» greywater
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To Greywater or NotBy GregPeterson on January 20, 2010 | 11 Comments
I believe that living a green lifestyle is about making many small steps over time in the direction of green. Whether it is reducing what you use, before reusing what you have, then making recycling last or adding greywater to your landscape each part is a learning process. This weeks article is a just one simple look at the notion of using greywater in your landscape.Every day we are letting a valuable resource flow right down our drains. Greywater is defined as any water that runs down the drain of your sinks, showers and washer, but does not include ‘blackwater’ from your toilet or kitchen sink. Greywater is a beneficial resource that we can use to irrigate our landscapes and cut down on the amount of water we use on a day-to-day basis saving a valuable resource and money on our water bill.
The trick is to figure out how to get the water from our drains to our landscape. One way to redirect your greywater is to replumb your sinks so that they run outside, a harrowing job for even the most skilled homeowner. But there are other alternatives: Hang a hose over a tree limb to create your own simple outdoor shower; keep a 5 gallon bucket in the bathroom and catch the water as your shower warms up; and always consider adding greywater to your remodeling projects.
At the Urban Farm we have integrated the notion of greywater in the remodeling of our outdoor patio, by designing the outdoor vegetable rinse sink and shower to drain into the landscape. Think about ways of using this greywater asset to replace your landscape irrigation water. Normally landscape irrigation water is used directly from the city water supply and is only used once, while your greywater is being used twice.
Here is a simple system that I installed in one of the bathrooms of my home.
My bathroom sink. The water heater is all the way on the other side of the house so I have to put a gallon or two down the drain every time I want to take a hot shower.
So I decided to add a Jandy valve under the sink. The pipe running to the left on this picture goes out to the landscape. The pipe running to the right and then pointing back goes to the sewer. This way if we need to put something that we don’t want out in the landscape down the drain we direct the water to the sewer. Otherwise the water gets directed through the wall and into the landscape.
This is where the pipe from under my sink exits outside. The white thing on the top of the pipe is a back flow preventer.
The water then travels about 20 feet. Remember there needs to be a slope in the pipe so the water flows down. Then we used an infiltrator that was buried near my apple, apricot, mesquite and cherry trees. The picture below shows the infiltrator that we used. There is no bottom in it so the water lands in the dirt and percolates into the ground. This greywater system is oversized for the amount of water that goes into it. I did this on purpose as I eventually plan to add the shower to the greywater system.
When it was all said and done this is what it looked like. The shadow you see at the bottom of the picture is the shade of the apple tree.
Greywater notes:
• There are special soaps you need to use when utilizing greywater. Click here for the full article on biocompatible soaps
• Greywater use is legal in the State of Arizona. Simply follow the thirteen best practices outlined by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality in its document, Using Greywater at Home. Check with your state or municipality for the legalities of greywater in your area.
• When it comes to designing and installing your greywater system, the premier book on the subject is Create an Oasis with Greywater by Art Ludwig. This book outlines the many systems that you can build and includes great graphics, charts, and pictures to assist any do-it-yourselfer. Just remember that greywater is always best put directly into the ground where your landscape plants can us it rather than to store greywater in a container, as it can have a tendency to smell rather quickly.
Greywater is simple to utilize once you understand the concepts.
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Urban Farm 101By GregPeterson on January 4, 2010 | 1 Comment
Hi all,
I live in the heart of Phoenix Arizona, and over 20 years ago I purchased my home on 1/3 of an acre to expand my gardening habit, as it had always been my goal to be an organic farmer. A few years ago I went back to school and in one of my classes I had to define a mission and vision for my life. I had always dreamed that I would go out there somewhere and be an organic farmer…what I discovered in that class was that I was already doing what I wanted – that was to teach and showcase.
In 2001 The Urban Farm was born. These days I call The Urban Farm an environmental showcase home featuring a primarily edible landscaping (including over 80 fruit trees), three different kinds of solar panels (Photovoltaics, thermal air and water heating), rainwater harvesting, greywater harvesting, plus a remodeled 800 square foot patio primarily made from reclaimed materials. My intent is that I create all of this so that it fits into a mainstream lifestyle, and when visitors arrive they can imagine that they too could implement some of the changes I have made at The Urban Farm, in their own urban farms.
