap and easy ways to conserve water. Most water districts have great water saving tips on their website and rebates. Low flow fixtures,installing easy shut off switches on showers, choosing drought tolerant plants and mulching the yard are a few ways to dramatically reduce water use.

Aside from the obvious (chemical cleaners, non-biodegradable soaps, bleach, etc.) there are two main substances to avoid: salt (sodium) and boron (borax). Although non-toxic, salt build up will destroy the soil over time. Boron is also non-toxic to people but a plant microtoxin, so don't use it! For the washer, these products are salt and boron free: •Oasis •ECOS •Bio Pac Liquid Detergent. Shower products are so diluted, the contents are unlikely to harm your plants. Yet most shampoos and conditioners contain reproductive toxins as well as carcinogenic material, absorbed into your skin in the shower. To find healthy products go to cosmeticdatabase.org and enter your products to discover their toxicity. For questionable products divert the greywater back to the sewer with the 3-way valve.

GREYWATER LEGALITY: Greywater is technically legal in CA, but in practice hardly anyone gets a permit due to the over

restricitveness of the code. Other states like Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, have helpful and reasonable greywater codes, making it easy to install legal systems for low cost. CA's greywater code is being rewritten currently, see graywater.org or greywateralliance.org for updates.

Always distribute greywater to mulched basins (filled with wood chips or straw). The size of the mulch basin depends on the plant size and the

amount of water discharged into it.

FROM THE WASHER: Washing machines are typically the easiest source for greywater. Each machine has an internal pump that

automatically pumps out the water- you can use that to your advantage to pump the greywater slightly uphill (not too much!) or across flat yards.

LAUNDRY DRUM: The wash water is pumped into a "drum", a large barrel or temporary storage (called a surge tank). At the bottom of

the drum the water drains out into a hose that is moved around the yard to irrigate. This is the cheapest and easiest system to install, but requires constant moving of the hose for it to be effective at irrigating.

FROM THE SHOWER: Showers are a great source of greywater- they usually produce a lot of relatively clean water. To have a simple, effective shower system you will want a gravity based system (no pump). If your yard is located uphill from the house, then you'll need to have a pumped system.

Branched Drain: A branched drain system is the most robust and effective of the gravity based systems for meeting irrigation

needs . The shower water travels by gravity (2% downward slope) and the water is split in half multiple times using flow splitters until the desired amount of water comes out each outlet. Branched drain systems are best for trees and other large perennials, they are impractical for lawns and small plants.

FROM THE SINKS: Kichen sinks produce a fair amount of water, usually very high in organic matter (food, grease, etc.).

This water will clog many kinds of systems- we recommend branched drains to large mulch basins to avoid clogging. Bathroom sinks produce a smaller amount of water. If combined with the shower water they will fall under the shower system, if alone they can be drained to a single large plant, or have the flow split and water two or three plants.

CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS: If you produce more water than you need for irrigation, a constructed wetland can be

incorporated into your system to "ecologically dispose" of some of the greywater. Wetlands remove nutrients and filter particles from greywater, enabling it to be stored, or sent through a properly designed drip irrigation system (a sand filter and pump will also be needed- this cost lots more $$). Greywater is also a good source of irrigation for beautiful, water loving wetland plants. If you live near a creek, a wetland can protect the creek from nutrient pollution from GW. If you live in an arid climate, or are trying to reduce your fresh water use, we don't recommend incorporating wetlands into greywater systems as they use up a lot of the water which could otherwise be used for irrigation.

PUMPED SYSTEMS: If you can't use gravity to transport the greywater (your yard is sloped uphill, or it's flat and the plants are far

away) you will need a "DRUM WITH EFFLUENT PUMP" system. The water flows into a large (50 gallon) plastic drum that is either buried or located at ground level. In the drum a pump pushes the water out through irrigation lines (no emitters) to the landscape. Pumps add cost, use electricty, and will break, so avoid this if you can.

Details of these systems are found in "Create an Oasis with Greywater" by Art Ludwig.

"DRUMLESS" LAUNDRY: This is a pressurized system-the hose leaving the washing machine is attached to 1" irrigation line with outlets sending water to specific plants. This system is low cost, easy to install, and gives huge flexibilty for irrigation. In most situations this is the number one place to start when choosing a greywater system!