Greywater gets the greenlight ~ Safe for household use

Scientists from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have proven the efficiency of greywater purification systems and that people should be encouraged to use such water.

The project is one of the most comprehensive ever undertaken anywhere in the world to study the re-use of greywater – water that is generated in homes in laundry and bathing and can be recycled to irrigate gardens.

The study found that in most cases the quality of the water stored after treatment was very high. Among the categories checked were clarity, quantity of solids and concentrations of bacteria, which dropped after the addition of disinfectants, chlorine tablets and ultra-violet light.

An average household system supplies between 100 and 120 liters of water a day for irrigating the garden.

Source: Haaretz

Comercially available greywater recycling systems have been around South Africa for close to 20 years. Much has changed since the 1990s, back then, water conservation was a concept few people new much about, if they had heard of it, and believers in the the reuse of greywater were thought to be a little odd. Today water conservation is on the minds of many as South Africa’s water resources are running short.

Greywater reuse has the potential to halve the amount of water used in a home and to minimise the risk of water scarcity.