Grey Waters Run Deep

We have not done a comprehensive survey of municipal water regulations, but we suspect that most cities in the good ol’ U.S. of A. have a somewhat more progressive position vis-à-vis greywater reuse than Myrtle’s home, College Station, Texas.  College Station does not allow the reuse or recycling of greywater.  At all.  Period.

This places our fair city in direct opposition to the State of Texas, which allows residential greywater recycling, without a permit, provided less than 400 gallons a day are being used.  HB 2661, enacted in September 2003, was an amendment to the Texas State Water Code, and established the following paramaters for reusing water from sinks, bathtubs and washing machines:

• Graywater can be used in agricultural, domestic, commercial, and industrial situations, in accordance with applicable Health and Safety codes.
• A permit is not required for the domestic use of up to 400 gallons of graywater daily if the following criteria are met:

• Graywater originates from a private residence,
• Graywater is used by the occupants of that residence for gardening, composting, or landscaping at the residence,
• Graywater is collected with a system that overflows into a sewage or on-site waste treatment and disposal system,
• Graywater is stored in tanks that are clearly labeled as non-potable water, restrict access (especially to children), and eliminate habitat for mosquitoes and other pests,
• Graywater system uses piping that is clearly identified as non-potable water conduit,
• Collection of graywater does not generate ponds or pools,
• Collection system does not create runoff across property lines or onto impervious surfaces,
• Graywater is distributed by a surface or subsurface system that does not spray into the air.

• Builders are encouraged to install plumbing in all new houses in a manner that allows graywater collection and reuse.
• The installation of subsurface graywater systems around the foundations of new houses is encouraged so as to minimize foundation movement and cracking.

Some of these rules make more sense to us than others, though all are necessary to a greater or lesser degree.  The marking of water as ‘non-potable’ seems a little silly, given that, if the tanks and hoses are located near a garden, and the hoses are, in fact, soaker hoses, it should be obvious to any onlooker that the water is intended for the plants, not for human consumption.  Still, in a society where even toothpicks come with instructions, we suppose this is to be expected.

The use of collection systems probably deserves some attention.  We remember our grandfather (who lived just outside the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Llano, Texas, many years ago; if you aren’t familiar with Llano, it’s near Art and Casteel) running a line from his kitchen sink to the St. Augustine lawn growing under the huge oak trees in his back yard.  While we ordinarily despise lawns at Myrtle’s place, Grandaddy Mints’ lawn took up a small portion of his acreage, and in our memory, he never used well water to keep it green, opting instead for either greywater from the kitchen, or occasionally diverting water pumped from his stock pond, which was the primary source of water for his half-acre garden, as well.

Grandaddy Mints did not filter or treat his water before running it out to the grass; we know now that this was not right, given that the dishes in the kitchen sink were washed with commercially available soaps all of which were high in phosphates, a lot of nasty chemicals were getting leached into the groundwater when he let the water run straight into the ground.

There are two alternative solutions to this problem, now that we know what phosphates can do to the environment.  The institutional mindset, reflected in the State of Texas’ rules regarding greywater reuse, assumes that phosphates, nitrates, chlordates, and other nasty chemicals are necessarily going to be components of greywater, and therefore any use of greywater requires that the water first be run through a filtration system of some kind.

There are many such systems, some of which involve manufactured tubs full of artificially created filters a lot like what you get with those “reverse osmosis” water filtration systems at which we distillers scoff, and we at Myrtle’s place obviously do not recommend these systems.  The use of plastics, alone, suggests that these systems are not environmentally friendly.  Other systems make use of filtration through a planter with algal and other biological remediation systems – ie, plants which soak up the offending materials but not all of the water – before dripping out into final use.

We are intrigued by the bioremediation systems, but not enough to advocate them on a small-scale facility like, say, a backyard microfarm.  No, we think a paradigm shift is in order which makes filtration systems unnecessary.

The reason greywater systems require filtration, according to the government, is that they contain phosphates, etc.  So… why not remove the offending chemicals at the source?  There are plenty of soaps and cleansers available which do not pose any environmental dangers, some available as homemade solutions, others available at your local grocers.  Castile soaps (that is, soaps made with a vegetable oil base) pose virtually no risk of groundwater contamination.  Clean white sand as an abrasive works at least as well as chlorine based abrasives, and is what has been used from time immemorial until, oh, the 1950s anyway.  Organic toothpastes, shampoos, conditioners, etc. are all readily available.

In short, nothing noxious to your plants has to go in your sink, bathtub or washing machine.  While you will still want to review your local ordinances, we recommend a small stainless steel collection tank for greywater overflow, with a screen to filter out largish particles like the aforementioned scrubbing sand, with output running to soaker hoses running underneath loose mulch in your vegetable, herb, or flower beds, or around your fruit trees.

But don’t forget to print out a label for the overflow tank stating “Non-Potable Water”.  Wouldn’t want any innocent passersby to get the wrong impression!

Happy farming!