PRACTICAL WATER RECYCLING

WATER RECYCLING

An excerpt from Christopher Nyerges’ book, Urban Survival Guide

www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com

During my early association with Mr. White’s non-profit, WTI, we focused upon principles of what are now called “sustainability.”  In other words, we wanted to utilize as many of the resources that came onto our property wisely.  We wanted all the rain that fell there to stay there. Water was piped in from afar, and we wanted even that waste water to go to work, double-duty, growing the trees and garden.

I worked with Timothy Hall in order to disconnect the bathtub drain pipe from the sewer line in the house and attach pipes so the bath water would drain about 100 feet away into the orchard area.  

It didn’t take much time to disconnect the drain from under the bathtub, but we did have to crawl under the house in the narrow crawl space, getting covered with cobwebs and this very fine decomposed granite that stained our clothes and didn’t wash out.  Then, we used old recycled galvanized pipes and connected the pieces until we had a line going all the way down hill to where trees would be planted for an orchard.  This took us the better part of the day.  Forever after, all the water from the tub went directly into the lower orchard, and only “safe” detergents were used – those that had no dyes or aromas added.

 

At this time, Timothy operated a local health-food café, and on the bulletin board we advertised ourselves as “ecology plumbers” who would go to your home and retrofit your sink or bathtub drain so the water would go outside. We knew this was illegal according to the Building and Safety codes of the City of Los Angeles at the time, but there was also a drought during this time, and people wanted to get as much use out of their water as possible. Timothy and I did a half-dozen or so of these jobs to the delight of renters and home-owners.

 

The City of Los Angeles representatives made a lot of noise about the people saving water and using less.  The news notices of the day talked about a lot of very standard ways to save water: turn off the water when brushing teeth, water your yard at night, plant drought-tolerant plants, use lots of mulch, don’t wash off the sidewalk, use a full load when you wash clothes, etc.  But through my work with Timothy and WTI, we went way beyond those very basic ways to save water.  And we taught others how to do likewise.

 

 

We strongly advocated against having a front lawn, one of the biggest and pointless water wastes in the entire country.  We collected rain water in our own low-tech way.  We washed a few items of clothes every time we took a bath. And we altered our own plumbing so that the kitchen and bathtub water could flow right outside into the garden.  And it turned out that this last method – known today as “grey water recycling” – was then, and might still be, illegal according to the Department of Building and Safety of the City of Los Angeles. The rationale for this being illegal is that everyone has their own way of doing it and some folks are less careful than others.  The city didn’t want pools of water outside homes and apartments which raise mosquitoes and possibly attract rats or roaches or worse. 

 

Still, we focused on kitchen sink and bathtub water, and we only did it where it could be done easily by gravity and where it would not be a problem.  In one case, we disconnected the drain from under a second-story kitchen sink, and attached a PVC drain pipe that had to go through the wall to the outside. We had to drill an appropriate sized hole, and then we attached the hardware to it which would allow the owner to screw on a garden  hose. The garden hose was then moved around as needed by the homeowner so that the water would flow under fruit trees, ornamentals, or the garden.

 

We advised the customers that they should only buy dish soaps that contained no dyes or perfumes.  Phosphates weren’t a big issue, as they are when your detergents flow into the Los Angeles County sewer system, and eventually flows out to the ocean. Phosphates in the soil act as a fertilizer.  Timothy and I were delighted to do some part-time work that we enjoyed, and we felt made a difference in the world.  Furthermore, for a few hours work, I would earn close to $50, which made me think I was pretty close to a millionaire for the day.

 

I did this same retrofit at the cinder block house on top of the hill which was my home.  This was very easy to do, as there was a clean-out valve just outside the kitchen, and all I needed to do to capture most of the drain water was to attach a line to that clean-out pipe, and run the line out into the yard.  Though this didn’t recycle all the water from the kitchen sink, it did send perhaps 60% of the water going down the drain into my yard and garden.  Eventually, I moved the drain line out into the larger yard to the south. 

 

Since I had potted plants and a little nursery just outside the kitchen door, I would simply take the plastic dish pan when done washing dishing, and empty the water onto the plants.  This is probably one of the easiest ways to recycle household water with no cost of retrofitting.  It is really a no-brainer – even my mother did that consistently at her Pasadena home, and would yell at me and my brothers if we did not do so.  “Why are you so lazy?” she’d chide us. “Take that water outside and water the roses!”

 

Those early retrofits with Timothy had a lasting impact on me because in the beginning the whole idea of “greywater recycling” was a big mystery to me.  After doing so many of the retrofits – and each one was unique – I realized that greywater recycling is one of the easiest things to do.  After I left the cinder block house on top of the hill, I eventually owned my own home, and found that it was easy to recycle the washing machine water and kitchen water.

 

Later, in another home, I did the same thing with the washing machine, and kitchen, but not the bathtub because there was no way to use gravity for the water to flow outside. Later still, at a house I rented, I sent all the kitchen and bathwater out into the yard.  I mulched heavily and would often toss seeds right out the kitchen window. When I finally left this little cabin in Altadena, a 15 foot avocado tree had grown in about 5 years from one of my seeds that I’d tossed out the window, and was producing fruit with no grafting.

 

It made sense then, and it makes sense now, to recycle all one’s water. And despite all the smiley talk and encouragement from the folks at city hall, the right hand of the city does not always agree with the left hand. If and when Building and Safety finds out you are doing  “illegal” greywater recycling, you’ll be cited and asked to hook back up to the sewer.  The alternative is to buy the pumps and holding tanks they now require for this, and the expensive permit, upwards of about $10,000.  And that price means that anyone smart will simply not talk to city hall, but find ways to “go green” safely and inexpensively.

 

Perhaps today because there are more and more of us residing on smaller and smaller parcels of land, many of the simple and common-sense things that we just did with no regard for any government dictates or rules is not as possible today.  This isn’t because it’s not a good idea, but rather because not everyone takes the time to recycle and to compost in a way that is hygienic and sightly.   

 

GREYWATER RECYCLING SUMMARY

Every situation is different, and this assumes you have the yard space to recycle the water into.

	COMMENTS	DIFFICULTY*	PRO	CON
KITCHEN SINK	Requires using non-toxic detergents.	2-3	Food scraps act as fertilizer for garden.	Grease might attract vermin
BATHROOM SINK	Toothpaste, mouthwash, and other substances used here	2-3	Typically, easy to do, and can provide regular water for trees.	Because of the substances that go down this drain, make certain it exits in a safe area.
BATHTUB/ SHOWER	Typically one of the easiest retrofits; must use safe soaps	2	Easy to do; provides regular water for yard irrigation.	Be mindful of shampoos, conditioners, et al., that go down the drain.
WASH. MACHINE	Must have the yard space for a large volume of water.	3	Easy to do and provides large volume of water for irrigation.	Be mindful when you purchase laundry detergents.
DISHWASHER	We advise against having dishwashers.	2-3		Water may exit very hot.
TOILET	N/A

*: 1-5, 5 being most difficult

 

Whatever the argument, I still believe that the simplest path is the best, and that the most natural course of action is the most ideal for the most people.  That which has worked for millennia should still work as long as people are willing to slow down, and quit their blind faith in a technological god that they think will miraculously save us.