Greywater, green landscape : how to install simple water-saving irrigation systems in your yard

201 Pages·2017·35.96 MB·English

by  Allen

How to Install Simple Water-Saving Irrigation Systems in Your Yard
Laura Allen
ß
Storey Publishing
622839_Greywater_FINAL.indd 1 12/16/16 3:45 PM
The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by
publishing practical information that encourages
personal independence in harmony with the environment.
Edited by Deborah Burns © 2017 by Laura Allen
Art direction and book design by Jessica Armstrong
Text production by Erin Dawson All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
Indexed by Samantha Miller without written permission from the publisher, except by
a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce
Cover photography by © Michael Dorman (front) and illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any
© Rebecca Louisell (author) part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
Back cover illustration by © Steve Sanford or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic,
Interior photography by © Michael Dorman: vi, viii, 4, 16, 32, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other — without
38, 39, 44–46, 47 top, 54, 56, 65, 66, 74, 78, 84, 90, 92 left, written permission from the publisher.
93, 95, 96, 99–101, 103–105, 107–111, 113, 115, 116, 126, The information in this book is true and complete to
128, 129, 132, 133 top, 134, 135 left, 140, 143–145, 147, the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made
160, 182 without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey
Additional photography by © Advanced Waste Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability
Water Systems, 157; © Alan Hackler, 92 right; in connection with the use of this information.
© anakeseenadee/iStockphoto.com, 159; © Arterra Storey books are available for special premium and
Landscape Architects, 173; © Art Ludwig, from Create an promotional uses and for customized editions. For further
Oasis with Greywater, oasisdesign.net, 6; © blueskyline/ information, please call 800-793-9396.
iStockphoto.com, 28; © Claus Alwin Vogel/iStockphoto
.com, 12; © Evergreen Lodge at Yosemite/Kim Carroll Storey Publishing
Photography, 10; © GWA Bathrooms and Kitchens, NSW, 210 MASS MoCA Way
Australia, 60; © iammai/iStockphoto.com, 48; © jamroen/ North Adams, MA 01247
iStockphoto.com, 31; © Jeremiah Kidd, 176, 177; © Josh storey.com
Lowe, 141; © Laura Allen, 11, 19, 72, 97, 136 right, 138;
© Laura Maher, 87 bottom; © Leigh Jerrard, Greywater Printed in China by Toppan Leefung Printing Ltd.
Corps., 13, 29, 58, 79, 86 top, 87 top & middle, 133 bottom, 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
136 left, 153; Mars Vilaubi, 135 right; © Regina Hirsch,
70; © Richard A McGuirk/Shutterstock, 9; © Rocky89/ Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
iStockphoto.com, 47 middle; Courtesy of San Francisco
Names: Allen, Laura, 1976–
Public Utilities Commission, 76; © Sergio Scabuzzo: vii,
Title: Greywater, green landscape : how to install simple
117 bottom; © Ty Teissere, 64; © Yarygin/iStockphoto
water-saving irrigation systems in your yard / Laura Allen.
.com, 80
Other titles: Grey water, green landscape
Illustrations by © James Provost, 15, 17, 19, 20–25, 40, 41,
Description: North Adams, MA : Storey Publishing, 2017. |
50, 67 bottom, 86 bottom, 88, 89, 93–95, 97, 98, 106, 108, Includes bibliographical references and index.
110, 117, 125, 126, 130, 131, 134, 137, 146, 149, 155, 163, Identifiers: LCCN 2016051368 (print) | LCCN 2016052283
165, 175, 178–180, 182, 183 and © Steve Sanford, 2–3, (ebook) | ISBN 9781612128399 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN
42, 47, 67 top, 81, 83, 85, 102, 114–116, 119, 121, 129, 139, 9781612128405 (Ebook)
161, 168, 171 Subjects: LCSH: Graywater (Domestic wastewater) |
Water reuse. | Lawns—Irrigation. | Residential water
Portions of this book were excerpted from The Water-Wise
consumption. | Water consumption.
