Daily, I am able to view references to greywater re-use through toilet flushing. Yet plumbers, builders or architects have yet to embrace the theory with any consistency.  As we traveled back to the east coast this past month, I realized, it is hard to get someone who has concerns about flooding to think along the conservation lines.  But for all of us who live west of the Mississippi, the concerns are real.  If you want to know more about our greywater re-use system check out this video http://www.metacafe.com/watch/3114041/why_flush_good_water_down_the_toilet/

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?????

Today’s L.A. Times claims that 50% of the water used inside of a home can be used to irrigate or flush your toilets.  Really?????  These are things we as water conservationists already know, but how do we get our federal, state and local officials to understand that we demand this type  of conservation????  As I continue the quest for greywater re-use in toilet flushing and irrigation, I find there are so many people open to not flushing drinking water.  Yet, we are confronted with antiquated thought from our protectors, those who would rather flush fresh water so your dog doesn’t drink from the toilet. 

Check out the article and comment so we can see the number of people who care about water conservation

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/11/greywater-report.html

The Pacific Institute, based in Oakland, CA, recently released a comprehensive report that confirms our company’s mission.  Stop using fresh water to flush toilets.

The article quotes: “Greywater reuse is part of an important paradigm shift in how we manage water, toward a more rational approach where we match the quality of water to the need” said Meena Palaniappan, director of the Pacific Institute International Water and Communities Initiative and coauthor of the report. “By reusing greywater in the home for watering landscapes or flushing toilets, we can reduce the use of high quality, expensive, and energy-intensive drinking water for those purposes.”

What they continue to say is probably more important:

The current greywater policies are not consistent from country to country, state to state or city to city. The powers that be need to determine international policies that govern the quality and safety of greyater re-use that is not so constrictive to cause undue and prohibitive rules.

We have had years of experience dealing with local, state and federal agencies. While in theory most will agree to greywater re-use sysems, they more often than not, figure a way to not allow greywater re-use.

Back to the real reason of this blog…. check out this website and comment about the benefit of 40% saving in water conservaton by using your washing machine and shower water to flush your toilets.

http://yubanet.com/california/Report-Explores-Potential-of-Greywater-Reuse-to-Aid-Sustainable-Water-Use.php

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

Laer Pearce, one of my connections on LinkedIn, posted an article on the Water Conservation Professionals group that has definitive information that relates to Water Legacy and our mission to reduce water consumption through re-use of greywater by toilet flushing.  Over 1,100 counties in the US will face shortages of water by 2050.  After reading this article, we realize our mission may be in its infancy, because we american’s have a tendancy not to think beyond a couple of years.  So what can we do???

Greywater recycling, conservation through re-use in irrigation, eco-faucets and high efficiency plumbing are the starting blocks. However; serious efforts need to be made in municipal use, power plant cooling and industrial applications. Total water consumption is projected to increase, not decrease by 2050 by 12% for municipal use and electric cooling.  Agriculture, livestock, irrigation and mining is expected to remain relatively the same.  We can have an effect on our municipal use through greywater recycling by using our shower and washing machine water to flush our toilets. We can impact usage individually. Domestic greywater recycling has reduced our family’s overall use by at least 40%, but not everyone is married to the designer of the WL55.   

To read more about this topic visit this website: http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/watersustainability/files/WaterRisk.pdf

We can add one more to the great web sites that have featured Water Legacy.  This article, written by Court Rye can be accessed by the following link: http://greenhomeauthority.com/residential-graywater-reclamation-systems/

Rob Stevens, our lone house hold in Nebraska, added this comment:

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The book ” Toward a Zero Energy Home” by David Johnson and Scott Gibson, (ISBN 978-1-60085-143-8), prominently features the WL55.  A discussion of greywater is featured in a case study on page 55, specifically points the reader to Water Legacy by stating: “A newer product on the market, Water Legacy, disinfects water with a combination of UV and Hydrogen Peroxide.”  

In Chaper 3, Renewable Energy, the authors not only mention the WL55 and Water Legacy’s greywater reuse system, but displays two color photographs of the WL55 installed in a Zero Carbon Initiative home in Boulder, Colorado.  (page 151)

To order this book, which is a ‘Complete Guide to Energy Self Sufficiency at Home’, contact your local bookseller and request the ISBN number above or contact Taunton Press at www.taunton.com to order direct. 

How exciting!!!!  Today I was alerted to a blog, written by Kevin Geminiuc of the Colorado Green Tech Blog with a feature Article about Conservation through water ReUse.  The article succinctly describes the WL55 and describes the mission and product extremely well.  I personally could not have written it better.  So, I’d like to share it with you through this link and our Facebook page.  http://www.coloradogreentech.net/meetupblog/?p=328

We are so excited that in the upcoming issue of Green Mechanical Contractor Magazine Water Legacy will be featured.  The article which discusses the ” New Frontier of Residential Water Conservation: Graywater Reclamation Systems” specifically mentions the Water Legacy Product and shows a photo of the sytem installed.  This article clearly and succintly describes the knowledge of greywater, various greywater systems, types of disinfection and treatment, storage options, pumps and controls and distribution piping.

When the article is published I will provide a link directly to the magazine.  In the meantime, DO NOT FLUSH FRESH WATER!!!   cmkv