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 What is Greywater?
Greywater is household wastewater that has not come into contact with toilet waste. It comes from the bath, shower, bathroom wash basins, washing machines, and laundry trough. Wastewater from the kitchen sink and dishwasher should not be reused, as these can contain heavy loads of organic material, fats and caustic additives.
Why Use Greywater?
Western Australia is experiencing water restrictions due to current drought conditions and the critically low levels of surface water storage. It is recognised that in times such as these many householders like to conserve water by reusing their greywater. This site will hopefully provide some guidance on how greywater can be reused for watering gardens, trees and lawns.
How Can I Reuse Greywater?
Greywater from the bath, laundry trough and hand basin is the most readily available sources of greywater that can be reused. By using a bucket, greywater can be collected and supplied to the garden and or lawn areas. Alternatively, a number of systems are now available which permit greywater to be spread through an interconnecting subsurface trench system to water your trees.
If the house is serviced by reticulated sewerage, it is important not to reuse all the greywater from the household. Some greywater is needed to help flush sewer pipes to prevent blockages.
Greywater re-use for garden irrigation should be encouraged in both urban and rural households. It utilises a valuable on-site resource, conserves precious drinking water and reduces the load on wastewater disposal systems. If applied appropriately to gardens, greywater re-use presents minimal health and environmental pollution risks.
The key to appropriate greywater re-use is user-awareness of the issues surrounding greywater. This website covers simple and complex greywater re-use systems, health risks with re-use, and potential environmental issues.
With increased greywater knowledge, permaculturists can play an important role in promoting the sensible re-use of this household ' waste' water.
How much area do you need to have to make a difference:
The table below lists the expected volume in litres from each greywater source.
No. Bedrooms
|
Laundry* |
Bathroom |
Total Flow |
Irrigation Area required |
2 or less
|
126 |
153 |
279 |
28 sqm |
| 3 |
168 |
204 |
372 |
38 sqm |
| 4 |
210 |
255 |
465 |
47 sqm |
| 5+ |
252 |
306 |
558 |
56 sqm |
Our habits, our behaviours and life choices need to change!
There is an increasing awareness of the need to recycle and reduce waste; however,
there is also little evidence of any real desire in the community to reduce the level
of consumption. We all need to treat and recycle waste to prevent pollution, and
to conserve and re-use our limited resources.
Each of us needs to adopt reuse strategies for a sustainable future.
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