Tap into Water Savings
(Page 2 of 8)
August/September 2004
By Claire Anderson
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Do-it-yourself Options
Landscape-direct is one of the simplest graywater systems. One common example is an outdoor shower built over a semipermeable surface, such as flagstones set in sand, where landscaping techniques are used to direct water runoff to established planter beds. Because wastewater is not discharged into a drain — and may not technically be considered “graywater” — these systems may circumvent plumbing codes.
Branched drain-to-mulch basins, where sloped drains direct graywater to mulch-filled basins planted with fruit trees and other perennials, are another strategy. These systems are simple to build, yet produce great results in the garden and orchard.
In Tucson, Ariz., brothers Brad and Rodd Lancaster send graywater from their washing machine to one of four pipes in their unbranched drain-to-mulch system, manually routing the graywater to planting zones in their back yard (see “Community Conservation,” Page 102). “Every time we do a wash,” Brad says, “we move the washing machine drain hose to the next pipe, which spreads the wealth of graywater around and allows each area receiving graywater to dry out somewhat before the next watering. That way the soil is kept from becoming too saturated with the nutrient-rich graywater, and in turn, any associated odors from stagnant graywater are stymied.”
In the Lancasters’ system, each pipe empties into a subsurface drain (in this case, an upside-down bucket) buried beside a tree.
Empower your flowers
In Jefferson, Md., where freezing conditions are common, Randy and Francy Williams’ graywater disperses to an irrigation trough — a bottomless box with a slate-topped lid that is set at grade along the south side of their house (see above left). Graywater’s embodied warmth and the heat generated by microbial activity in the moist soil protect this system, called a NutriCycle, from freezing, says the designer, John Hanson.
A pump system in the Williamses’ basement delivers 15 gallons of water at a time to shallow troughs in the flower bed outside, where nutrients and moisture are absorbed by the flowers’ roots. Some graywater is transpired through the vegetation, but most, now purified, seeps downward for groundwater recharge.
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