Grow With the Flow: Legal Uses of Graywater

(Page 3 of 5)

March/April 2008
By Carol Steinfeld 
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■ A diverter valve, which is essentially a switch that lets you divert graywater to the sewer or septic system if your system is overloaded or if chemicals such as toxic cleansers have been drained.  --NH

RELATED CONTENT

How to Make the Health Inspector Happy
When applying for a permit, you might encounter a skeptical water authority or health agent who grants permits for wastewater systems. Your chances of success are higher if you:

■ present an underground (called "subsurface") system
■ use a diverter valve to assure you can switch graywater flow to a septic system or sewer
■ prove your soil will absorb water
■ show that your system is sufficiently distanced from groundwater and shores

Water Saving Made Easy
Here are other simple ways to reuse water at home:

■ Put a pail in the bathtub or shower to catch warm-up water that you can use for your plants or to flush the toilet.
■ Collect and reuse water from dehumidifiers; it’s the cleanest water discharged from your house.
■ Set up a rain barrel or gutter-drainage system and reuse roof-collected rainwater for landscaping. (For more information on rain barrels and instructions to make your own, see "Raindrops Keep Falling" in the March/April 2007 issue of Natural Home)

Graywater At Work
Several types of systems use graywater efficiently.

1. Shallow gravel or sand trenches: After filtering graywater in a surge tank, drain it into 18-inch-deep, gravel-filled trenches planted with water-loving species. This California-approved solution is relatively easy to permit in many other states.

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