Down on the Urban Farm are my musings and observations of just what goes into making our urban areas more sustainable. I will include stuff of a local interest such as all the classes and tours that we offer as well as pictures and processes that can be integrated in your life whether you live in an apartment in New York City or have some land in Santa Fe.
On my blog is specific information on growing and being green in Phoenix, AZ. Check out the Urban Farm Video on the homepage of my blog, the Desert Planting Calendar, AZ Farmers Market List, Using Greywater in Your Home, and the Arizona Regulation on Greywater.
I also delve into the notion of living green anywhere where you live. Plus, check my Tuesday posts about your Urban Farm where I will feature your urban farms. So please tell me your stories.
Enjoy.
Greg Peterson
The Urban Farm Guy -
Weekly Innovation – 8 Principles for Successful Rainwater Harvesting, Part 2By farmergreg on June 18, 2009 | No Comments
The past two weeks we have been discussing greywater and rainwater use in our yards. Last week author Brad Lancaster gave us the background on his journey to expertise in rainwater harvesting. This week he gives us the specifics on his eight principles for successful rainwater harvesting.
A quick review of last weeks article: On average up to 90% of our household municipal water that goes down the drain is actually greywater ready, we just need to get it to the landscape. Additionally, we can harvest and infiltrate thousands of gallons of rain and runoff into the soil around our home (and, by extension, the community’s watershed) over the course of our annual average rainfall. These two water sources can provide a significant amount of our landscape irrigation needs.
By shifting to living within our greywater and rainwater “budget” we can make a significant impact on our local sustainability and landscapes. As a result, we can enrich the land, create a beautiful home and neighborhood environment – and give back more than we take!
Both of Brad’s books:
Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands Vol. 1
Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond Vol. 2
are available at our YourGuidetoGreen.com online store, as well as the book Create an Oasis with Greywater. Along with our theme of showers from the sky, we’re offering you our Eco-Shower Bundle, which both the kids and your pocketbook will love!
Enjoy the rain and hey, if you enjoy reading these weekly tips and articles please forward them to a friend (use the “Share” box below and click “email”.
You can also get them hooked on our 15 Essentials for Living a Green Lifestyle ”quickie” email series. See the green “Subscribe” box in the column to the right
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Weekly Innovation – 8 Principles for Successful Rainwater Harvesting, Part 1By farmergreg on June 12, 2009 | 2 Comments
Last week we discussed greywater and some of the methods for utilizing it. If you missed it, here is the link to the tip. Now let’s move on to rainwater harvesting which, from an implementation perspective, is very similar to greywater applications. The biggest difference between the two is the source of water.
Rainwater typically is harvested from a roof and directed via gutters into the ground surrounding the structure. However, any flat hard surface can be designed to direct the water from where it lands to where you want it. As an example, my concrete driveway is slightly sloped to the south and drains the rainwater into the garden bed.
In this week’s article, Brad Lancaster begins the exploration of how we go about installing rainwater harvesting systems. Remember that many of the methods can also be overlaid on greywater systems as well. He also outlines his eight principles to a successful water harvesting system. Here are the first four:
- Conduct a long, thoughtful observation
- Begin at the top and work your way down
- Plan and manage an overflow route
- Harvest rain as close as possible to where it falls
…and for the rest check out his full article.
Our featured book, Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands Vol. 1, shows you how to select, place, size, construct, and plant your chosen water-harvesting “earthworks”. Along with our theme of showers from the sky, we’re offering you our Eco-Shower Bundle, which both the kids and your pocketbook will love!
Enjoy the rain and, as always, have a great green day! And hey, if you enjoy reading these weekly tips and articles please forward them to a friend. You can also get them hooked on our 15 Essentials for Living a Green Lifestyle ”quickie” email series.
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Weekly Innovation – Greywater Turned GreenBy farmergreg on June 5, 2009 | No Comments
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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