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Re: GBlist: Re: Greywater



TBren46501@aol.com wrote:
Salts in the detergents killed everything in the
> greenhouse and
> contaminated the green house soil.  Problems show up a lot quicker in
> small
> ecosystems.  The awareness remains, though I currently am on a rural
> septic
> system. -Terry

Lots of hesitancy here on the part of our provincial gov't regarding
greywater usage at a residential level. The concerns are basically
health concerns based on the relative newness of and lack of community
experience with greywater systems. This is changing rapidly and we are
starting to see systems applied to commercial sites (car washes, etc.)
Another concern echoes what Terry is saying about the effects of what
goes into the system as they have no effective control over the design
or maintenance of the design. The initial owner operators commitment may
be fine but the next might just reach for the Drano or urinate in the
sink.
 
I think we will see some rapid developments in regulations on rural
systems as the conventional rural leach field doesn't work or I should
say isn't working over time for much the same reasons as the concerns
for greywater systems. In the 50's, 60's a large number or rural
subdivisions took place that incorporated septic fields and if this area
is at all typical that is the last time anyone ever thought of where
their septic wastes went. Most of these fields are failing or have
failed for a long time (I saw one site where the tank and field were
never connected) they have been compacted, clogged, or simply with
greater water consumption been continuously flooded.

Health officials do now realize that diluting human septic wastes with
relatively benign greywater essentially is creating a greater scenario
for pollution than if the wastes were treated separately. The evidence
is increased contamination of ground and surface water.

I wish the solutions were a little quicker in coming and more $
accessible. The problems are major. Dealing with the scenarios for
potential design solutions has been interesting as it has led me (one of
many reasons) away from an interest in developing appropriate designs
for individual homes to wanting to work with cluster models - finding an
appropriate ratio of homes to shared components.

John
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