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You know, as much as I love the idea, there’s almost no incentive for people to go through the trouble to use grey water in their homes, if they end up paying the same or more on their bill. Ignoring the $10,000 for the system to get started.
That is probably the biggest issue. The up-front capitol cost.
Not to mention the ongoing maintenance of pumps and valves needed to keep it working.
Unless local water prices are very high (or there is a grant/subsidy program), there is unlikely to be a financial breakeven during that homeowner’s life.
Something I never see mentioned in these articles/discussions is the design problems. I’m a civil engineer who works in infrastructure maintenance, including sanitary sewers up sizing/repairing. The minimum design guidine for slope is 0.5% for sanitary sewers, but there are many old neighborhoods where the slope is as low as 0.3%.
The way those pipes continue to operate is the large volume of water that is sent through those sewers regularly, flushing away the solid waste.
If, theoretically, every house swapped tomorrow to a grey water system, we’d seriously struggle with blocked sewers and backflows regularly.
Until someone solves that part of the issue, this system isn’t practical for widespread adoption.
Depends on the usage in a given home.
I suspect there is more grey water created in most homes than flushwater needed, and I’m not sure if even watering the lawn would use all the greywater a house might produce. Without doing the math, I suspect there would still be some amount of greywater moving to keep the pipes rinsed.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Specifically, the committee was looking at grey water, which generally comes from household sources like laundry, showers and kitchens that haven’t been in contact with fecal matter.
Dorea, the UVIc wastewater engineer, points out that modern waterworks systems were set up for good reason: they keep us safe from waterborne diseases.
Rather than send wastewater back into the ocean, some of those places are treating it and recycling it, creating a closed-loop system or, in the case of Israel, using it for irrigation.
John Bell, the company’s co-founder and chief commercial officer, says the reuse industry is an emerging market that is gaining traction in certain parts of the world.
The company currently has its systems set up in about 150 households across North America and is hoping to see that number rise as regulations and incentives continue to grow.
In Florida, officials have implemented tax credits and other financial incentives to encourage builders to install these types of systems in homes.
The original article contains 796 words, the summary contains 162 words. Saved 80%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Does this mean I have to stop peeing in the shower?
The first rule of recycling is “reduce”, each shower pee saves 6L of water from going down your toilet.
Carry on, pee for the planet!
Is there anywhere that we have had a drought in Canada? I understand this tech for places like California and Israel, but is it necessary in Canada? Genuinely curious.