Graywater Systems Provide New Water Resources
This graywater system provides good-water-quality effluent without chemicals, using filters, biological treatment and UV-sterilization.
Courtesy of Pontos/Hansgrohe AG.
This integrated sink/toilet fixture attempts to recycle graywater from hand washing and other sink use directly into the toilet tank. Courtesy of Caroma.
On a visit to Frankfurt, Germany, as part of my research for Dry Run: Preventing the Next Urban Water Crisis, I saw a packaged graywater system in use at a large office complex. The AquaCycle, manufactured by the Pontos division of German manufacturer Hansgrohe, relies on biological, rather than chemical treatment. After pre-filtration, the graywater is treated with oxygen at normal atmospheric pressure. Microorganisms inside a treatment tank break down the biodegradable content of the water with metabolic processes. Surplus biologically active sludge is automatically removed and fed into a wastewater drain. The water undergoes the same treatment a second time and then passes through a UV (lamp) light for sterilization. After this treatment stage, the recycled water is odorless and can be stored for long periods of time.
Packaged graywater systems for commercial projects are also available from other manufacturers such as Brac Systems. For household systems, you’ll have to turn to local companies that can assemble the project from components or perhaps find a pre-engineered system, such as the Aqua2Use system from Australia, imported by WaterWise Group.
Perhaps the simplest graywater harvesting system for residential applications is the integrated sink/toilet combination. This new fixture, available from both Caroma and Sloan Valve, takes water from washing, shaving and other sink uses and puts it directly into the toilet tank as graywater for future flushing. As we enter a new era of water conservation thinking, more companies are going to produce similar systems, so that no usable water ever goes to waste!
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