What is Grey Water?

aka: greywater, graywater, gray water

Any washwater that has been used in the home, except water from toilets, is called grey water. Grey water recycling has become a hot topic around the world. We all use considerable amounts of energy each day to cook, clean, and perform all types of household duties. We use energy to drive our cars, or to power the equipment in the office. Children use energy at school for various academic projects.

So, what is the result of all this energy use? While pollution is quite common these days, there is also the inevitable presence of greywater, which is a substance we all produce each day just by performing daily activities.

When you do a load of laundry, take a shower, or prepare a meal, you are creating greywater. This water is neither clean nor highly polluted, which means that it will not take long for the water to be filtered and cleaned so that it can be used again, but it can not be used a second time right away.

In the past, sanitation workers and factories were mainly concerned about recycling blackwater, which is the water left over after using harsh chemicals, or water that it flushed away with human waste. However, due to the overload in sewage in cities all around the world, and the lack of space that landfills provide, greywater recycling is becoming more of a topic of interest.

So, how can you make sure that you conserve the water in your home or business, and reduce the amount of greywater that needs to be recycled? You can start by turning the faucet off when brushing your teeth. Gallons of water are wasted each by not turning the faucet off during this simple process. Also, you can take shorter showers, and opt to take showers instead of baths, so that you'll use less water. Following the guidelines created by your city or state regarding watering your lawn will also help to reduce yard waste and greywater.

If you're interested in learning how you can do more to help, you can start a recycling group in your neighborhood in order to teach young children how to preserve the environment. Community centers and schools will also be willing to help you spread the word when it comes to reducing the use of greywater.

You may also want to learn more about composting, so that you can create your own gardens for growing food. This will take less water than you might think, and will help to protect your family from the pesticides that may be found on grocery produce.

To find out just how clean the water is in your area, you can contact the Environmental Services department in your state, or visit www.epa.gov for more information on how to protect the planet.

Why would we use grey water?

1. Use where it may be undesirable for a septic tank
For places with bad soil percolation or other problems, a grey water system can be a partial or complete replacement for a very expensive, over engineered system.

2. Use in place of potable water
Grey water can take the place of fresh water, saving money and augmenting the effective water supply in areas where irrigation is needed. Home water use is almost evenly divided between indoor and outdoor. All use except water from the toilet could be recycled outdoors, accomplishing the same result with less water turned away from nature.

3. Helps plant growth
Grey water allows a landscape to grow vigorously where water may not be on hand to support some plant growth.

4. Purification can be extremely effective
Grey water is purified to a stunningly high degree in the upper, most biologically active part of the soil. This keeps the quality of natural aboveground and ground waters.

5. Reduce energy and chemical use
Energy and chemicals are reduced because of the reduced amount of both freshwater and sewer water that needs to be pumped and treated. Also, treating your sewer water in the soil under your own fruit trees definitely encourages you to put less toxic chemicals down into the drain.

6. Less exertion on the septic tank or treatment facility
Grey water use greatly extends the useful life and capacity of septic systems. For municipal treatment systems, decreased wastewater flow means higher treatment effectiveness and lower costs.

7. Recharges ground water
When appying grey water in excess of what the plant needs goes to the recharge groundwater.

8. Recovery of wasted nutrients
Release of nutrients from wastewater disposal into rivers or oceans is a elusive, but highly substantial form of erosion. Recovering nutrients in grey water helps to keep the richness of the land.

Is grey water reuse safe? Yes!

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