Alternative Water Sources for Lawns, Gardens, Orchards at Dry Sites
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Comparison of sources of water for household or garden use besides wells or municipal water supply: rainwater collection, water condensation systems
Green-water / graywater / cisterns / rainwater collection systems
Questions & answers about graywater systems & other water sources for non-potable water uses
This article lists and compares the effectiveness of alternative sources of water for use on lawns, gardens, orchards, or for purification as drinking water - other than wells and municipal water supply systems. We also include links to greywater system references and books.
Shown here is a clean design for onsite greywater disposal using a sketch from Clivus Multrum (see links below).
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Greenwater / Graywater / Rainwater Collection Alternative Water Sources - alternatives to using well water or municipal water for lawns, car washing, other non-potable water uses
Just below we list products, systems, and designs used to conserve water, re-use or recycle water, reduce water use, or to store and re-use graywater. Links to in-depth articles about these products and systems are provided below.
CISTERNS have been used since prehistoric time to collect and store rain water (rain water harvesting) or water from other sources.
Modern cistern systems use concrete tanks, steel, fiberglass, plastic, or site built tanks to store water for
re-use. See WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS and see CISTERNS. "Rain barrels" are mini-cisterns that are placed at the ends of downspouts. Cisterns are much larger containers, closed or open-topped, and located above-ground or under-ground. Cisterns or rain tanks are often designed to contain several thousand gallons of water at residential properties. Pre-1900 homes often included a stone or masonry cistern in the building's basement.
Composting Toilets reduce water consumption by using little or no water from the building water supply. See TOILET ALTERNATIVES and Composting Toilets.
Conservation of water is an important part of any discussion of producing water for lawns, plants, etc. We introduce water conservation with respect to watering lawns at Planting and Landscaping to Conserve Water. Water usage Home & Outdoor Living Water Quantity Requirements, provides a table of daily residential water usage. Waterless & Low Water Septic Systems, discusses chemical toilets, composting toilets, greywater systems, holding tanks, incinerating toilets.
DRINKING WATER - EMERGENCY SOURCES discusses emergency sources of drinking water, such as how to find potable water in a disaster area after flooding, a hurricane, fire, or earthquake.
DRYWELL DESIGN & USES are used to dispose of un-wanted graywater on-site. There is no provision for water storage
or water re-use. See DRYWELL DESIGN & USES.
Filters for Greywater are installed at a laundry sink, clothes washer, or at the outlet of
a wastewater tank to filter water for re-use. See Filters for Septic Tanks & Graywater to protect septic drainfields and reduce drainfield clogging.
Graywater Irrigation Systems or drip irrigation systems make use of (usually filtered) greywater
to provide water to lawns, plants, or crops. See GREYWATER SYSTEMS.
Low Water Toilets or Low Flush Toilets conserve water by using only a small amount of water to achieve
the flush cycle. Low-Water or Low-Flush toilets work well partnered with graywater systems to both conserve and
re-use water. See TOILET ALTERNATIVES.
Rainwater Collection Systems provide alternative water supply for use in flushing toilets or
irrigating crops, lawns, or plants. Rainwater collection relieves the load on the potable water supply whether it's from a
local well or from municipal supply piping. Rainwater collection systems range from a simple "rain barrel" to collect
roof runoff, to very large cisterns which store water for onsite use during dry seasons or droughts. Examples are at PASSIVE SOLAR HOME, LOW COST.
SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECT DIAGNOSE REPAIR, even conventional drainfields, may provide moisture for lawns and certain other plants, but planting over a septic drainfield can also destroy it - see Planting Over Septic Systems: trees, shrubs, gardens, groundcover over or near the septic system: what can you plant over or near septic system components without causing a problem? Treatment Levels describes the different levels of treatment of septic wastewater that occur in typical residential systems.
Highly-treated (95% or better) septic effluent produced by some aerobic septic systems can be sprayed directly onto a lawn surface for watering grass. See AEROBIC SEPTIC SYSTEMS. We do not recommend distribution of conventional septic system (tank and drainfield) minimally-treated septic effluent (less than 95%) onto gardens or orchards producing food products without first checking with your local health department.
Site contouring, landscaping, water runoff control are used to slow the movement of rainwater over hard or rocky soils to allow time for water to soak into the ground where it both nourishes plants and may also replenish the local aquifer feeding local wells.
Waterless Toilets conserve water by using no water to achieve
the toilet flush cycle. Like composting toilets (see above), waterless toilets work well partnered with
graywater systems to conserve water. Waterless toilets include incinerating toilet models (see links at page left
for more about alternative toilet products & designs.) See TOILET ALTERNATIVES.
