GREYWATER RECAPTURE
California’s arid climate and pervasive drought-conditions has produced a new set of challenges for homeowners. By capturing and reusing the water from bathroom faucets, washing machines, showers and tubs, a homeowner can see significant savings as well as significant conservation of water to nurture vibrant landscapes. In partnership with Oakland’s own, WaterSprout, Design Draw Build installed and implemented this greywater recapture system to help these homeowners irrigate their front garden. With greywater irrigation systems, we offer a sustainable solution that empowers individuals and communities to take an active role in preserving our precious water resources
The system begins by capturing greywater at its source, diverting it away from the traditional wastewater pathway. A comprehensive filtration and purification process is then employed to remove soaps, detergents, and other contaminants.
The system requires a dedicated drain line from the gray water fixtures, a vent line that ties back into the plumbing system, a dedicated power supply, a domestic make-up water supply, a sewer bypass switch and an overflow drain line to the sewer. The gray water tank sits below the gray water drain. It distributes irrigation water through a filter, to an indexing valve and then to a drip irrigation system.
Greywater from the house drains to the 3-way diverter valve. The diverter valve directs the greywater to the tank or to the sewer. Greywater entering the tank is filtered through a bag filter (1200 microns). When the water level in the tank reaches the high float switch, the pump empties the tank and sends 70 gallons of greywater through the greywater filter (400 microns), and then to the indexing valve where the greywater is distributed to a single zone of drip irrigation. The indexing valve will sequentially distribute 70 gallons of water to each zone connected every time the pump empties the tank. Debris tolerant dripperline and emitters distribute the water to plants in the landscape.
