The Greywater Guerrillas
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Wetland Plants with Wash-Water

Constructed 2007 in Oakland, CA 

  • Goals: To reuse water from the washing machine to irrigate a food garden, and to plant beautiful wetland plants.
  • Site description: The washing machine is on the second floor of the house. The drain pipes are on the same side of the house as the garden.
  • Fixtures and output: Top loading washing machine, 40 gallons/load 2-3 loads per week.
  • Cost: used clawfoot bathtub $100, metal for stand $30, Jandy valve: $50,additional pipe, adhesive, connectors $40, Gravel $40, Misc. $10
    Total: $270
  • Designer: Home owner

Water flow:

Water from the washing machine flows into the utility sink. The outflow has a nylon sock filter to catch lint and particles. The utility sink acts as a surge tank for the greywater.

washer

The drain of the utility sink has a 3-Way Jandy diverter valve. The greywater can go either to the sewer or out to the garden. The greywater pipe goes out through the house directly behind the valve (you can't see it in the picture). 

 3-way valve

The greywater pipe flows down the side of the house and into an infiltration area in the bathtub. The rest of the tub is filled with gravel and planted with wetland plants.

infiltrator

Two greywater lines are attached to the holes in this clawfoot tub where the hot and cold water used to come in. One inch polyethylene line with no emitters takes the greywater by gravity out to the garden.

outflow with irrigation line
The finished wetland! Ruby with her wetland
  • Specifications and Notes: The wetland doesn't provide much treatment for the water because the greywater moves through it too quickly. The greywater provides a source of water to irrigate these beautiful water loving plants.
  • Maintenance and trouble shooting: So far no maintanence neccessary...sometime doesn't drain properly-- It helps to give a little suction to the end of the tubing to get it going, otherwise it sometimes flows over the edge. I think perhgaps the drainage holes should be larger and/or their should be larger rocks around the outflow. I'm also planning on getting a front-loading washing machine which uses much less water.