Graywater filtration system
I have a customer requesting the installation of a grey water filtration/recycling system. The customer lives in the DC area and has explained that these systems are common and considered “green” in application in the urban DC area. The home I will be building for the customer is in the rural mountains of West Virginia. There is no shortage of water up here we have received close to 35″ this year to date and average about 60″ a year.
We are looking to make budget decisions on “green” components. I admit I know little about these systems and have not talked to a plumber around here yet that doesn’t say it is a waste of money. Is a grey water filtration/recycling system still “green” in an area that sees no water issues or will the system have a bigger footprint in terms of excess materials, maintenance, etc?
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Replies
You are probably better off using rainwater catchment over gray water. The water is much more pure, it needs minimal filtration and the entire system requires much less maintenance.
Health codes generally restrict gray water to use in toilets and underground irrigation, while rainwater can be used for almost any use, including potable water (with proper filtration) and spray irrigation. The cost per gallon for rainwater is significantly less than gray water in terms of both first cost and ongoing maintenance.
It may be appropriate to pipe the drains and toilet supplies for gray water even if you don't install the system initially. If higher performance gray water systems become available, then you can always install one, and having separate supply lines to toilets and laundry will allow you to use either rainwater or a future gray water system with minimal extra effort.
Joseph,
Good green design and building doesn't follow a cookie-cutter checklist developed for a national audience. I agree with your implied criticism of greywater recycling systems for houses in high-rainfall areas: they don't make a lot of sense.
每个气候都有自己的挑战。例如，我住在佛蒙特州北部的地方，水很丰富，但是温暖的日子很少。在这种气候下，一个非常好的热膜旨在保留热量是一个重要的绿色特征。旨在节省水的功能要重要得多。
Of course, in parts of Arizona or New Mexico, my priorities would be reversed.
Thanks for responses. I was thinking along the same lines Martin. What I am really thinking though...how green can you be if your building an elaborate vacation home in a poor rural community? Things are getting pretty twisted....green washing.
一个习惯在市政水/下水道系统上生活的顾客可能对灰水感兴趣，但是如果他们在新家中有一个井和化粪池系统，那么水景将完全不同。化粪池系统将废水沉积在坡度以下，其中一些将其返回地下含水层以重复使用。除非源头缺乏稀缺，否则我看不出有任何理由使用金钱，材料或能量来捕获和重用水，或者您不得不将其放在错误的地方。