| Q. WHAT
IS GREY WATER?
A. Grey water is water that can
be used twice. Grey water includes the discharge
from bathtubs, showers and lavatories (NOT toilets);
and the household laundry (NOT diaper water).
Using grey water can almost double home water-use
efficiency and provide a valuable water source
for landscape irrigation.
Q. WHY USE GREY WATER?
A. Grey water separation and
use, could save 25 to 40 percent of drinkable
water for consumption. Community-wide grey water
use could allow a reduction in the size of water-purification
and sewage-treatment facilities.
It's a waste to irrigate with great quantities
of drinking water when plants thrive on used water
containing small bits of compost. Unlike a lot
of ecological stopgap measures, grey water reuse
is a part of the fundamental solution to our growing
water demands in California.
Across the nation, landscape watering and toilet
flushing are the major home uses of drinkable
water. The most effective uses of grey water are
for flushing toilets and watering landscapes.
Imagine the water conservation benefits nationwide
from using grey water for just these two purposes.
Note- *In CA we currently only use grey water
to use on landscapes.
Q. IS GREY WATER SAFE?
A. Yes. There are eight million
grey water systems in the US with 22 million users.
In 60 years, there has been one billion system
user-years of exposure, yet there has not been
one documented case of grey water transmitted
illness. When properly handled and monitored,
grey water can be a valuable and safe resource
for landscape irrigation.
(In contrast, 400 Americans get hit by lightning
each year)
Q. IS GREY WATER GOOD FOR MY PLANTS &
YARD?
A. Grey water has few long-term
effects on soil. Grey water slightly modifies
soil-organism populations and usually initiates
no additional pest problems. Changes that do occur
are due to the additional water present. Avoid
over-watering and extended periods of soil saturation,
this can cause severe root problems for plants.
Household levels of bleaches and detergents do
not cause problems when grey water is applied
to medium and fine-textured native soils. However,
when applied to coarse sandy soils with little
organic matter, root damage can occur. In this
case, it would be recommended to add compost to
your soil and increase the soil organic matter.
Organic matter and soil-texture adjustments are
critical in raised beds with grey-water irrigation.
We don’t recommend using grey water on plants
with limited root areas or for hydroponics.
Q. DOES GREY WATER REALLY LOWER FRESH
WATER USE AT MY HOME?
A. Yes, residential water use
is almost evenly split between indoor and outdoor.
Grey water can replace potable water in many instances
for landscapes, saving money and increasing the
effective water supply in regions where irrigation
is needed.
Q. HOW WILL A WATERBUDDY HELP EXTEND THE
LIFE OF MY SEPTIC SYSTEM
A. By diverting grey water from
your septic system you can extend the useful life
and capacity of septic system by 40% on average
this also helps to cut down how often you may
need to have your system pumped. The WaterBuddy
has special filtration media to help trap and
filter out body fats and oils that can cause issues
in soils and septic systems if left untreated.
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