Residents of Roseville, CA aren’t strangers to drought conditions. With the state’s most severe on-record drought less than a decade past, water conservation remains a top priority. Even when water shortage isn’t an immediate concern, restrictions on landscaping-related water use exist. Between the hours of 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., homeowners can’t water their lawns, shrubs, or other greenery to minimize evaporation and conserve potable water stores.
For those who install them, greywater systems allow for safe and sustainable water reuse. This alleviates the burden on municipal water supplies and limits residential water bills.
Read this guide from our water conservation and energy efficiency services experts to discover what greywater systems are, how they work, and why sustainable reuse might be a great choice for your household.
What Is a Greywater System?
Greywater systems funnel wastewater from select plumbing fixtures into onsite reservoirs or directly to landscape irrigation systems. When homeowners need to water their lawns, trees, or other living landscaping elements, they can use water from their greywater systems instead of relying on municipal water supplies. Greywater systems harness slightly used water from bathtubs, shower pans, washing machines, and bathroom sinks. They do not collect wastewater from toilets, kitchen sinks, or dishwashers.
What Makes Greywater Different?
Three types of water move through your home’s plumbing system. When you turn your taps on, you get fresh, potable water that’s safe for cooking, bathing, and consumption. When you flush your toilets, you’re getting rid of blackwater. This contains dangerous biological and chemical contaminants.
Before blackwater is safe for reuse in any capacity, it must undergo municipal water treatment. This is a lengthy, multi-stage process of screening, sedimentation, filtration, and chemical disinfection.
Greywater contains far fewer chemical and biological contaminants than blackwater. Although it isn’t safe for bathing, cooking, or consumption, it’s virtually harmless in landscape irrigation. Greywater from approved plumbing fixtures contains soap and toothpaste residues along with residues from other self-care and household cleaning products.
Greywater also contains modest amounts of biological contaminants, such as skin oils, skin cells, saliva, and mucous. However, it’s free of feces and large quantities of decomposing food. For many plants, the biological matter present in greywater is a worthy source of essential nutrients.
Exploring the Different Types of Greywater Systems
In Roseville, there are both permit-exempt and permitted greywater systems. Permit-exempt greywater systems offer a simple, low-cost setup that funnels greywater to landscape irrigation exclusively from washing machines. These are laundry-to-landscape (L2L) greywater systems. Permitted greywater systems harness more greywater by incorporating wastewater from bathroom sinks, shower pans, tubs, and utility room basins.
Whether you opt for a basic, permit-exempt system or a larger and more complex greywater design, it’s important to have a plumber handle its planning and installation. Doing so will:
- Prevent pooling water indoors and out
- Ensure landscape-appropriate greywater use
- Limit the risk of flooding for neighboring properties
- Prevent stored water contamination
In complex systems with integrated reservoirs, homeowners should never store greywater for more than 24 hours. After this, the risk of bacterial growth and contamination from other pathogens rises significantly.
Gravity-Fed Greywater Systems
Gravity-fed greywater systems are relatively simple, permitted designs that rely on gravity to pump greywater toward landscape irrigation. These systems require less equipment than other permitted setups, and they have a comparatively modest upfront cost.
However, gravity-fed systems use greywater as-is and require more maintenance as a result. With absolutely no wastewater filtration or disinfection, they’re more prone to clogs caused by hair and soap scum than other permitted styles. Moreover, due to the potential for contamination, the water from gravity-fed greywater systems isn’t suitable for edible plants.
According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, using greywater from gravity-fed systems in sprinklers could pose the risk of contamination via airborne bacteria. Thus, if you use sprinkler-reliant landscape irrigation, you’ll need a complex system that offers limited filtration or other greywater treatment types.
Pumped Greywater Systems
Pumped greywater systems pressurize and pump greywater to various locations. Not only can you use this type of greywater system for landscape irrigation, but you can also use it to flush your toilets. This allows for a more significant reduction of potable water use. Many pumped greywater systems include self-cleaning filters and other forms of basic onsite water treatment.
What Are the Benefits of Installing a Greywater System?
Installing a greywater system is a great way to conserve potable water and limit your reliance on municipal water stores for landscape maintenance and more. According to the Energy & Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA), a family of three could save as much as 18,700 gallons of water each year with a greywater system. As per the EEBA, a family of six could save as much as 30,000 gallons annually. Greywater systems offer an easy and effective way to lower your water bill year-round through sustainable reuse.
Increased Flexibility in Landscape Design & Maintenance
In areas like Roseville, where strict restrictions on landscape watering exist, greywater use makes it possible to legally water lawns and other living elements at any time. During times of drought, you’ll still have ample access to water for daily or weekly landscape maintenance. If you prefer plants, trees, grass, or other greenery above hardscaping, you can install these things without negatively impacting the natural environment or placing undue demand on an already taxed municipal water system.
How to Get the Most From a Greywater System
When you install a greywater system, it’s important to use products that support sustainable reuse at all connected appliances. For instance, you should switch to biodegradable, non-toxic cleaners. Look for dye-free and fragrance-free laundry detergents, body washes with all-natural ingredients, and chlorine-free fixture cleaners.
Pay attention to how your self-care and household products affect the acidity of your greywater. Bar soaps tend to make greywater more basic, while liquid body washes can make it more acidic. If you have plants or other landscaping elements that prefer acidic conditions, you should limit your use of bar soap.
Another benefit of switching from bar soaps to liquid soaps when you have a greywater system is being able to minimize the buildup of soap scum throughout its components. Liquid soaps leave fewer tough, tacky residues. Any products that leave films in your sinks, tubs, or shower pans will also leave films inside your greywater tank, filter, and tubing.
How to Get Started With a Greywater System
Greywater systems offer safe, sustainable options in water reuse for many homes. However, this doesn’t mean that greywater installation is guaranteed to be right for your home.
The best way to get started with greywater reuse is by scheduling a consultation appointment with a local plumber. Our plumbers will assess your property’s grading, your need for uphill or downhill irrigation, your average water use, and other factors to determine the feasibility of this installation. You can also speak with your arborist or landscaping company to learn more about the nutritional needs of your grass, trees, plants, and other living landscaping elements, as well as your soil requirements.
Since 2010, we’ve proudly served Roseville and the surrounding cities with expert, environment-focused plumbing solutions. We help locals optimize their plumbing systems, save money, and reduce their environmental footprints. We also offer water heater installation and repairs, with energy and water-efficient systems.
To learn more about greywater systems and find out if sustainable reuse is right for you, get in touch with Environmental Heating & Air Solutions today.
The post Greywater Systems 101: Safely and Sustainably Reusing Water appeared first on Environmental Heating & Air Solutions.
