The most recent issue of “Mountain Living” Magazine feature’s Water Legacy’s co-founder’s Edge House. The Beautiful home in Boulder, Colorado is part of the March/April issue specifically dedicated to “Green” homes.  Designed by Rodwin Architects, this home features numerous sustainable methods that go beyond the basic thought of energy conservation.  A near Net Zero Energy home, The Edge house, has solar, geo-thermal systems, low VOX paint in addition to smart lighting and the best water re-use system available.   Visit this link to view the article.  http://waterlegacy.com/pdf/Mountain_Living_March_April_2011.pdf

Earth Advantage Institute, www.earthadvantage.org, lists residential greywater re-use as one of the top ten trends for green building in 2011.  The article can be viewed at http://www.benzinga.com/press-releases/11/01/p758110/top-ten-green-building-trends-for-2011-selected-by-earth-advantage-inst. We have seen in the past few months, an attitude that insinuates greywater re-use for irrigation and toilet flushing is an acceptable practice for water conservation.   We fight city hall every day in order to get greywater standardization in place. Yet we know the tremendous difficulty in gaining mainstream acceptance of greywater re-use. The benefits to reducing consumption and energy along with it do not seem so apparent during the winter months, only when we are short on water in the summer.

Anyone involved in water knows that the droughts facing various parts of the world are being acted upon only when it is imperative water must be conserved.  The US will be facing severe water shortages as we progress into the next ten years.  So why the delay in rate of greywater re-use????  We, as water conservationists need to petition our local, state and Federal regulators to standardize acceptable greywater re-use guide lines.

So, while we find it encouraging that Green Building proponents see and understand the need for greywater re-use the truth is; Greywater re-use is still one of those things that just has not crossed into main stream thinking.  But the time will come when we have to consider do we really want to flush fresh water or use drinking water to irrigate our lawn?????

Denver Housing Authority broke ground on the $20.4 million project providing affordable housing for low income seniors this week.  Part of the program is a pilot project featuring Water Legacy’s Greywater re-use system’s technology.  Mike Vail, CEO of Water Legacy has been involved in the planning and engineering of the plumbing system in the project and is thrilled to see it come so far.  “We always knew the need for conservation of water would have to transition public and multi-family housing, and we are proud to be a part of this innovative project.”, He said recently. 

To view the whole story visit http://insiderealestatenews.com/2010/09/dha-breaks-ground-on-20-million-project/

How exciting!  The Texas city of  San Marcos, located near Austin has approved a greywater (graywater) ordinance that will allow greywater for toilet flushing. The city council, following in the footsteps of Austin, TX, will allow shower water, washing machine water and sink water for uses such as irrigation and TOILET FLUSHING.

Water Legacy is very pleased at the comments made by the council members, that is that their constituents have expressed a need for this.  The people do matter!!  Our conservation and efficiency demands on our government will create the grass roots efforts for continued saving of fresh water!

According to the Austin Statesman - the local newspaper - the council has added some considerations to the ordinance, but all in all it is a very good message for the water conservationists.

“In addition, the proposed ordinance stipulates that gray water must be applied in a way that prevents pooling and runoff onto other properties. Clack said the ordinance primarily targets new home construction.

“We’re encouraging builders to install new gray water plumbing,” Clack said. But there are no incentives currently planned for builders or residents, he said.

For commercial and industrial applications, gray water can only be used for landscape maintenance, dust control and toilet flushing.

Council member John Thomaides said that the ordinance is one that residents have pushed for in the past.

“Citizens have communicated to me through the years that they want to capture laundry water, mostly for gardening,” Thomaides said. “If homeowners want to use it to save aquifer water, it’s a good thing. (The ordinance) gives us the ability to tell people how to use it.”

To read the whole article, click on this link: 

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/san-marcos-to-consider-gray-water-ordinance-811895.html?cxtype=rss_local

Sometimes we get so caught up promoting our thoughts and ideas about water conservation through greywater recycling we forget others are doing the same.  Daily, I read about water conservation issues, drought situations and the people that are trying to do the same as us that I take for granted our message is mainstream.  Well, it isn’t!!!  The US government, through its Water Saver program tells us something like Water Legacy is years away from even being considered since it is still concentrating on low flow fixtures.

So, when I read the article from River Network, I was so thrilled to realize others are of the same mind set and can imagine a time when flushing drinking water is obsolete.

“Some day in the not too distant future, our practice of flushing toilets with drinking water will be viewed as being as archaic as using pigeons to carry text messages, as wasteful as sending every bottle and can to the landfill, and as disgusting as dumping raw sewage into rivers and lakes. Toilet flushing and numerous other water uses in and around the home do not require high-quality, expensive drinking water. Simple home graywater systems can meet these needs perfectly well – and dramatically reduce pressures on drinking water supplies.”

Visit http://www.rivernetwork.org/ to view the whole article. 

In the Fall/Winter 2009 issue of Conservation Magazine they featured 14 homes making a difference through the use of sustainable products and solar energy.  Only one home, the Logan-Wiggins House 3 was able to claim water saving technology through greywater reuse in toilet flushing.  Jim Logan, a renown Boulder Architect chose the Water Legacy WL55 to recycle his shower and washing machine water for toilet flushing.  PLease visit the website of Conservation Magazine at www.ConservationCenter.org/e-solarweek.htm for more information. 

On Sunday August 30th, 2009, the Denver Post featured an article special to the Washington Post regarding the water crisis in America.  Why this is not front page news, we do not understand, but it is fact.  Water conservation is one of the first steps individuals can make to secure our water future.  Greywater reycling is the answer for most consumers.  We need the plumbing officials, state regulartory personnel and builders to see the way of the future by using greywater to flush your toilet.  One way they can do it is through requiring new homes to install a greywater recylcing system. 

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13218205

U.S. water supply is running out