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When Water Is Not Waste |
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by K. J. Johnston
From households to communities, appropriate technology for a new partnership with water is available now
Turn on your faucet and think about where your water comes from and where it goes. It’s a complex cycle – but at every step of the way, at the individual level and the community level, applying appropriate technology brings positive, sustainable benefits. From rainwater harvesting to greywater systems to constructed wetlands, people on the Central Coast and all over the world are thinking more and more of not just using water, but interacting with it.
Awareness of our changing relationship with water has also led to a remarkable cooperative effort aimed at helping Los Osos to solve its contentious water and wastewater issues. Representatives from SLO Green Build and the Surfrider Foundation, along with San Luis Obispo County officials, are thinking outside the faucet to come up with a sustainable system-wide approach for the town.
Architect Ken Haggard of the SLO Sustainability Group, and SLO Green Goods owner Mikel Robertson point out that a successful sustainable design for Los Osos’ water/wastewater system must reflect three points: triple bottomline accounting (where environmental and social benefits are considered equally with economic benefits), appropriate technology, and an integrated approach where water supply and demand is combined with the natural hydrological cycle.
They are optimistic about the possibilities for an innovative solution that could put Los Osos at the forefront of sustainability. “The choices are out there,” says Robertson.
With changes in state and local laws that now allow and even encourage wiser use of water, plus more open-minded public officials, appropriate technology for water is more accessible than ever for individuals too. Under the familiar principle “reduce, reuse, recycle,” householders have an array of sustainable possibilities.
On the “reduce” side, conservation and smart water use are the easiest to achieve, according to Robertson and Haggard. In addition to obvious moves, such as fixing leaky faucets and taking shorter showers, Robertson advocates dual-flush toilets. You pick the volume of the flush depending on the need, pushing one button or the other. Common for years in Canada, New Zealand, and other developed countries, these dual-flush toilets are now increasingly easy to find in the U.S. And it’s not necessary to be a homeowner to take advantage of the technology; there’s nothing to stop willing renters from installing these toilets to save water. Municipal toilet retrofitting programs should also take advantage of the dual-flush option, Haggard says.
Reusing water within the home is another area where appropriate technology and legal requirements are beginning to mesh, especially regarding greywater. Collecting “used” water from showers, sinks, and washing machines and running it through your home’s toilet-flushing and irrigation systems is legal in California. Education is key, according to Robertson and Haggard, since many people either don’t realize the use of greywater is legal or don’t know how to implement it.
One company, Brac Systems, offers an off-the-shelf system for less than $2000, complete with piping and a choice of tank sizes for the reuse system. Maintenance is easier than you might think: just clean the filter every few weeks, and add a chlorine tablet every six weeks. With around one-third of indoor water use in the U.S. going for flushing the toilet, Robertson points out that reusing sink and shower water for flushing is an obvious improvement.
Droughts can inspire people to think about their water use differently. During the last severe drought on California’s Central Coast, some residents reused their shower water for outdoor irrigation, and the Apple Farm restaurant and hotel in San Luis Obispo started using its greywater for toilet flushing.
The ultimate sustainable solution is to stop using water for human waste, Robertson points out. “Why do we clean our water, then shit in it, then clean it again?” he asks, adding, “The idea of it just being waste is antiquated.”
Composting toilets are not illegal, but at least in San Luis Obispo County, there must be one flush toilet installed to pass the building inspection, he says. Still, public acceptance of composting toilets in Californian homes or businesses has been slow to come. “It was hard enough in the 17th century to get people to use Thomas Crapper’s invention of toilets,” Haggard notes. Robertson plans to install a composting toilet, as well as a dual-flush toilet, in his Atascadero store so people can see for themselves how the systems work.
A new way of thinking about rainwater is another positive change taking place, at the individual and the community level. Driven by the federal Clean Water Act, new ordinances are beginning to be enacted at the local level. Rather than the old paradigm of directing rainwater into the gutter and then to stormwater drains that carry it – along with pollutants from streets – to waterways and the ocean, the new focus is on retaining rainwater onsite so it can soak into the land and recharge the groundwater in the same way it did before development occurred.
Known as Low Impact Development, or LID, these onsite solutions include using permeable paving to reduce runoff, creating swales and rainwater gardens where plants help absorb stormwater, and even using rooftop gardens. San Luis Obispo County is due in the next two years to adopt an ordinance requiring Low Impact Development techniques for developments of one acre or larger. Savvy individuals are already disconnecting their home’s downspouts and redirecting the flow onto the land and out of storm drains.
Harvesting rainwater for household use is still illegal in California, Robertson says, although he knows of local examples where rainwater is collected in onsite cisterns and tanks. Just as we’ve seen with greywater use, harvesting rainwater is likely to become legal in coming years as awareness continues to shift.
SLO Green Build members and other experts have been working to develop a complete manual of appropriate technology for water, and they’re also pushing for information to be readily available at local libraries and planning and building departments. They hold monthly meetings with local officials to promote sustainable solutions and increase the “comfort level” for appropriate technology.
The community of Los Osos could be the beneficiary, with a system-wide sustainable design now in the early planning stages. It’s a slow process, requiring careful collaboration, including agreeing on definitions.
Sustainable solutions for Los Osos could eventually include harvesting the fog, according to Haggard, similar to what is done in a coastal town in Chile. And treating the wastewater can be done in an innovative way too, using constructed wetlands such as those created in the Northern California town of Arcata. A national expert on constructed wetlands, John Todd of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, has been discussing the concept with SLO County officials, after being contacted by Robertson. Todd is planning to visit Los Osos in January or February to meet with the community about the idea. The process relies on microbes, plants, and animals to clean the wastewater, rather than chemicals, industrial processes, and energy. A John Todd wastewater system would be an ecotourism attraction for Los Osos, Robertson says.
Adds Haggard, “The key thing is, it’s a cooperative venture. It takes time. Evolution is sometimes slow and sometimes fast. But we assume everybody will get on board.”
K. J. Johnston is a SLO County-based freelance writer specializing in the environment.
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