Reusing our grey water on the garden is a no brainer in our situation. However, for the purposes of being thorough and establishing what assumptions/constraints lead us to that conclusion let's unpack that a bit. For any new dwelling Council's require details of how 'waste' is to be managed on the property. What they usually mean by this is "pay us several hundred $ to connect to the sewers". Since we have no intention of connecting to sewers (they're miles away for a start, but also we'll have composting toilets so why bother?) we are left with the issue of how to manage greywater. Given the effort we'll go to to catch and store water for drinking, it makes sense to be just as strategic about where it goes to next.
We are aware that by and large most grey water systems do not 'save water' overall. That's ok with us, as our goal for the system is the strategic use of what would otherwise be waste in a situation where we have little alternative. Anywhere we go from just letting our waste water trickle down the hillside is a positive.
So, how? Our requirements for any system are generally that it's cheap, complies with regulations (usually the hard part), and can be made and maintained by us with minimal help.
In our initial meeting with the council it was obvious that their opinion of grey water reuse systems was less than positive. Extremely reluctant, I would say, certainly not enthusiastic. Grey water was the one aspect of this build that has been met with the most reluctance, on every other aspect of our project the people we've spoken to in the Council have been hesitantly open-minded. But with grey water, the boom gates really came down. It wasn't an outright 'no', but they were very clear that we'd have to have our documents very much in order to get this through. It does make us wonder what has happened to make this Council so reluctant to deal with grey water systems. We'll probably never know, but we can hope that we'll be part of turning that attitude around.
Firstly, the regulations. In NSW greywater diversion systems can be installed without needing council approval provided they comply with certain conditions which we won't meet. Local council approval is needed for a diversion system from bathroom/laundry - so far as I can tell the same SepticSafe form we'll need for our composting toilet applies to any proposed waste water system, with the section below listing the expected supporting documentation:
And they say Australia is an over-regulated society...
For kitchen waste water the story is a little different. We'll need a treatment system that is accredited. This was where the plot went from thickening to curdling for me. The Australian Standards make it very clear that local governments are not permitted to approve grey water treatment systems that are not accredited by the Health Department. However, I keep finding accounts of people who have managed to get various systems approved by council even when they aren't accredited, either just by that particular State's department or at all. It does seem, though, that for this first house project a DIY grey water treatment system may be one battle too far.
On my search for an accredited system I had a few requirements. Early searches found many systems with pumps and vent fans and all sorts of other contraptions that required electricity to run, this seemed like a completely unnecessary strain on our electrical system. I also found any number of systems that retailed for upwards of $10,000. Since this is almost half of what we hope our entire house will cost to build it, again, seemed an entirely unnecessary waste. Any system we choose will be simple and cheap. The third requirement is for limited maintenance. The various systems on offer that require a registered plumber to service them every 3 months are, to me, completely foolish and to be avoided at all costs. If we can't maintain it ourselves we're not really interested.
After quite a bit of searching I found a useful table that confirmed a lot of what I'd read already - that two particular models (EcoDesign's Greywater Reuse System, and EcoFlow's Nature Clear GWS10) fit the brief in being on the cheaper side, needing no electricity and limited maintenance, and had the added bonus of producing compost periodically. Seemed perfect, except they're both only accredited in Qld and 'parts of NSW'. We'll try our luck, I think.
One final note: We are aware we are designing a system that will not be able to handle substantial contamination with human waste. We also know we want kids somewhere in our future. This will inevitably lead us to a choice, down the track, about nappies that has a bit more weight to it than the convenience vs environment dichotomy that plagues most of our friends. Though a quick search found these, which would appear to solve the problem.
We are aware that by and large most grey water systems do not 'save water' overall. That's ok with us, as our goal for the system is the strategic use of what would otherwise be waste in a situation where we have little alternative. Anywhere we go from just letting our waste water trickle down the hillside is a positive.
So, how? Our requirements for any system are generally that it's cheap, complies with regulations (usually the hard part), and can be made and maintained by us with minimal help.
In our initial meeting with the council it was obvious that their opinion of grey water reuse systems was less than positive. Extremely reluctant, I would say, certainly not enthusiastic. Grey water was the one aspect of this build that has been met with the most reluctance, on every other aspect of our project the people we've spoken to in the Council have been hesitantly open-minded. But with grey water, the boom gates really came down. It wasn't an outright 'no', but they were very clear that we'd have to have our documents very much in order to get this through. It does make us wonder what has happened to make this Council so reluctant to deal with grey water systems. We'll probably never know, but we can hope that we'll be part of turning that attitude around.
Firstly, the regulations. In NSW greywater diversion systems can be installed without needing council approval provided they comply with certain conditions which we won't meet. Local council approval is needed for a diversion system from bathroom/laundry - so far as I can tell the same SepticSafe form we'll need for our composting toilet applies to any proposed waste water system, with the section below listing the expected supporting documentation:
And they say Australia is an over-regulated society...
For kitchen waste water the story is a little different. We'll need a treatment system that is accredited. This was where the plot went from thickening to curdling for me. The Australian Standards make it very clear that local governments are not permitted to approve grey water treatment systems that are not accredited by the Health Department. However, I keep finding accounts of people who have managed to get various systems approved by council even when they aren't accredited, either just by that particular State's department or at all. It does seem, though, that for this first house project a DIY grey water treatment system may be one battle too far.
On my search for an accredited system I had a few requirements. Early searches found many systems with pumps and vent fans and all sorts of other contraptions that required electricity to run, this seemed like a completely unnecessary strain on our electrical system. I also found any number of systems that retailed for upwards of $10,000. Since this is almost half of what we hope our entire house will cost to build it, again, seemed an entirely unnecessary waste. Any system we choose will be simple and cheap. The third requirement is for limited maintenance. The various systems on offer that require a registered plumber to service them every 3 months are, to me, completely foolish and to be avoided at all costs. If we can't maintain it ourselves we're not really interested.
After quite a bit of searching I found a useful table that confirmed a lot of what I'd read already - that two particular models (EcoDesign's Greywater Reuse System, and EcoFlow's Nature Clear GWS10) fit the brief in being on the cheaper side, needing no electricity and limited maintenance, and had the added bonus of producing compost periodically. Seemed perfect, except they're both only accredited in Qld and 'parts of NSW'. We'll try our luck, I think.
One final note: We are aware we are designing a system that will not be able to handle substantial contamination with human waste. We also know we want kids somewhere in our future. This will inevitably lead us to a choice, down the track, about nappies that has a bit more weight to it than the convenience vs environment dichotomy that plagues most of our friends. Though a quick search found these, which would appear to solve the problem.
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