Prison Greywater for Flushing Toilets
Subject: large scale reuse of prison greywater to flush toilets or
irrigate fields
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000
From: Art Ludwig
To: Rich <Rich4lyn©aol.com>
Rich writes from Graterford, Pennsylvania, where he wants to
cut fresh water use by using greywater to flush toilets and
irrigate 1700 acres of farmland.
> I work in a prison. I was impressed with the way greywater
> was used in the Virgin Islands and thought it could save
> the state of PA a lot in fresh water usage. We go through
> about one and one half million gallons a day. We have a
> new sewage treatment system (about 7 years old) that is
> almost too small already. We also have a spray system on
> our now not used farm fields which could be used to get
> rid of unneeded greywater. Am I barking up the wrong tree
> or should I look into this farther? I am on the guard
> force and have no knowledge of septic systems, nor do I
> receive any benefit other than saving the state water.
By treating a portion of the greywater flow to tertiary
levels, it could go back through a dual plumbing system to
flush toilets and urinals. This is becoming more common;
for examples and links, see Indoor greywater reuse.
Depending on what local authorities would allow, the grey-
or combined treated wastewater could be used to irrigate the
fields. The book "Green Land, Clean Streams" from Temple
University has a wealth of information on land application
of effluent.
Thanks for writing,
Art
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