By Lane Stilson
Although the Utah Water Quality Board recently approved gray water usage for subsurface irrigation, the owner of an ecological systems design company in California said Utah''s new regulations are 'worse than useless.'
Gray water is the relatively clean wastewater that comes from bathroom sinks, showers and washing machines. Between 50 percent and 80 percent of all residential wastewater is 'gray' and can be reused for irrigation because of low bacteria levels, according to oasisdesign.net.
Because of Utah''s extended drought, the board approved gray water usage as another conservation measure. The water, however, must be separated from the regular sewage system and distributed through an underground watering system so people are not exposed to it.
Gray water isn''t harmful to most plants or animals because the chemicals from washing machines are diluted quite heavily, said Mike Hanson, environmental engineer for Utah''s Department of Environmental Quality. Nonetheless, Hanson said he wouldn''t want animals to drink it.
That''s why residents must use perforated underground pipes to carry gray water directly to their shrubs or flowerbeds.
However, for residents with older homes, this change would require retrofitting their sewage system - ripping out sheet rock, pulling out old pipes and installing new ones. This change is expensive and time-consuming and one of the reasons some see Utah''s regulations as impractical.
Art Ludwig, owner of Oasis Design, a company that specializes in ecological systems design, said Utah''s regulations on gray-water systems are too restrictive.
He said because the law for gray-water usage is so complex, no one will ever apply for a gray water system permit - causing many to implement poorly designed systems illegally.
'They''re not going to go down and get a $50 permit for it,' Ludwig said. 'They''re just going to do it.'
He said Utah should follow Arizona''s example by creating simple, useful guidelines to help homeowners install quality systems without great expense. That way, gray-water system permits are unnecessary.
As long as people are going to be installing the systems anyway, Ludwig said the state should offer useful guidance as opposed to restrictive laws.
In Santa Barbara, Calif., only 10 people have applied for gray water permits in the last 15 years, even though thousands of gray water systems have been installed over that same time period, Ludwig said. He added the systems that make sense aren''t legal, and the systems that are legal are too expensive and complex.
'By making it illegal to do systems that make sense, they have driven people underground,' he said. 'They''ve basically prohibited professionals who know what they''re doing from getting involved.'
Ludwig said Utah''s law is even worse than California''s because Utah requires a 250-gallon tank 'to provide settling of solids accumulation of sludge and scum.' Ludwig said that such a system would turn harmless gray water into festering black water, which contains harmful bacteria.
Another problem, Ludwig said, is Utah''s law doesn''t allow the gray water to surface at any time.
Kiran Bhayani, manager of design evaluation at the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, said the subsurface restriction is necessary to protect public health. However, Ludwig points out that there have been no known cases of disease contraction from gray water.
'Gray water just isn''t that big of a deal, man,' Ludwig said. 'People are not going to get themselves sick by it.'
Bhayani said gray water would likely be used for shrubs and flowerbeds. It can''t be used to water edible plants, and lawn irrigation is impractical because the average home produces only about 150 gallons of gray water each day. Plus, he said tying into the existing lawn system could be challenging.
'We don''t want to have people messing up the culinary system completely,' Bhayani said. 'So we said you can irrigate shrubberies, flower beds, etc., below ground, and you are in good shape.'
For residents looking to install gray water systems, the Department of Environmental Quality estimates costs of approximately $4,000 for new homes and $10,000 for retrofitted homes.
For more information about gray water systems, visit www.oasisdesign.net. For information regarding Utah''s gray water regulations, visit http://www.rules.utah.gov/publicat/code/r317/r317-401.htm.