Reusing Graywater On The Lawn and Garden

Graywater refers to the water which has already been used in the home for other purposes such as bathing, washing dishes, and washing clothes. Graywater reuse refers to a homeowner collecting some of this used water and re-directing it to be used for other means such as irrigation watering of gardens and lawns or flushing toilets.

Such reuse of graywater in the home can seem like an excellent idea which aids in water conservation, but the reuse of graywater does have major drawback and health risks involved in it's use.

Bacteria and contaminants are always in high quantities in graywater, these very high levels can pose a real health risk if it is reused on lawns and gardens regularly, and then these garden areas are then used by children or adults as recreation areas.

If graywater is irrigated to a depth which goes past the root zones of many plants or lawns, it will also most likely leach into the water table, taking it's contaminants with it and causing environmental damage, for this reason many States will require permits to be obtained for this use.

The storage of graywater also poses an even greater risk when bacteria have a perfect environment for breeding and multiplying in massive numbers.

The third problem involved in graywater reuse is that it removes massive amounts of water from the sewerage system. This means that other sewerage waste can no longer be effectively transported to waste treatment plants. If graywater were to be removed in any great quantity from the sewerage system then more "clean" and "treated" water will be needed to be pumped into the sewerage system in order that it can continue to work properly.

Many of the problems of polluting the environment can be overcome by the use of a filtering system for graywater, These systems can range in price and complexity from the simple and cheap to the expensive and complex. They all work slightly differently and it is importatnt to remember that many of them still will not remove all pathogens or bacteria from the water, and your State will require that you follow lawns and guidelines, so always check these first before ever considering or using graywater on the lawn or garden.