Am trying to formulate a plan to clean up our water to conserve our wells potential by reusing the water as often as possible. Sink and bath water will run thru carbon block filters, slowly along a 30' sand channel planted with cattails,willows and bulrush. Thenc into a pondwith crayfish, snails, water lillies and hyacinths for a final scrub of all the bad phosphates and sodium. Any other contributions would be great.

-- Raymond Gray (RorLGray@amntv.com), May 16, 2000

Answers

Ray: Sounds interesting. Will you keep us posted on your progress? Do you plan on doing any sampling to monitor effectiveness? Will you be using final product for irrigation? You must live in the southern states cause hyacynths won't survive northern winters.

-- john leake (natlivent@pcpros.net), May 16, 2000.

Not sure if you can order it through your local Public Broadcasting Station, but there has been some great shows on this very subject. In fact a large town was using this for their waste water system. Would love for you to post on how it is working! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), May 17, 2000.

Hi,

Check out the National Small Flows Clearinghouse at WestVirginia University. They have all sorts fo information on gray (and black) water processing. A lot of it is aimed at small communities but they do have some info for the homeowner. Do a search for graywater on google.com and see what pops up.

What you describe sounds like a good design.

j

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), May 17, 2000.

Here's some of the stuff a google.com search found (and I hope the list owner won't beat me for posting this... :-) ) And also some black water processing as well.

j

APPALACHIA SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST 50 Lair St., Mt. Vernon, KY 40456 USA Phone: 606 256 0077 (main office) Fax: 606 256 2779 Email: aspi@kih.net Website: http://www.kih.net/aspi Contact: Jack Kiefer ASPI has technical bulletins on composting toilets and constructed wetlands including schematics for a compost toilet which ASPI designed, and for a constructed wetland.

BIG BATCH COMPOSTING TOILET EKAT (East Kentucky Appropriate Technologies) Executive Director, 150 Gravel Lick Branch Road Dreyfus, KY 40385, USA Phone: 606 986-6146 Contact: Robert J. Fairchild Another owner-build system that utilizes readily available materials. It is designed around a large rolling polyethylene dump cart with air pipes of PVC placed into it. Two are used, one 'resting' while the other is filled. EKAT is a non-profit organization which provides engineering assistance with appropriate technology projects to families and groups in central Appalachia. The 'Big batch composting toilet' plans are $7.

ECO-TECH/VERA ECOS, INC. P.O. Box 1313, Concord, MA 01742-1313 USA Phone: 978-369-3951 Fax: 978-369-2484 Email: watercon@igc.org Website: http://www.ecologicalengineering.com Plans for site-built composting toilets (see previous US listing).

LONG BRANCH ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER Big Sandy Mush Creek; POB 369; Leicester, NC 28748 USA Contact: Paul Gallimore, Director Phone: 828-683-3662 Fax: 828-683-9211 Email: paulg@buncombe.main.nc.us Website: http://main.nc.us/LBEEC

STAN SLAUGHTER 55 GALLON DRUM COMPOST TOILET - GUIDEBOOK AND PLANS Stan Slaughter, Tall Oak Productions, Pilar Route, Box 11B, Embudo, NM 87531, USA Phone: 888 484 4477 Fax: 505 758 0201 Website: http://www.stanslaughter.com Also has a great audio tape: Rot N Roll. Offers music/educational programs and a new card game, Compost Gin.

"SUNNY JOHN" SOLAR MOLDERING TOILET CONSTRUCTION PLANS - $20/POSTPAID John Cruickshank, 5569 North County Road 29, Loveland CO 80538 Email: hobbithouse@compuserve.com Website: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hobbithouse

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), May 17, 2000.

And my final contribution....

http://www.kih.net/aspi/TP30.HTM

j

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), May 17, 2000.

Thanks for the ideas, most sources deal with composting toilets or large municipal water projects.Am trying to find a system adaptible for small domestic use. There is a lot more of us around then cities, but by our own life style we conserve more already then cities and all the big effort and tax dollars are wasted there.My detention pond will be domed for the lillies and hyacinths to survive Northern Nevada, and will try different element screens to remove sodium and the phosphates from the water to be useful for fish ponds and irrigation. Its been a while since I had chemistry.God Bless

-- Raymond Gray (RorLGray@amntv.com), May 23, 2000.

I did a search on Yahoo and found this one: www.thenaturalhome.com, it has more that composting toilet stuff. I am interested in this too.

Blessings

-- Judy Murray (jmurray@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu), May 24, 2000.

Check out my farm web page for good links http://www.homestead.com/peaceandcarrots/AlternativeBuildingandSystem s.html there are a few on graywater on this page. You can also see pics of our garden outhouse and our underground house by going to the main page http://www.homestead.com/peaceandcarrots/index.html

-- Wendy Martin (wsm311@aol.com), May 24, 2000.