Greywater
From ReCode
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Recode has helped legalize Graywater reuse in Oregon!
Check out Recode's new video about graywater:
Greywater systems allow for the onsite reuse of household water for irrigation minimizes water and sewer use. There are simple, cheap greywater treatment systems that demonstrably clean water before release into soil - and Oregon is in the midst of creating rules to determine how these systems will be used in our state.
Graywater legislation passes House and Senate - signed into law June, 2009! 
This is a great success for Recode and another example of how a bit of community organizing around a good idea gets things done! Thanks so much to all who have supported this process and the bills may endorsers, including Green Hammer Construction, Fiddlehead Landscapes, Corvallis Environmental Center, Cascadia Regional Green Building Council, Tryon Life Community Farm, SEA Change Gallery and Willamette Rvierkeeper.
Organizing another public gray water forum
Some of you may remember that the gray water campaign began with a public forum in April of 2008, where 40 folks got together and shared visions, values and ideas around gray water use in Oregon. Now that we've had a successful campaign and the rules are ripe to be written, it is important to get ourselves back together and ensure that the rules honor those values and visions.
If you are interested in helping organize such a forum, please contact John Brush, at brush@tryonfarm.org.
Graywater Advisory Committee
With the passage of HB 2080 and the establishment of the Graywater Advisory Committee, we are getting close to having graywater reuse be a useable reality.
That said, there is still a need to educate and advocate for graywater rules that are practical and accessible, while protecting human health and the environment. To that extent, Recode is working to educate the members of the Graywater Advisory Commitee and the public at large about well-functioning graywater systems currently in existence.
We also invite folks to attend the monthly meetings of the Graywater Advisory Committee (every second Thursday). The next Gray Water Advisory Committee Meeting is August 12 in Keizer.
This meeting will discuss the draft rules, and I think will set the tone for the rest of this process. Having members of the public come to the meetings is really helpful, as it brings in fresh perspective, important knowledge and reminds the Committee that the work we are doing will have very tangible impacts.
Carpools from Portland are being organized - contact melora@recodeoregon.net if you are interested. If you know folks in the Eugene area, please forward this invite to them.
For details about the Advisory Committee, including members, meeting agendas, notes and schedules please visit the DEQ's website at http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/reuse/gwadvisory.htm
Oregon Building Codes Division Alternative Method Ruling
On July 2nd, 2008, the State of Oregon Building Codes Division approved wastewater conservation systems (contingent upon certain criteria) as a statewide alternative method for providing water for flushing toilets and urinals. See the full document here - Image:Wastewater conservation systems.pdf
Other jurisdictions
Many states, including California, Washington, Arizona and New Mexico have well-defined codes
- Arizona DEQ Brochure
- Washington State Greywater Factsheet
- see generally the Oasis Design Greywater Policy Center for information on greywater laws across the country.
Campaign History: Oregon Greywater Re-use Forum
The state graywater campaign began at a meeting convened on Tuesday April 8th, 2008, co-sponsored by ReCode Portland and City of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development. We had a great meeting with 40 people in attendance, representing a wide varity of stakeholders who all agree that, at the very least, some form of accessible, affordable and safe graywater reuse - both interior and exterior - should be legal in Oregon. Click here for meeting notes. This forum led directly to the introduction of graywater legislation in the Oregon Legislature, discussed above.
More Greywater resources:
http://www.ecospace.cc/water/gray-water-conservation-1107.htm which includes these statements regarding the International Plumbing Code and the Universal Plumbing Code... "Basically what the IPC is now saying is that water coming from bathtubs, showers, lavatories (read toilets), and clothes washers are no longer required to discharge into the sewer main. This gray water is now considered collectable for the use of flushing toilets, if the proper procedure is followed."
and: "Many place use the UPC which, though unlike the IPC it does not include toilet water in it\222s definition, only sanctions the use of gray water for subsurface landscape irrigation, and then only in residential applications. This includes Portland, Oregon whose plumbing code is based on the 1997 UPC."
I suggest that in addition to championing greywater for irrigation you push to have the pertinent section of the IPC adopted. See this resource.
Model Greywater Ordinance
Prepared by Oasis Design, this document is an example of what greywater legislation could look like for Oregon. This ordinance provides for a single statewide permit allowing all gray water systems that meet the listed requirements. No inspection or fees are required. Tier 2 systems —ones that don’t meet all of the listed requirements — must be individually permitted and inspected. Tier 3 regulation is for high flow systems, which are subjected to intensive engineering and environmental review.
See the full document here - Image:Model Gray Water Ordinance.doc
Related links
- There's lots of information at Oasis Design.
- This article describes current movement towards graywater as water conservation becomes more urgent.
- If anybody wants more reasons to use and re-use water wisely, consider that water treatment & delivery causes significant greenhouse gas emissions, even for cold water. According to the US EPA , “letting your faucet run for five minutes uses about as much energy as letting a 60-watt light bulb run for 14 hours.”
