Gray Water Options in Sonoma County

While our dogs (and some cats) will on occasion drink out of the toilet, it's not something people tend to do. Which does make you wonder why we use fresh potable water to fill and flush the bowl.

Something else well worth thinking about is why that same drinking water when used at the kitchen sink or in the shower is only used once.

It's not like we have an unlimited supply of the stuff.

According to a recent report in the Los Angeles Times, "Widespread recycling of gray water could cut residential water use by 16%, according to one estimate." That's not an insignificant amount of water savings.

The article goes on to say that, "During a prolonged drought in the early 1990s, L.A.'s Department of Water and Power and Department of Public Works conducted an ambitious experiment. In eight homes, including those of several elected officials, they installed "gray water" equipment that diverted the outflows from washing machines, showers, bathtubs and bathroom sinks to irrigate lawns and gardens outside the homes.

"Participants in the program were happy with the results, and the test was officially proclaimed successful in a 21-page research report that found the installations reduced water consumption by about 50% per household on average. No human disease pathogens were found in the outside drainage areas."

That was then, what about now? California is facing another set of drought years, and demand for water has only increased since the early 1990s. And yet gray water systems don't seem any more common now than they were before Los Angeles conducted their study.

It's the regulations. State health and housing officials were asked in 1992 to come up with regulations and permitting requirements to allow for installation of gray water systems. Unfortunately, what resulted is so impractical and expensive that few legally permitted gray water systems have been built. Appendix G of the state plumbing code requires that gray water systems get costly permits, have extensive filtering systems and that they be installed 9 inches underground -- too deep to irrigate most plantings. It seems that concerns about groundwater pollution and disease transmission are what drove the restrictive requirements.

Bottom line for Sonoma County? Aside from rainwater catchment and storage, recycling water at home is limited to capturing your shower, tub and washing machine outflow for use as outside irrigation water -- when the underground distribution system is well below grade. No above ground watering.

Fortunately, State officials are taking another look at the California gray water regulations. More information on possible changes should be available in June. Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and Montana are already ahead of us on this one. Maybe we can learn something from their example.

Contact us here at Boden Plumbing with questions. (info@nodrips.com or 996-8683) We've recently learned about a new gray water recycling system out of Canada that looks promising --- although we haven't tried it ourselves yet. It routes gray water from shower, tub and laundry to a holding tank and then feeds it back into the system to flush toilets. It's called Brac Systems. You might want to check it out.

:: Info on graywater
:: California Graywater Guide
:: more info on graywater and ecological design
:: NRDC Onearth article



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Boden Plumbing primarily serves Sonoma Valley, Napa Valley, and the Petaluma area. We provide a full range of residential plumbing repairs and services.
866-663-7477
www.nodrips.com