Grey Water

Conventional sanitary engineering has maintained that “sewage is sewage” whether it be grey water alone or total sewage (grey and black water mixed together). There is one reasonable argument for this position : namely, that grey water, if left untreated for few days, ill behave similar to total sewage. Both will develop bad odors (become anaerobic) and both will contain a large number of bacteria. Grey water is specifically wash water. That is, bath dish, and laundry water excluding toilet wastes, When dealt with appropriately, grey water can be a valuable resource which horticultural and agricultural growers as well as home gardeners can take advantage of. It will also be of interest to landscape planners, builders, developers and contractors because of the advantages in design and landscaping of on-site “waste water treatment. It is, after all, the same phosphorous, potassium and nitrogen which make grey water a source of pollution for lakes, rivers and ground water which are excellent sources of nutrition to plants when this particular form of waste water is made available as irrigation water. Grey water irrigation has long been practiced in areas where water is in short supply. However, proper precautions for its use have not always been observed. This has caused a problem for health officials, who have not been satisfied that there is a good method for balancing user needs with public safety considerations. In fact, options for making safe use of grey water as a source for irrigation are many and diverse. As these system make use of the nutrient (pollutant) content in the effluent, they constitute a real solution to the treatment of grey water.