The Editor,
It is now about 20 years since I started installing a water recycling system in our former home in Burnaby. With the help of a plumber, a professor of biology from UBC and my construction skills, we installed a water-saving system over a two-year period.
That system included several large plastic barrels to collect water, a few pumps to send water into high-level holding, re-piping of grey water from a tub, washing machine and some sinks, etc. Water was also collected off the roof. Excess grey water not used was dispersed in a underground drainage field.
Water downhill from drainage field was tested and found good thanks to anaerobic bacteria doing their job underground.
Grey water (washing machine waste water) was pumped to a high-level holding tank. From the tank, water was used to gravity feed toilet reservoir tanks for flushing. It was also used for washing cars: soap cycle water for washing, rinse cycle for rinsing.
From spring through autumn, the bulk of the water was use for watering my 100-tree nursery, greenhouse, gardens and vegetable patch. The rest was diverted to drainage loop underground.
In addition to this, I had a dry composting toilet that produced soil for trees with no water flushing required — not a measure most people would try.
There was also a urinal that flushed liquids only into the drainage loop that mixed with a much higher percentage of waste water and rain water.
Depending on how much we recycled our water, or collected rain, we used between 5,000 to 10,000 litres of water per year — that same amount wasn’t used form municipal service.
The city of Burnaby ordered me to dismantle the system after I went public with the grey water system. I knew they would as it’s not in their list of permissible equipment in a home.
With our climate changes becoming more troublesome every year, however, maybe its time for our government and private investors to go to town on this idea, make a plumbing code up for a grey water system and help keep water usage down in areas being affected by high consumption and droughts.
I also used lots of smaller ways to conserve water. One is to get a plastic bin that fits into your sink. All the water you rinse off dishes, washing of hands, etc., can be collected and used to water outdoor plants.
Please share this information with your readers before it rains again and everyone forgets about this important matter again.
Stephen Mancinelli, Coquitlam
