Michelle Renee Adcock

Biology 4400

Grey water recycling - what is it, potential for Dominican Campus and

possible barriers.

What is grey water?

Grey water is any water that is used in kitchens and in lavatories except

water from our toilets. Grey water is also rainwater which can be collected and be

reused California was the first state to legalize the use of grey water for irrigating

landscapes. In 1989 grey water was legalized. It should be said that

approximately 10 permits were issued in the city of Santa Barbara during 1989 to 1998.

In the county of Santa Barbara a grey water permit costs $75.00. Grey water turns

to black water when stored or not used for more than twenty-four hours. (

http://oasisdesign.net) Water when flushed from our toilets is black water. Both grey

water and black water can not be used as drinking water. Out of all the water we use,

50% to 80% of the water is wasted and is called wastewater. Water is taken for granted,

we don ‘t even think about using it or what would happen if all of the pure water were

no longer available.

Why is water important?

Without water people, animals and plants could not survive. People need to

have a minimum of 8 glasses of water a day to survive. Miller says There are no

substitutes for most of its uses and only about 0.014% of the earth ‘s total water is

easily available to us as soil moisture, usable groundwater, water vapor, and lakes and

streams. (Miller,296) We are fortunate to have a lot of water but we use water

faster then it is replenished, and over load it with degradable and non-degradable

wastes. Which is one of the reasons we have and use grey water.

Why is grey water important?

When droughts occur grey water is most useful because we need to water our

non-edible plants so we have enough good water left to grow food.

Who would have thought that water could be recycled. But how many people

reuse water? Poverty country ‘s such as Asia, Africa and Latin America people bathe

and wash cloths in the same water. In the USA most American ‘s take water for granted.

We too reuse water but not as much as poverty country ‘s.

How do we use grey water?

Grey water can be reused to water all of our plants and trees except edible ones.

If we use grey water instead of normal water we will save water, which then we can use

for drinking water, and watering our edible plants. Over time we waste a lot of water,

about 50% to 80% to be accurate.

I interviewed Michael Henkes a member of the Associate Director Facilities Services

of Dominican University. He has had a couple of conversations with the City of San

Rafael Water Department about grey water distribution in this area. Grey water is

planning to be used in the near future, but no dates have been set. We do not know what

the system will cost, nor if the City of San Rafael, or the Marin Municipal Water

District will be helping to pay the cost of installation at Dominican University. He

has been preparing by slowly installing irrigation lines all over the campus. Also,

there are two wells on campus. One well is on the Convent property and the other one is

at Forest Meadows. They currently supply irrigation water to most of the campus.

Here on our campus we use city water for the lavatories, kitchen and also to water the

rest of the campus.

In conclusion, I would recommend that all new homes and businesses install grey

water systems as it is cheaper to build at the beginning of structure rather than adding

it to the property in later years. Before this speech I was not aware of the

usefulness of grey water. I’m also glad that in the near future Dominican University

is planning on using grey water for irrigation of the many plants and trees.