Sunday, May 18, 2008

The Greywater Guerrillas

The Greywater Guerrillas: "Recycling Water the Greywater Guerrillas' Way

Greywater is water that flows down sink, shower, and washing machine drains--but not the toilet. Greywater may contain traces of dirt, food, grease, hair, and household cleaning products. While greywater may look “dirty,” it is a safe and even beneficial source of irrigation water. If released into rivers, lakes, or estuaries, the nutrients in greywater (mainly phosphate from detergent) become pollutants, but to garden plants, they are valuable fertilizer. Aside from the obvious benefits of saving water (and money on your water bill), reusing your greywater keeps it out of the sewer or septic system, thereby reducing the chance that it will pollute local water bodies Reusing greywater for irrigation reconnects urban residents and our backyard gardens to the natural water cycle."
These guys are the real thing...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have done this with bathwater... out the tub via a tube with syphoning action. It worked great with some indigenous ferns.

Anonymous said...

Hey Mad, I found this interesting article a few weeks ago while looking for ways to get grey water from the house to the garden: http://www.umassgreeninfo.org/fact_sheets/plant_culture/gray_water_for_gardens.html