Graywater is wastewater used for irrigation. It comes from bathtubs, showers, bathroom sinks, washing machines, and laundry tubs. You divert this water away from your house before it flows into your sewer pipes. Graywater systems have a valve so you can send it back to the sewer in times of rain.
Greywater pipes usually feed into a waste stack or a sewage treatment system, and this water is reused in sustainable systems for non-potable purposes after treatment. Greywater pipes generally feed into a waste stack or direct out to a sewage treatment system if they are part of an urban infrastructure.
best practice is for grey water to terminate at a tree or flower bed under the surface in a french drain type setup with gravel and sand and a perforated pipe under the surface with 6-12" soil and plants above.
Greywater must not leak into stormwater drains or waterways. Untreated greywater must not be stored longer than 24 hours. Overflow from a greywater system must discharge to a sewer or septic tank.
Graywater shall be directed to and contained within an irrigation or disposal field. Ponding or runoff is prohibited and shall be considered a nuisance. Graywater may be released above the ground surface provided at least two (2) inches (51 mm) of mulch, rock, or soil, or a solid shield covers the release point.
Put simply, soil pipes are designed to carry soiled water (blackwater) from toilets, urinals, or bidets, and waste pipes are designed to carry wastewater (greywater) from sinks, showers, baths and washing machines down into the mains sewer (or a storage/treatment plant if you have an off-mains system).
Some greywater may be applied directly from the sink to the garden or container field, receiving further treatment from soil life and plant roots. The use of non-toxic and low-sodium soap and personal care products is recommended to protect vegetation when reusing greywater for irrigation purposes.
Graywater is not approved for use with hose bibs, nor any inside water uses such as, but not limited to, toilet flushing.
Rules can vary from state to state on the proper disposal or dumping of each type of water. Yet, when it comes to black water, a good general rule to follow is never dump black water unless it is at a designated septic or black water site.
Greywater treatment by mechanical systems is typically based on filtration or treatment with chemicals. In filtration, the aim is to remove impurities using filters, with typically a few or several filters in a row in order to guarantee good results.
A gray water septic system is an essential part of septic systems. Gray water is the term used for water that does not come in contact with human waste. For instance, the water that goes down your drain in the kitchen sink is gray water, and the water in your toilet is considered black water.
The general rule of thumb is you'll be dumping every 3-5 days, again depending on the size of your tank, the number of people using the toilet and sinks, and how much water is used in the kitchen and the shower.
Environmental considerations
Use of greywater over a long period of time without proper management of the sources of contamination or the irrigation system may lead to further negative impacts, which may result in pooling and runoff. alkaline and this can be harmful to acid loving plants such as azaleas and camellias.
Taking the wastewater away
Whenever you flush the toilet or empty the sink, the wastewater goes down the drain and into a pipe, which takes it to a larger sewer pipe under the road. The sewer then joins our network of other sewers and takes the wastewater to a sewage treatment works.
Summary. Waste water from non-toilet plumbing systems such as handbasins, washing machines, showers and baths is known as 'greywater'.
Whenever possible, dump your RV gray water at a dump station or sewage facility. Avoid contributing to environmental pollution by using biodegradable products. It's also a great idea to use a strainer to strain out any food particles if you dump your gray water on the ground to avoid attracting wildlife.
Toxic discharges such as rinse water from paint, chlorine bleach, or hair dye should never be released into the greywater system. Instead, they should be routed to the municipal sewer. All greywater systems should have a three-way valve installed to easily switch the discharge water flow to the sewer or yard.
Kitchen greywater may be harmful to soils by altering its characteristics in the longer term. It is for these reasons of health and environmental risk that kitchen greywater is not to be reused nor diverted from the sewer.
Unlike the water supplied by your local utility, grey water is rich in chemicals that feed microbes, so it cannot be allowed to flow into the gutters and storm sewer (which, in the Los Angeles basin, drains into the ocean). Nor do you want it pooling in your yard, where it would provide a breeding ground for mosquitos.
Plants can be watered with shower, bath, kitchen and washing machine water (from rinse cycles), collectively referred to as 'grey' water.
How Does Greywater Leave the Home? Under typical conditions, household plumbing systems are designed to combine grey water with sewage water, also known as “black water.” Then, it leaves the home through the sewage removal system, heading either to a septic tank or water treatment facility.
4″ waste line can support 90 DFU's, Toilets can be 3–4 DFU's depending on how many gallons per flush. So, 22 toilets if they use a lot of water.
Grey water is untreated, non-disinfected household wastewater that does not include toilet waste. It may be sourced from showers, baths, and washing machines. WHEN CAN GREY WATER BE USED? Grey water can be safely used to water landscape plants and orchard trees.
It's chemicals and fertilizers and such that causes problems. NO!! In most jurisdictions, gray water is considered untreated sewage, dumping it on the ground is pollution and could result in a fine, possibly even jail time. James Housel That's not in California.