A Four Step Guide To Grey Water Recycling At Home

New Delhi: From depletion of water levels to taps running dry, from locals in Maharashtra protesting over shortage of drinking water in Aurangabad’s Khuldabad to regions in Jaipur being declared as ‘dark zones’ (regions with depleting groundwater), problem of water shortage has already affected many parts of India. It is just the onset of the summer and the country is already reeling under the crisis of water shortage.

A 2014 United Nations backed study stated Bengaluru as the second city in the world which may run out of water by 2019. And given the polluted state of India’s rivers, lakes and other freshwater sources and overuse of groundwater leading to its depletion and contamination, the need of the hour is to conserve and recycle water. Here are four steps to recycle water, especially grey water, at home.

What is grey water?
There are two kinds of water – black water and greywater. Black water is the one which is released from commode the toilets whereas grey water is shower water from bathroom, water released from kitchen.

Why recycle grey water?
The amount of grey water generated depends on individual’s consumption of freshwater. The water used for washing hands, vegetables, dishes or even for bathing can easily be recycled to bridge the ever increasing demand and supply gap.

An individual consumes around 135 litres of water a day of which around 80 litres is recyclable. If we all practise recycling then around Rs. 24 lakh will be saved every year, says Kalpana Ramesh from Hyderabad, who practises grey water recycling and other things like recharge of ground water, rain water harvesting to save water.

Also Read: Adopt These 4Rs To Save Water, A Woman From Hyderabad Shows How

How to recycle grey water at home?

1. Usually our houses are built in a way that black water and grey water get mixed. To avoid this, separate pipelines are needed to isolate the discharge of both these kinds of wastewater.
2. While the black water can go into the drain, grey water pipe can be diverted to a small tank where all such water gets collected.
3. While water from bathroom will contain things like hair, oil, and soap sediments, water from kitchen sink might have tit bit of food items like rice, lentils or other such contents. Once grey water is collected separately, the next step is to filter the water. Sharing a valuable tip, Kalpana says,
   

   Though the filter removes hair, oil, and other things from the water, it needs to be maintained and cleaned every few days. It needs to be maintained which is not a strenuous task.

4. After the filtration process, greywater is fit to be used for gardening or washing purpose. The filtered water can be diverted to garden.
   Tip: You can also practise drip irrigation to both save water and nourish your plants well.

   Through greywater recycling, I am able to save 200 litres of water everyday. My garden is managed using filtered grey water only, tells Kalpana.

If you don’t have a garden or don’t wish to utilise it for gardening purpose, you can use it for other odd purposes like washing car, moping, and many more.

Also Read: Can A Plant Help Treat Waste Water Naturally And Prevent Untreated Sewage From Polluting Our Water Bodies?