Home by Laura Allen (Storey, 2015).
Classification: LCC TD429.A4234 2017 (print) | LCC TD429
(ebook) | DDC 627/.52—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016051368
622839_Greywater_FINAL.indd 2 12/22/16 12:01 PM
To the greywater installers, educators, and users,
and especially to Greywater Action

622839_Greywater_FINAL.indd 3 12/16/16 3:45 PM
Contents
Preface...............................vi
PART 1
Planning Your Home Greywater System 1
........
CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 5
Greywater Systems 101 2 Plants and Irrigation 44
............. ..............
What Is Greywater? .................... 2 Choosing Plants for Greywater
Types of Greywater Systems ............. 4 Irrigation........................... 45
Health and Safety Considerations ......... 7 How Much Water Do My Plants Want? .... 49
Greywater in Freezing Climates........... 9 Plant-Friendly Soaps................... 54
CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 6
Greywater Sources Choosing a Greywater System.....56
and Plumbing 12 System Design Considerations........... 57
......................
When Greywater Is Not a Great Idea ...... 59
Identify Your Greywater Sources ......... 13
Using Greywater Indoors:
Your Home’s Drain, Waste, and
Toilet Flushing .......................60
Vent System........................ 17
Choosing a Greywater Irrigation
Undesirable Greywater Sources ......... 25
System............................ 61
Summary of Greywater Sources .........26
Greywater Systems at a Glance.......... 62
When to Turn Off the System............ 65
CHAPTER 3
Estimate Your Greywater Flows 28
...
CHAPTER 7
Code Estimates vs. Personal Codes and Regulations 68
............
Calculations........................ 29
A Brief History of Greywater
Calculating Weekly Greywater Flows ..... 30
Plumbing Codes .................... 69
→ Finding the Flow Rates of Different
Greywater Codes: Performance
Fixtures ...........................32
and Prescriptive..................... 74
National Codes and Standards........... 74
CHAPTER 4
Soils and Mulch Basins 38
............
Soil Structure and Type ................ 39
→ Identify Your Soil Type with a
Soil Ribbon Test .....................40
→ Determine How Water Flows through
Your Soil with an Infiltration Test........ 41
Mulch Basins......................... 42
Protect Groundwater and Drinking
Water Wells........................ 43
622839_Greywater_FINAL.indd 4 12/16/16 3:45 PM
PART 2
Building Your Home Greywater System 79
.......
CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 11
Install a Laundry-to-Landscape Other Types of Greywater
(L2L) System 80 Systems 159
...................... ..........................
Design Considerations ................. 81 Outdoor Fixtures..................... 160
→ Installing an L2L Irrigation System ......90 Whole-House Greywater Systems....... 161
Irrigation Options..................... 113 Subsoil Infiltration Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Greywater for Greenhouses............ 167
CHAPTER 9 Constructed Wetlands ................ 170
Install a Branched Drain
Sand Filter to Drip Irrigation............ 172
Gravity-Flow System .............120 Reusing Septic Tank Effluent for
Irrigation.......................... 174
Design Considerations ................ 120
→ Installing a Branched Drain System.....127
Appendix
→ How to Wire an Actuator.............. 142
Plumbing Basics for Greywater
Installation .........................178
CHAPTER 10
Pumped and Manufactured Parts Primer......................... 178
Basic Installation Techniques.......... 181
Greywater Systems 148
..............
Design Considerations ................ 149 Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184
→ Building a Pumped System............ 151 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
Manufactured Greywater Systems ...... 156
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
622839_Greywater_FINAL.indd 5 12/16/16 3:45 PM
Preface
In August 2012 I sat in a radio studio talking Now he and I work together to streamline per-
about greywater with my former plumbing mits and facilitate legal reuse of greywater.
