Every day Phoenix residents let a valuable and increasingly expensive resource flow right down the drain. Water.
In March, Phoenix residents faced a 7.2 percent rate increase for water and sewer services, raising the monthly bill for the average single-family home to $56.68.
Greg Peterson of Phoenix suggests people do their part to help the environment, while reducing their water bills, by reusing "graywater" to irrigate their landscape.
State officials encourage reusing graywater, defined as any water that runs down the drain of sinks, showers and washing machines, but does not include "blackwater" from the toilet or kitchen sink.
Several years ago Peterson realized that because his water heater is on the opposite side of his circa-1949 house, a gallon or two of cold water went down the drain every time he wanted to take a hot shower.
Over two days, using some tools, a Jandy valve, some pipes, and a backflow preventer, Peterson and a friend installed a graywater system under his bathroom sink, through an exterior wall to the outside. The water flows from the bathroom sink faucet, down the drain, through the pipes, down a slight slope under the soil into an infiltrator where it percolates into the soil. A Jandy valve, commonly used with pools and spas, is used to direct water to the pipe that leads outside, or the pipe that leads to the sewer.
"The most expensive parts were drilling the hole through the wall and the Jandy valve," Peterson said. "For me, it's not about saving money. It's transferring the notion of water going down the drain. It's getting double use."
Peterson, who blogs about his urban farm experiences on yourguidetogreen.com, suggests using biocompatible soaps in sinks with graywater systems. These soaps break down and provide nutrients in the soil, he said.
Arizona is a leader nationally in graywater participation because residents have what's called an "assumed permit" to use graywater, said Mary Lu Nunley, of the Phoenix Water Conservation Office.
Nunley said she had a graywater system attached to her washing machine when she lived in Tucson.
"It was a great boost for us because we used it for our yard," Nunley said. "The one thing that we caution residents about is protecting the water supply so they don't have standing water because of mosquitoes and West Nile (virus)."
The state Department of Revenue gives an individual tax credit for water conservation systems, up to 25 percent of the cost of the system, not to exceed $1,000.Precertification by the department is required.
Information, azdor.gov or 602-255-3381.
'Graywater' can irrigate Phoenix residents' landscapes
