Preliminary Site Assessment

I started reading Create an Oasis with Greywater by Art Ludwig.  It is an excellent resource and I recommend it if you are interested in creating a greywater system.  The book contains an outline in Appendix A for organizational purposes.  This outline has helped me focus because it is easy to become overwhelmed by the various possible systems. 

Since wetlands exist naturally here in the northwest, I have decided to construct a wetland filter using native aquatic plants and pea gravel in a rain barrel that I found discounted for $5. 

Preliminary Site Assessment

Greywater System Goals: Reuse the washing machine’s wastewater for the toilet and for the washing machine, filter out the toxins that collect in the wastewater from the washed clothes and for demonstration.  
    This will be a two step process.  I first want to construct the wetland filter and test the water purity.  This will determine whether or not it is necessary to purify the wastewater further with ultraviolet light, which seems to be a common method to use before indoor usage. 

Perfection Standards: High.  The wastewater must be purified to a high degree to prevent anaerobic conditions. 

Location: Seattle, WA

Water System:

Rainwater and runoff:

Existing wastewater treatment facilities:  Assumption --Sewer, which ultimately dumps into the ocean. 

Population of water users:

Climate: Rainfall
Evapotranspiration

Forces of nature:  Heavy rains during winter.

People:

Regulatory Climate: 

Economics:

System used:  Wetland.  One thing to keep in mind is that after time sometimes the wetland filter can become clogged and then needs to be cleaned out, usually by backwashing it with water.  This is what most people, who have built a similar system experience after about a year or two of usage.