Water management needs to be efficient now more than ever as water supplies are reduced and load on wastewater treatment plants increases. We can protect natural water sources and ease the burden on already-strained treatment plants by practicing water conservation. Jonathan Scott shows on Instagram how he uses a an Aqualoop greywater system in his California home to reduce municipal water usage.
The comparatively clean wastewater produced by sinks, showers, bathtubs, washing machines, and other similar sources is referred to as greywater. It’s not the same as blackwater, which includes kitchen and toilet sink effluent; therefore, it’s not as contaminated. Greywater systems collect and treat water for non-potable uses. By lowering the need for municipal or well water and relieving pressure on sewage systems, these systems help conserve water. Speaking of conservation, Jonathan says, “There is no better way than a greywater recycling system.”
How a greywater system works
Greywater systems can range in simple systems that lightly filter water to those that produce near potable water quality. Some systems require a lot of hands-on maintenance while others require very little upkeep. They typically function by gathering water from many sources within a home and then treating it to be used performing basic filtration, adding more layers of treatment, and keeping the treated greywater in an outdoor tank until it’s needed. Treated greywater can be used for irrigation, toilet flushing, and other non-potable uses.
Greywater systems are an efficient way to conserve water and save money on utility bills, particularly in locations where there is a shortage of water or where water is expensive. “The more water we can reuse on-site, the less water I’m drawing from the city, which puts a little less demand on the city, as well as, I’m not paying for water that I don’t need to pay for” said Jonathan Scott when describing his own greywater system (via Instagram)
Prior to installing one of these water-recycling systems, make sure you are aware of the local laws and guidelines. Regarding his own system, Jonathan Scott posted on Instagram, saying, “You want to make sure that it is going to be safe if you’re installing a greywater system. Ecovie’s Aqualoop system holds an NSF certification. We installed the Aqualoop system using Ecovie, which has a patented technology that enables it to safely and correctly process all that water.”
With its NSF 350 certification, Aqualoop assures that treated water is crystal clear and safe while requiring the lowest possible maintenance. Scott has a discreet underground Aqualoop greywater system constructed in his backyard that only requires biannual maintenance. The water quality coming from his system is great for irrigation and can be used for spray irrigation, where other greywater systems that produce lower water quality can only be used for subsurface drip irrigation.