March 2, 2012
Water Reclamation
As we’ve seen in our readings this semester, water access and supply have played a crucial role in the history of the Los Angeles region. There have been ongoing issues regarding where to get water from and how to transport and store it.
I’m sure that as an ENST major, you’ve all learned about conservation techniques and the importance of lessening your impact. Specifically in LA, our classes have highlighted the wasteful habits that many Angelenos take part in, such as owning a lawn and keeping it fully manicured – in a desert environment. It just doesn’t make sense.
But I’m not here to talk about the negatives happening here in LA. Instead, I’d love to share some knowledge with you guys about how YOU can make a difference. Even here in LA.
We all know to conserve – to turn the water off while we brush our teeth, to take shorter showers – but a less commonly brought up solution to our water problem is reclamation of water in the household! Wastewater that has already been used for domestic activities can actually be reused or filtered on-site. Domestically used water is called greywater, and it can actually be reused as-is for landscape irrigation or can be filtered and used for gardening or domestic use again. The question is, HOW do you do that?!
Last summer I did research in Brazil on sustainable lifestyles. I learned a lot about water reclamation. Some of the techniques I learned are applicable to LA, while others are not.
In Brazil, the banana plant is used as a natural water filter for blackwater (water that contains human waste). The water that is ejected from flush toilets flows through pipes until it is underneath a banana plant that neighbors the house – usually planted specifically for this use. Here, the solid waste is separated from the water-waste and the solid waste falls into a septic tank. The liquid waste and water cleanly re-enter the water cycle because the banana plant roots pull the water up, filter it, and release it back into the water cycle through transpiration. What a cool natural water filtration system!
I also learned tactics that we can use here in LA- where we do not have the climate to support banana plants – such as greywater collection and reuse. One way that greywater can be collected is to put a plastic bin in your shower. As you shower, gallons of water go to waste down the drain – so why not get a little use out of some of that wasted water? After your shower, you can use the water that collects to hydrate the plants in your backyard. Other environmentalists have rigged their plumbing systems to directly divert shower/laundry/sink water into their backyard:
(This 3-way valve allows a resident to choose when to send greywater from the washing machine directly into the irrigation system connected to his or her backyard. The sign reads: “sewer” for when the valve is up, or “greywater” for when the valve is flat.)
If you choose to partake in this practice, Greywateraction.org recommends switching to biodegradable shower products such as Dr. Bronner’s soap. However, the site also notes that some people still use their regular shampoo and their plants are fine – it’s just a question of the other effects of the shampoo/conditioner possible pollution.
Check out this website that talks about using your shower water to water your trees and plants: http://greywateraction.org/content/choosing-plants-and-irrigating-greywater
Information collected from personal interviews in Brazil – June 2011. Research supported by USC Summer Undergraduate Research Fund.
This post was authored by Nina Gordon-Kirsch ’12, who is pursuing a BS in Environmental Studies with a minor in Marketing.
When I took the Green Businesses class with Professor Cahn I was studying William McDonough’s architecture firm.design chemistry company. Some of you may have heard of McDonough and his concept/book “Cradle 2 Cradle”. He had come up with this idea to go above about beyond recycling. When we recycle something, let’s say plastic, it degrades to a lower quality. The Cradle 2 Cradle mindset uses the idea of upcycling, making the materials maintain their quality or even improve it. McDonough’s companies work to create products that are considered to be Cradle 2 Cradle, and the buildings he designs try to implement a closed loop design. One in particular that utilizes grey water well is a concept building, a “Treescaper”. The building is split in half, with a garden ecosystem in one side. It implements solar energy, curved design to utilize space with minimum materials, and other techniques. But what I found really interesting was the use of waste water. The water that is coming from sinks and bathtubs is collected and pumped into the gardens for irrigation. The greenhouses have non-toxic cleaning products in them to also treat the waste water that can then be pumped back into the living areas as toilet water. There are a lot of interesting tactics in this concept building other than the water reclamation. If anyone wants to check out the article I first read about it ehre’s the link:
http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/fortune/future_tower/index.html
This topic of water reclamation interests me a lot, and I think it’s impressive that Brazil is using resources it has to figure out a water reclamation program. The idea of using part of a banana plant interests me a lot, because, not only is water being reused, but it also seems that the people are using resources easily accessible to them and that may be waste products left over from banana picking to begin with. In the United States, where we have so many resources, you would think that water reclamation could be used much more often than it is. I think the idea of looking for something cheap and easily accessible (perhaps something we currently just throw away)further emphasizes the need of reusing. Recycling, reusing, and reducing are all getting more popular and integrated into daily life, but it seems like that is not the case for water. I think we need to emphasize to youth when we talk about recycling about water. I know when I was growing up, those three “R’s” talks mainly focused on cans, bottles, and plastic. Water should have more of a role in those talks as something that can be “reused” and “recycled” not just “reduced.”
The recycling of greywater is fascinating and seems very applicable and beneficial! If these methods were more widely applied in major cities in the US and other countries, imagine how much water would be saved! It may not be realistic to ask individual residents to collect their greywater and use it for their garden which they may not have, but if instruments were installed to capture the greywater and return it to a reclamation plant, that would seem to help conservation methods.
I agree with Alice that more of an emphasis needs to be placed on the fact that water can be reused and recycled just like plastic bottles and soda cans. Water is a precious commodity in the City of Los Angels that is far undervalued by a majority of residents. There is clear the need restructure people’s relationships with water if we hope to guarantee sustainable resources of water for the future. Grey water is something that has always fascinated me. The problem is getting people to realize its potential and start using it. With current water pricing that does not adequately reflect water scarcity, people have no incentive to conserve or reuse water. Public outreach programs are much needed to inform the public how beneficial and critical it is for them to incorporate grey water use into their daily lives. I also think that it is necessary that the City of Los Angeles offer more monetary incentives to residents willing to incorporate grey water technologies in their homes and businesses.