fed up with obstinate building officials, there is a (not so secret) plumbing underground installing 'illegal' greywater recycling systems around the country on the cheap. they have shown that water recycling is simple and affordable, and is rapidly becoming essential with growing populations in the arid west.

“The code is so overbuilt that I’m beginning to think it’s better to just have everyone do it bootleg,” said Steve Bilson, the founder of ReWater Systems, a company that has installed around 800 code-compliant gray water systems at a cost of about $7,000 each.

NYT




greywater.net

In other related news, (no link available) the Inyo Register reported on May 26th that the drought in California has resulted in near record low water flow (115,091 acre-feet) to Los Angeles via the LA Aqueduct, providing only 17% of the city's water (compared to 62% last year). With a myriad of long required environmental restoration programs utilizing the water locally, 'in-valley' water use is projected to exceed 150,000 acre-feet. That means that 60 more mile of the Owens River will flow again, dust control on Owens Lake will suck up 1/3rd of that water, and lots of other habitats will get water in the valley - just not the thirsty angelenos down south...

With climate forecasters expecting reduced snow pack in the Sierra Nevadas due to climate change, cities like LA and SF should ease restrictions on installing grey water systems and make them mandatory for all new construction. We don't need green lawns or swimming pools- do we?


this may be our future ...