A Comparison of Alternative Methods for Obtaining Water for Use on Lawns, Gardens, Orchards, or for Purification for Use as Potable Drinking Water Supply
Can I Use Water Condensed from the Air to Obtain Additional Water Supply ?
Several readers asked about the design and installation of equipment useful to obtain additional water supply by condensing moisture out of the air.
Local Humidity Determines the Potential for Water Condensation
Start by calculating what is actually possible to obtain in times when there is no rain - by looking at the average humidity and relative humidity in your area over the year - that will tell you what is available in the air. The dew point (Tdp) is the temperature at which water vapor just starts to condense out of air that is cooling.
Continue by looking at the efficiency of methods of condensing water out of air, such as solar powered, gas powered, electricity powered condensers such as a dehumidifier - that's the obvious place to start as the technology already is developed and widespread.
Operating cost of water condensation:
Look at the cost of the equipment, the delivery rate of water per day, and the operating cost in electricity or gas per day, and you can calculate, combined with the first data (humidity) the cost of obtaining water by this method.
We suspect that in normal conditions (excluding the Space Station) the economics of using electrical or gas powered dehumidifiers or other water condensation systems simply does not work.
Rainwater Collection Methods to Obtain Additional Water Supply
You may find that you are better off providing a large cistern type storage tank. Use of large water storage cisterns has been a common practice for thousands of years and continues in modern use with plastic or fiberglass water storage tanks into which rainwater or in some areas even surface runoff may be channeled for future use.
See the rainwater collection and storage tank we show in our article at PASSIVE SOLAR HOME, LOW COST) and collecting as much rainwater as possible when rainy weather occurs.
Graywater Collection Methods to Obtain Additional Water Supply
What many people do to obtain additional water for lawns, gardens, shrubs, and orchards , as you will see in our article above, is make use of graywater, usually filtered, sometimes treated.
Grey water is wastewater which does not contain sewage, typically coming from building sinks, showers, and laundry facilities.
Graywater systems can reduce the load on or size of a septic system, and gray water separation, filtration, storage, and
piping systems can conserve water, for recycling for various uses such as flushing toilets, landscaping, or irrigation.
This article describes alternative graywater systems and designs, lists gray water (or grey water) products and suppliers,
and compares products, models, and features. Other greywater systems include incineration and alternative greywater disposal methods.
You might find that rainwater collection in areas where rainfall is plentiful in some seasons, or graywater use, are more economical for your use, and that condensation is more costly to operate and less productive in quantity unless you design a cheap, very large solar condensing operation.
See FILTERS SEPTIC & GREYWATER for graywater filters used to protect septic systems from debris in graywater, the first step in making graywater useful for watering grass, trees, plants, etc.
A smart alternative to insisting on growing green grassy lawns in dry desert areas (Arizona, Nevada, similar areas) is planting and landscaping in naturally occurring plants and surfaces.
Our photo (left) shows a home near Phoenix, Arizona (Surprise) where landscaping is confined to plants that grow naturally in the area and thus plants with a low water requirement.
Questions & Answers regarding this article
Questions & answers about graywater systems & other water sources for non-potable water uses.
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Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. (727) 595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com 11/06
Hankey and Brown home inspectors, Eden Prairie, MN, technical review by Roger Hankey, prior chairman, Standards Committee, American Society of Home Inspectors - ASHI. 952 829-0044 - hankeyandbrown.com 11/06
Arlene Puentes, a licensed home inspector, educator, and building failures researcher in Kingston, NY. 11/29/06
Access Water Energy, PO Box 2061, Moorabbin, VIC 3189, Australia, Tel: 1300 797 758, email: sales@accesswater.com.au Moorabbin Office: Kingston Trade Centre, 100 Cochranes Rd, Moorabbin, VIC 3189
Australian supplier of: Greywater systems, Solar power to grid packages, Edwards solar systems, Vulcan compact solar systems, water & solar system pumps & controls, and a wide rage of above ground & under ground water storage tanks: concrete, steel, plastic, modular, and bladder storage tanks.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop, and from the InspectAPedia bookstore. The 2010 edition of the Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
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Just below we list products, systems, and designs used to conserve water, re-use or recycle water, reduce water use, or to store and re-use graywater. Links to in-depth articles about these products and systems are provided below.
Several readers asked about the design and installation of equipment useful to obtain additional water supply by condensing moisture out of the air.
