There are two ways of planning your greywater system:

a) by assuming that the system is for you and your family's use (your actual situation);
b) or that the system is intended for the house regardless of who occupies it( i.e.,basing your calculations on the number of bedrooms the house has).

1. Take a brief inventory of the house's greywater sources and the number of uses that they get or could get.

Laundry		gal / person . day
Dishwasher		gal / person . day
Bath		gal / person . day
Other sources		gal / person . day
Total greywater		gal / person . day

Try to determine how many gals. per cycle your appliances use--or use the short-form sizing estimator below.

US clotheswashing machine (top-loading)	30 gallons per cycle
European (front-loading) clotheswasher	10 gallons per cycle
Dishwasher	3 - 5 gallons per cycle
Low-flow shower head (per shower)	3 - 7 gallons per average use
Other sink use (shaving, handwashing, etc.)	1 - 5 gallons per average use

2. Use the General Site Data and Design Considerations below to determine what steps are relevant for your situation. Give special consideration to the final dispersion of the effluent, making sure that the soil can accept the amount of water that will be generated, treated and discharged (your local sanitation engineer can do a percolation test to determine the ability of the ground to accept water). If water shortage happens to be a particular restriction where you're located, note that greywater filtered through a soilbed of the sort described in this text will not become anaerobic and thus can be saved for [lawn] irrigation.

A. Overall Site Plan Topography Slope Soil Conditions Ledge Groundwater Buildings Utilities Property lines Vegetation Wetlands	B. Regulatory Requirements Plumbing Code State Regulations Reuse Regulations Effluent Discharge Limitations: BOD NO3 E-coli other. Land Application Regulations Permit Question Local Board of Health State Environmental Regulations Building Code Requirements Monitoring Requirements Test Data for Approvals
C. Design Information Existing Treatment Facilities Septic Tank Leach-field Cesspool Other Influent Quality and Quantity Number of Bedrooms Number of Persons regulary in residence Occupancy (i.e.,on a year-round or seasonal basis) Type of Appliances and fittings Flow-Rates: Dishwashers Washing machines Bathtubs, showers Evaporation Rates Temperature Data Rainfall Data Effluent Reuse Goals	D. New System Specifications Propose Treatment Train Technical Specifications Effluent Treatment Character -Typical Transformation Reduction in Pollution Production of Fertilizer Reuse Opportunities Optimum Use of Existing Facilities Existing Pipes Dispersion Beds New Use of Existing Equipment Potential for Savings Water Fees - Water and Sewage Overall Improvement Evaluation

3. Check with your local authorities regarding any special/local concerns and regulations. Submit your application to the local board of health or consult your local professional engineer (P.E.) for plans and documents needed for your application (usually a topo-graphic site drawing with pertinent information about your site and the proposed solution). If your local P.E. is unfamiliar with alternative greywater pollution prevention systems (e.g., soilbed treatment), provide her/him with the name of this website or send a copy of this manual.

HOME

Synposis

Planning

Pollution

Treatment

Samples

Links

References