The severe drought in the west and mid-west is causing restriction on watering lawn. Drought and water are now on every body’s mind. As many water agencies require mandatory water usage reduction by 10-20%, some homeowners converting their thirsty lawns to drought tolerant gardens. Lawn conversion is clearly the best way to save water as lawns can easily consume 60% or more of household water in the summer months.
In the U.S. on average 150 gallons of water is consumed per person per day. The French use 76 gallons and the Britons use 40 gallons. In Mozambique people are able to survive on 1 gallon per person per day. We are living in a developed country, but we should be able to cut water usage by half since most of water is being wasted. It is going to take some changes in the way we use water. We do need to stretch the water supply in case we have another dry year. We have to conserve water before the well runs dry. In the west coast, meteorologists just revived their forecast saying that a heavy raining season is not expected this year.
Greywater recycling can be another way to save you a lot of water. Greywater is waste water discharged from the laundry machines, bathroom sinks, showers, and tubs. It can be conveniently used to water landscape including trees, shrubs, vines and vegetable gardens. Water from kitchen sink and dishwasher belong to the black water category. Black water contains more bacteria and chemicals and require more treatments before becoming safe to use. Many municipalities do not allow reusing black water in residential area.
Installing a greywater recycling system from laundry to landscape can be very simple. It is low cost, easy to install, and low maintenance. The pump in the laundry machine is sufficient to get the water to a separate pipe without affecting the rest of the household plumbing system. A laundry to landscape system is the simplest and the most cost effective. The material costs only about $100-250. Or you can hire an installer which may run from $700 to over $1000. Many states do not require permits for laundry to landscape systems, but do check with your local permit department.
Recycling greywater from bathroom sinks, tubs and showers is more complicated, often because it requires reconfiguring part of the drainage plumbing. Installation by a contractor can cost $1000-4000. If you have a lot of people in the household taking a lot of showers or baths and plenty of landscape/garden, this may be an extra step to take.
Tell us how do you conserve water.
Some useful and related resources:
Greywater Reuse
Greywater Design Manual For Outdoor Irrigation
Saving Water by Sheet Mulching
