At Monterey Greywater we are working to minimize the damage to our local rivers and aquifers, by promoting the proper use of greywater and rainwater catchment systems. It’s our belief that by using these simple systems correctly, local residents will be able to make a significant difference, in how much water they use. This saves money, protects the river, reduces sewage waste, and allows them to continue to water their yards through Cal-Ams outdoor watering ban.
Our Goal Include
- Education of the public about the value and availability of greywater conservation.
- To promote the successful installation of the large number of greywater systems necessary, to significantly reduce water use.
- To use greywater systems to recharge our local rivers and aquifers.
- To provide a means for the homeowner to maintain their landscapes through greywater irrigation instead of fresh water irrigation.
- To encourage the use of simple sustainable systems that minimize environmental impact and maximize longevity.
- To help provide sustainable livelihoods to environmentally concerned individuals and companies working toward water conservation.
Greywater Quick Facts
- Graywater is all the waste water a home produces, except water from the toilets.
- California law does not allow graywater use from kitchen sinks and dishwashers.
- Dish, shower, sink, and laundry water comprise 50-80% of residential 'waste' water .
- This wastewater contains the soap and hair and things that go down the sink drain, or come out of the laundry. With use of the proper soaps, this wastewater creates, a kind of liquid culture that becomes plant food almost immediately upon mixing with a properly prepared landscape .
- Graywater is safe, there are eight million greywater systems in the US with 22 million users. In 60 years, there has not been one documented case of greywater transmitted illness."
- Graywater is not useful to irrigate lawns because in must be released underground, but its so safe its fine to use in vegetable gardens, and fruit trees are perfect recipients for graywater.
- Graywater should not be stored, as it turns to “black” toilet type water within 24 hours.
- < A simple pipe from the collection plumbing in the house, that runs downhill into a properly designed mulch basin, is almost foolproof. It's also very low maintenance, extremely sustainable, and could last many decades .
- The success of these simple systems, and the dire need to conserve water are what prompted the California legislature to pass an emergency measure making it legal to install certain systems without a permit .
- The need to conserve water is dire, according to California American Water if that State Water Resources Control Board imposes even modest cutbacks on the Monterey Peninsula, residents can probably forget about watering their gardens .
- Though very good for the landscape, an effective graywater system doesn't irrigate the way of fresh water system does. It's not under pressure, and it contains bits of matter that will clog the fine tuned type of irrigation were used to. Instead mulch basins are used to cleanse the water, and deliver it to specific landscape "areas" as opposed to specific small plants.
- Graywater systems are great for the environment, not only do they they reduce the amount of water taken out of the rivers, but also return water, by recharging the aquifers. The clean biologically treated water they produce, seeps back into the earth, recycling the clean water back to the rivers and aquifers .
- The most complicated part of building a graywater system is keeping it simple. .