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Grey Water Reuse System

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Laica Abadesco
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41 views3 pages

Grey Water Reuse System

Uploaded by

Laica Abadesco
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is Grey Water Reuse System?

 It refers to the treatment of wastewater from appliances such as showers,


baths and sinks, to be re-used and fed back into a property for non-
potable purposes such as flushing toilets.
 It contains organic material which is good for plants.
Greywater includes water from showers, bathtubs, sinks, kitchen, dishwashers, laundry
tubs, and washing machines. The major ingredients of greywater are soap, shampoo,
grease, toothpaste, food residuals, cooking oils, detergents, hair etc. In terms of
volume, greywater is the largest constituent of total wastewater flow from households.
In a typical household, 50-80% of wastewater is greywater, out of which laundry
washing accounts for as much as 30% of the average household water use. The key
difference between greywater and sewage (or black water) is the organic loading.
Sewage has a much larger organic loading compared to greywater.

Importance of Reuse of Greywater


If released directly into rivers, lakes and other water bodies, greywater can be a source
of pollution which can affect marine life, human health, ecology etc. However, after
appropriate treatment, greywater is suitable for irrigating lawns, gardens, ornamental
plants and food crops, toilet flushing, laundry washing etc. Reusing grey water for
irrigation and other non-potable water applications will help in reconnection of urban
habitats to the natural water cycle, which will contribute significantly to sustainable
urban development.
Reuse of greywater can help in substituting precious drinking water in applications
which do not need drinking water quality such as industrial, irrigation, toilet flushing and
laundry washing. This will, in turn, reduce freshwater consumption, apart from
wastewater generation. For water-scarce regions, countries, such as the Middle
East and Africa, greywater recycling can be instrumental in augmenting national water
reserves. An increased supply for water can be ensured for irrigation thus leading to an
increase in agricultural productivity.

Benefits of Reusing Greywater

 Can reduce the need for fresh water by reusing


Reduces the need for fresh water greywater for toilet flushing, laundry and various
other purposes.
 Reduces household water bills.

Reduces the amount of fresh water  Reduces wastewater


entering sewerage systems entering on-site
treatment systems.

How is Greywater Reused?


Two main reused system:
Centralized- collects and treats greywater from several apartments or houses in
a treatment plant outside the house.
Decentralized- greywater collected from one or more apartments is treated
inside the house.
Greywater reuse treatment systems can be simple, low-cost devices or complex,
expensive wastewater treatment systems. An example of a simple system is to route
greywater directly to applications such as toilet flushing and garden irrigation. A popular
method for greywater reuse is to drain water from showers and washing machine
directly for landscaping purposes. Modern treatment systems are complex and
expensive advanced treatment processes comprised of sedimentation tanks,
bioreactors, filters, pumps and disinfections units.
In order to transform greywater into non-potable water source, water from baths,
showers, washbasins and washing machines has to be collected separately from black
water, treated and eventually disinfected for reuse. Garden irrigation is the predominant
reuse method for situations where greywater can be bucketed or diverted to the garden
for immediate use.
Advanced greywater recycling systems collect, filter and treat greywater for indoor
applications like toilet flushing or laundry washing. Greywater from laundry is easy to
capture and the treated greywater can be reused for garden watering, irrigation, toiler
flushing or laundry washing.
Water-efficient plumbing fixtures are vital when designing a household greywater reuse
system. Some examples are low-flow shower heads, faucet flow restrictors, and low-
flow toilets. Greywater systems are relatively easier to install in new building
constructions as house or offices already constructed on concrete slabs or crawlspaces
are difficult to retrofit.
Protection of public health is of paramount importance while devising any greywater
reuse program. Although health risks of greywater reuse have proven to be negligible,
yet greywater may contain pathogens which may cause diseases. Therefore, proper
treatment, operation and maintenance of greywater recycling systems are essential if
any infectious pathways should be intercepted.

How can we treat Greywater to make it reusable?


 Filtering
 Settlement of solids
 Anaerobic and aerobic digestion
 Floatation
 Separation of lighter solids and chemical disinfection.
 There is a need to replace greywater filters from time to time.
 The solids that settle on the top of greywater should be removed on regular
basis.
 Greywater should be used for toilet flushing only if it’s treated to reduces harmful
bacteria to a certain level.

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