I know, it has been a disgustingly long time since I have written anything.  So, I am here writing again to remedy this problem.  After this I will make a valiant attempt to make entries more often.  So, onto the topic for today.  Greywater, or grey water, or graywater or gray water.  It all depends on where you look or who you are talking to, but for me in this article I will be using “greywater.”  Greywater is water that is produced as a result of letting the faucet run, or doing laundry, or taking a shower.  This water contains few pathogens and does not require heavy treatment to be considered sanitary.  While you cannot use it to drink, or wash your food with, or take a shower in; it can be used for irrigation purposes, which avoids wasting water on your lawn, or vegetable garden.  Black water is produced from the toilet, this only comprises between 30 and 35% of the water from our homes depending on how much you flush and what type of toilets you have.  In the summer ½ to ¾ of all municipally treated water is used to water lawns.  A Greywater system can help greatly reduce this.
My aim here today is to address that in the United States, water usage does not seem to be one of our primary concerns, and it should be.  “UNESCO has predicted that by 2020 water shortage will be a serious worldwide problem” (Brac Systems web site).  Brac Systems is a brilliant little company that has started mass producing Greywater systems.  (you can visit them at http://www.bracsystems.com/home.html ). They are based out of Canada but ship their products all over.  You have to see if your state approves of using a Greywater system.  Sometimes you need a special treatment system to use Greywater, this “special treatment” usually consists of a small dose of chlorine, nothing more.  Equivalent to those tablets you use when you travel to third world countries, where the water is unsafe to drink.  The chlorination system is actually electronic and automated in the Brac Systems Greywater system, I am unsure if that suffices for all states though.  I haven’t gotten any details on installation, the website seems unclear about that, but I’m assuming a qualified plumber could figure out which pipes are which in the basement and hook it up.  I am going to e-mail them and see.  I will make sure to keep you updated.  The green movement needs to be grassroots, and localization of things like water conservation and power conservation are going to be key things to making our planet greener, and enjoyable for generations to come.