This time of the year I get a lot of questions about how to best water our yards. Short of standing with the hose or installing a sprinkler system, what can we do? Two of my favorite solutions are greywater and rain water harvesting. Over the next few weeks we are going to explore these options, starting with greywater.

For the longest time after I went to my first permaculture class in 1991 I understood the notion of water harvesting to be one where I had to collect and store the water in some kind of container. The part that I missed was that a perfect storage container for the water is FREE… it’s the ground around my home. That’s right, don’t build tanks, put gutters in place to put the water in the ground where you need it. Our articles over the next three weeks will share many strategies about just how to do this.

This week’s article, called Greywater Turned Green, explores the many aspects of greywater. But before you go there, here are some quick greywater answers.

• Greywater is the water that goes down your shower, washer and sink (not including the kitchen.)

• Blackwater, which is not usable in our landscape, is the water that goes down the toilet and kitchen sink.

• Don’t ever store greywater, as it begins to smell very quickly.

• Greywater is legal in some states. Check with your local municipality for the regulations in your area.

• To see Arizona’s regulations click here

We also have two fantastic books on the topic. Create an Oasis with Greywater gives you the inside scoop on irrigating with household wash water while relieving septic tank strain and doing it all chemical free! Plus Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands Vol. 1 shows you how to select, place, size, construct, and plant your chosen water-harvesting “earthworks”.Most of all have fun with your greywater. Have a great green day.

Greg

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