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

Green Collar Research boasts the largest B2B Green Directory on the web and we are a part of the directory!

Added to the site last week, Water Legacy is the only greywater re-use system on this site. 

Follow this link to visit the site:  

http://www.greencollareconomy.com/Green_Directory/environment/water-efficiency-%26-technology/greywater-management/water-legacy/details/

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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Water Legacy, the only U.S., IAPMO approved greywater reuse system will help you earn LEED points in your residential construction.  LEED’s Water efficiency credit will gain one point for a 20% reduction in water usage and a one more point for a 30% reduction, for a total of two points. The New construction rating system v2.2 specifically states.  ” Potential Technologies and Strategies- Use high-efficiency fixtures, dry fixtures such as composting and waterless urinals, and occupant sensors to reduce potable water demand.  Consider reuse of storm water and greywater for non potable applications such as toilet flushing and urinal flushing”

When you write about something like water, you run the risk of the material being biased with your point of view. I have realized my point of view is about water, just plain old water:  Conservation, reuse, cost of energy generating clean water, availability and contamination of water   I just read an article, which I found confirms what we all know about the US.  We consume more than any other country, and of course that means we probably waste more than any country. 

We Americans are a people that are the most giving and charitable on this planet, yet we waste more than some will ever have.  You cannot give water to other nations and people in need, but you can conserve for our future.  Please check out this link http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/water-solutions/just-the-facts-water-footprints from YES magazine’s new issue to see how much we consume and think that we could save 30 to 40% of our personal residential use by recycling our greywater to flush our toilets. 

Michael Vail, CEO of Water Legacy, was a featured speaker at the IAPMO Emerging Technology Symposium last week in Ontario, California.  Mike’s presentation was a roundtable discussion on the water reuse and cost of energy.  click on this site to learn more and see when the youtube video is available http://www.iapmo.org/Pages/EmergingTechnologySymposium.aspx.

Greywater and greywater reuse present an opportunity for consumers to reduce overall energy consumption.  We often times do not value water movement associated to energy conservation.  But if you use water in your home twice, as you do with the water legacy greywater resuse system, your contribution to the carbon footprint is less.

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. 

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. 

Usually, when a bill comes in the mail, I am not anxious to open it, however; these days when my Denver water bill arrives I open it first.  checking to see our family’s consumption and monthly charges is always a game for me.  I like to note if we saved this month, how much we consumed over last year and our cost.   This week when the bill came there, in big, bold print was the headline: 2010 Water Rate Changes (not increases as it truly is)  The bill directs one to their website.    They state on the web site:

Your 2010 Denver Water Rates

Effective February 2010, Denver Water’s rates will increase. On average, Denver residential customers will pay $40 more per year — an average of about $3.30 per month, or about $12 on a summer bill. Typical suburban residential customers served by Denver Water will see an increase of $51 per year — an average of $4.30 per month, or about $16 on a summer bill. The amount of your bill will vary depending on how much water you use. The more you use, the more you pay. (my italics and bolding).

But don’t worry,  your bill if your are residential consumer will only go up $51.00 per year (avg).  But please note, this is JUST the service charge!

Actual rates are dependent upon consumption. The more you use the more you pay.  If given the opportunity to reduce consumption by 30% to 40% you know you will pay less and consume less.  HMMMMM, what’s all this fuss about greywater reuse??? 

There are two components to Denver Water’s rates:  Service Charges ( which we know have gone up this month from $4.41 per month to $5.58 per month, an increase of 21%.) and Consumption Charge per gallon. The rate being charge per 1000 gallons before the rate hike was $1.91 per 1000 gallons. current rate charges for 1000 gallons is $2.11per 100 gallon.  (only a 10% increase).  However, this is the lowest rate of all consumption for Denver Water.  If you like to take long showers, water your garden in the middle of the day, let you hose run or even keep the water running when you brush your teeth you may be subjected to a over 40 gallon (with a 1000 gallon multiplier) you will be charges $8.44 per 1000 gallons, compared to $7.64 before the rate hike. (10% increase).

We pay hardly anything for our water.  I am pleased to fork over my $23.00 per month for water and sewage services.  It’s the best deal in town.  We have to have water, truly is my cell bill 10 times more valuable than water.  No, I don’t see how it can be.  

My message is truly water is undercharged, and supplemented by local, regional and national agencies.  We can be smart by practicing conservaton now, reducing consumption is easy, but recycling and reusing truly consumes less. But we also need the help of people in Denver Water and all water regulatory agenices to promote the use of grey water and not hinder it with regulations and personality conflicts and old school thoughts.

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