teacher — and, at the time, Oakland’s senior For the past 17 years, I’ve designed and
inspector — Jeff Hutcher, on American Public built simple residential water reuse systems:
Media’s The Story . When I met Jeff in 1999, greywater systems, rainwater catchment,
I never would have imagined this moment. I and composting toilets. Once my friend and
was a student in his residential plumbing housemate Cleo Woelfle-Erskine and I cut
class, seeking to learn hands-on skills to build into our home’s plumbing to channel the
sustainable water systems. At the time, he shower water outside. I couldn’t imagine
was horrified to hear about my “Frankenstein” ever again letting this good irrigation water
greywater setups and refused to answer ques- escape to the sewer. We taught our friends
tions about my then-illegal plumbing systems and wrote about the how and the why of it.
in class (he was, after all, a city inspector). Our group, the “Greywater Guerrillas,” grew
Greywater Action Los Angeles in 2016 . Left to right: Ty Teissere, Laura Allen, Cris Sarabia, Laura Maher,
Sergio Scabuzzo
vi
622839_Greywater_FINAL.indd 6 12/16/16 3:45 PM
out of these projects. Later, we worked on an the participants installing a real system on the
anthology, Dam Nation: Dispatches from the last day of class. Over a hundred people from
Water Underground, which placed greywater across the U.S. and Canada have graduated
reuse, rainwater catchment, and composting and now champion greywater in their commu-
toilets in the larger political context of water nities. Their systems, businesses, and work-
issues around the globe. shops are the ripple effects of their training.
Some genuine plumbers joined our group: Our work expanded from the Bay Area
Christina Bertea, the first woman admitted to Southern California, where I lived for the
into Local 159, Plumbers and Steamfitters past few years, with new members, bilingual
Union, and Andrea Lara, then an apprentice. (English/Spanish) trainers and materials, and
With their involvement, we honed our skills partnerships with forward-thinking water
and revamped our designs. Andrea, Christina, agencies.
and I taught dozens of hands-on workshops Now I live in Oregon and am adapting grey-
all over the Bay Area and southern California. water into a new climate region.
As our state entered a multi-year drought, I hope this book helps you tap into your
we couldn’t keep up with the demand. Every own greywater resources and grow a beauti-
workshop filled up, along with the wait list. I ful, productive landscape.
gave talks at green-living festivals, universi-
ties, churches, and even high schools.
Since all our work was illegal, according to
state plumbing code at the time, we became
involved in changing the code. In 2009 the
State of California overhauled its greywa-
ter code, making many greywater systems
legal. That same year we renamed our group
“Greywater Action: For a Sustainable Water
Culture,” to represent our goals and strategies
to a diverse audience.
We continue to teach hands-on work-
shops, as well as trainings for professionals
who want to offer these services to their cli-
ents. In our one-week class we teach people
theory and hands-on skills, culminating with Brian Munson on left, Christina Bertea on right
vii
622839_Greywater_FINAL.indd 7 12/16/16 3:45 PM
622839_Greywater_FINAL.indd 8 12/16/16 3:45 PM
PART 1
Planning Your
Home Greywater
System
If you’re like most people, you wash clothes, take showers, and
run water down the sink. Why let this good irrigation water go
to waste? Surely you’ve heard the expression, “Don’t throw the
baby out with the bathwater.” Now, let’s stop throwing out the
bathwater!
This part of the book — chapters 1 through 7 — In addition, we’ll look at some basic health
takes you through the initial design and plan- and safety considerations and regulations for
ning steps for building a greywater system. greywater. After you’ve done the preparation
A successful system is tuned to match your work, Part 2 — chapters 8 through 11 — will
water usage, your home’s plumbing, and your take you step-by-step through the installation
landscape. Here, you’ll learn how to estimate of various systems.
how much greywater your home produces, Don’t forget to start with efficiency. Before
which greywater sources (called fixtures) you planning your greywater system, make sure
can tap into, and how to test your soil and size your home is water-efficient. Fixing leaks and
the mulch basins (to receive the greywater in upgrading fixtures can reduce indoor water
your landscape). You will also learn about the consumption by around 35 percent. See the
types of plants that grow well with greywater Resources section for more information.
and which soaps and products are safe to use.
1
622839_Greywater_FINAL.indd 1 12/16/16 3:45 PM