Here's the scenario; remote mountain cabin, no plans for a garden, vegetable or otherwise. We (2 of us) are low volume water users. Cabin, once built, will be a weekend retreat with heaviest use late May thru mid August when we don't attend our regular jobs. ;D There will be no septic; toilet will be composting, sawdust or whatever. :-/ Not worried about P&Z. ;) I just want to be able to allow the gray water to return to the forest floor without having a smelly messy mud puddle. :( I'm wondering what folks have used successfully for gray water dispersal? :-? I know there are books out there but I don't think I need to go to great lengths to actually re-use the water except for the aforementioned watering of the forest.
Are there state regulations?
Here's a book that might be worth running to ground: http://www.amazon.com/Cottage-Water-Systems-Out-City/dp/096969220X
Article from down under on considerations for gray water systems: http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Grey_water_-_recycling_water_at_home?Open
Thanks John, .... Youngins, State regs are below; but I'm after the nuts and bolts of how someone else has done it....
:
1. Every gray water distribution system must provide for overflow into the sewer;
2. Gray water storage tanks must be covered;
3. Systems must not be sited in floodways;
4. Gray water must be stored at least five feet above the ground water table;
5. Pipes must be clearly identified;
6. Gray water must not run out of a homeowner's property;
7. Contact with people or domestic pets must be minimized;
8. Ponding of gray water is prohibited;
9. Spraying of gray water is prohibited;
10. Gray water must not be discharged to a watercourse;
11. Use of gray water must comply with local ordinances ; and
12. No more than 250 gallons of gray water can be used in a given day.
QuoteHere's a book that might be worth running to ground: http://www.amazon.com/Cottage-Water-Systems-Out-City/dp/096969220X
Woo Hoo!! The local public library has it on the shelf. :o It's a short drive. :)
We always had a bucket. No indoor plumbing, but the kitchen sink was set up for wash basins. A 5 gallon bucket sat below the drain pipe.
I and my brother were the "greywater disposal system" when we'd haul it out to the garden/flower beds. ;)
There's also the good old, "flinging it out the door" method.
Colorado is not very friendly to either greywater or rainwater harvesting:
[link]http://water.state.co.us/pubs/policies/waterharvesting.pdf[/link]
Take a looks at this.
http://www.omick.net/graywater/graywater.htm
His entire site is worth reading. Here is his home page:
http://www.omick.net/index.htm
Thanks APG. That's a good common sense article with usable ideas.
nice.
Do they take the grease out of the distribution chamber occasionally?
I like these books http://www.oasisdesign.net/
We ran the plumbing from the washer to an area remote from the house bu it did have a sulfur smell.
Judy
I and my brother were the "greywater disposal system" ;D When I used a big watering can to get water form the rainwater cisterns I said we had a drip irrigation system--and I was the DRIP!
QuoteTake a looks at this.
http://www.omick.net/graywater/graywater.htm
His entire site is worth reading. Here is his home page:
http://www.omick.net/index.htm
This
is an informative site and the place they live in AZ-near Cascabel is beautiful. More info on the area here: http://www.cascabelhermitage.org/
Judy
Thanks Judy. I got the other book that John mentioned from the library today. I haven't had a look at it yet; maybe tonight.
http://www.amazon.com/Cottage-Water-Systems-Out-City/dp/096969220X
I've read thru the "Cottage Water Systems" book John recommended. (A "cottage" is simply a Canadian cabin.) It has a specific section on greywater design. The author uses a leach pit made of dry stacked concrete blocks; tells you how to do a soil test and how to size it. Of course whether or not you can build a graywater system is dependent upon your local codes. Or how well you're burrowed back into the woods. It is a pretty basic book, but has useful info and that's what I was looking for. It doesn't get into using the water for irrigation and whatnot, but I didn't need that. Thanks John. Also has a design for a basic pit privy, general info on water supplies, pumps, winterizing, etc.
My mother use to use a washer with a water saver feature. First, she would wash whites. The wash water went to the flower beds. The rinse water was sucked back into the washing machine as the wash water for darks. Dark wash water again used for flowers, and rinse water used for the very dirty work clothes wash water, etc. She used water from the cistern for wash because it was soft compared to the well.
I water my aspen trees with dish water. I move around my garden hose. I don't have a washing machine yet. But will this summer. We are very careful not to put visible grease down the hatch. I think that the biodegradable soap emulsifies the fat molecules to an extent that the grease does not separate out. Using the strainer in the kitchen sink prevents all but the smallest particles into my drain line.
I am planning on moving to my cabin fulltime. I will dig a line out to a pit which will be filled with large rock/gravel. The sides of the pit will be lined with a fabric to prevent soil from filling in. I might put in a grease trap prior to the main pit. I will insulate the pipe and the top of the pit with wood chips to prevent freezing.
Where my cabin is, is not subject to many rules and regs (lucky me) so I am mostly free to design my own system. The last thing I want to do is to foul my own nest.
It's the blackwater system that's got me thinking how to deal with it. I'm not going septic. I may go well-designed outhouse. We'll see.
Will you still have net access, Hal? Nice to see you here once in a while. :)
Lots of people in the area have dishnet or some kind of satellite tv service and so I am assuming I'll still have internet service. I'd better!! :)
You can get two way satellite internet service almost anywhere in the USA with a clear southern sky view. $50 - $60 / month I think