Greywater Guerrillas

The above picture and the one below (both courtesy of the New York Times) conjure images of Rube Goldberg Plumbing, Inc. They are actually part of an illegal "grey water" system at a house in the Oakland, CA, area. The house is the Haut House - House of Appropriate Urban Technology - owned by Laura Allen, an elementary school teacher who is a member of the "dirty water underground", the Greywater Guerrillas, a group that promotes the use of greywater systems to recycle and reuse the household water that drains from sinks, washing machine, and showers for flushing toilets or irrigating plants.

The 31 May 2007 issue of the New York Times had a story by Gregory Dicum entitled The Dirty Water Underground about the Greywater Guerrillas and other like-minded people:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/31/garden/31greywater.html?ex=1181275200&en=adc4472af0166fbf&ei=5070&emc=eta1

They are active mainly (but not exclusively) in the Western USA - arid regions like Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern California.

As usual, California led the way in 1994 with the first set of guidelines for greywater systems. Other states have followed suit; Arizona's code is generally considered the best. Critics complain that the California code is so "overbuilt" (it's based on the septic system code) that it discourages homeowners from installing such systems; hence, the illegal systems such as Laura Allen's.

When I lived outside of Albuquerque in the Sandia Mountains I had a greywater system. It came with the house, and I did not realize it was illegal for about a year or so. It was really more like a "pseudo" greywater system, since its main purpose was to bypass the septic system to prevent overloading. Since I did not have a garden, I really didn't use the effluent for irirgation. Greywater systems are now legal in New Mexico.

It's of course easy to screw things up, so there is a need for some guidance. The NYT article cites a good WWW site with loads of information, including common mistakes.

Here is a little selection chart from the site:

Download systemchart.pdf

The site's greywater policy center offers much advice, including Arizona's law, the one to emulate.

The site also has synopses of the various state laws. Check it out.

Pleasant plumbing!

"Flush twice - it's a long way to Reno." -- The unofficial motto of Truckee, CA, upriver from Reno, NV

Comments

[Rainbow Water Coalition]

Thanks for the plug, aquadoc!

[Michael]

Hi, Nate.

Thanks for commenting and the kind words.

I have heard much about your new book and will surely check it out.

By the way, visit Todd Jarvis' excellent greywater blog, Rainbow Water Coalition: http://rainbowwatercoalition.blogspot.com/

[Nate Downey]

Thanks for posting this! I'll be talking about greywater on February 1 in your old haunt (Albuquerque) at noon at 10415 Central Avenue NE (@ Eubank). The talk is free, and it's sponosred by the NM chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association. Please check out my new book, 'Harvest the Rain' (Sunstone Press, 2010), for info on all forms of water harvesting--including passive, active, wastewater, etc. Thanks!
Nate Downey
www.harvesttherain.com
[email protected]

[why should u know]

ewwwwww........