[Scpg] CA State revises standards for reusing wastewater Kelly Zito, SF Chronicle Friday, September 18, 2009

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

State revises standards for reusing wastewater

Kelly Zito, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, September 18, 2009

<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/18/MN5P19DG5U.DTL>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/18/MN5P19DG5U.DTL

Pam Hartwell-Herrero is making sure she washes her family's clothes 
when the olive tree, rhubarb and coffee berries in her front yard 
look thirsty.

Hartwell-Herrero and a team of fellow water conservation enthusiasts 
recently installed a "laundry to landscape" graywater system at her 
1960s Fairfax bungalow. It took most of a day to attach a special 
valve, punch a hole in her garage wall and set up the pipes leading 
from her washing machine to the garden.

But now, every time Hartwell-Herrero fires up a load of whites, the 
plants perk up.

"It's hilarious," said Hartwell-Herrero, 40, executive director of 
Sustainable Fairfax. "With every load we run, my husband, daughter 
and I run outside to see the water going into the garden."

The idea of using graywater - defined in California as the wastewater 
from showers, bathroom sinks and washing machines - isn't a novel 
one. But last month, California followed Arizona, Texas and other 
states in adopting new graywater standards. Officials with the state 
Department of Housing and Community Development, which oversees 
graywater, changed the state code in the wake of recent legislation 
calling for a re-evaluation of graywater use and Gov. Arnold 
Schwarzenegger's June proclamation of a statewide drought.

Whereas California property owners previously were required 
essentially to install costly mini leach fields (those are usually 
associated with septic systems) and obtain pricey permits, the new 
codes allow residents to install basic, relatively inexpensive 
graywater systems themselves with no permits.

Under the old regulations, a graywater system cost as much as 
$10,000, versus as little as $200 now.

To ensure safety, the water cannot stagnate, run into a neighbor's 
yard or directly touch fruits or vegetables. In addition, pipes must 
be several inches underground or under mulch- experts say that is 
better than burying the pipes deeper underground because rich topsoil 
is a far better filter of particles, soaps and other materials.

The previous codes "missed the mark in terms of using graywater as 
irrigation," said Doug Hensel, deputy director of codes and standards 
for the department. "Hopefully this will streamline the process and 
will be something else we can use to save water in California."

Amid a third dry year, widespread water rationing, a booming 
population and concerns about climate change, water use in California 
is being scrutinized like never before. Many in the environmental 
community, in particular, argue the state can save its way out of the 
water crisis by employing water conservation, recycling of graywater 
and capturing storm water that now runs down city sidewalks and 
ultimately to the ocean.

Hensel's agency estimates a typical household could save 22,000 
gallons of water each year from a laundry graywater system alone.

That opportunity isn't lost on Bay Area consumers. Many are turning 
to Greywater Guerrillas, an Oakland volunteer outfit that, for the 
last decade, has advised homeowners on reusing water. Until now, much 
of the group's work technically fell on the wrong side of the law. 
Now the group hopes to reach a larger audience.

It was a Guerrillas' class that learned about and assembled 
Hartwell-Herrero's home system. The group has more classes planned 
this fall in Walnut Creek and Hopland (Mendocino County).

"We're definitely getting a lot more interest since the drought," 
said Laura Allen, co-founder of the group.

By some estimates there are already 1.7 million graywater systems at 
work in California - the vast majority without permits. Nationwide, 
there are about 8 million, according to Art Ludwig, a Santa Barbara 
environmental designer and leader in the graywater field.

Ludwig believes that number will only grow as more states grapple 
with the reality of water shortages, the problems posed by industrial 
agriculture and the shift toward what he describes as a more direct 
connection with the land and other precious resources.

"When you're in a city and your water comes from the Sierra or 
wherever, you don't necessarily care what you're pouring down the 
drain," Ludwig said. "But when you're doing graywater and watering 
your citrus tree, you care."

E-mail Kelly Zito at kzito at sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle


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