Australia Seeks Long-term Personal Drought Solutions. Grey Water Purification and Reuse Can Ease Water Stress

Australia is facing unprecedented water stress, with the worst drought in 100 years drying out the nation. Innovative solutions are needed to address the current problem whilst also providing a long term answer to our dwindling water supply.

Water restrictions and rainwater tank subsidies have been the main focus of government initiatives to reduce domestic water use. While water restrictions help reduce water consumption, they also cause damage of their own. Gardens are dying and foundations are cracking due to a lack of moisture in the soil.

Rainwater tank subsidies provide some relief, but only if there is rainfall to fill the tanks. Even then, certain councils and states have restrictions on how this water can be utilised by households.

Governments have begun proposing expensive and potential environmentally damaging solutions, such as desalination plants or new dams. Both of these proposals face harsh criticism from local communities.

But what about recycling and re-use in the domestic sphere? Australian homes pour the equivalent of two million Olympic size swimming pools in grey water down the drain each year. Grey water comes from the shower, bath, washing machine, hand basin, laundry tub and spa.

Properly treated, this water is an extremely valuable national resource that currently remains untapped. Purifying and re-using this valuable resource will reduce the need to build expensive and energy consuming desalination plants or new dams.

In addition, grey water recycling systems directly reduce the amount of water taken from the environment, reducing the strain on our limited water supplies and the partially treated waste water major cities pump in to the ocean.

Currently, governments do not subsidise the installation of domestic grey water purification and re-use systems or legally require their installation in new homes. To date, the major domestic water use initiative has been to mandate water tanks for new homes or subsidise their retrofitting into existing homes.

By comparison, on-site grey water purification systems such as Perpetual Water - Home®, deliver a much bigger and consistently reliable source of water.

For example, the Defence Housing Authority has installed six such systems on one of their army base in central Victoria. These houses typically produce 4,500 litres of water per week. In comparison, the houses next door have been fitted with rainwater tanks. However, as the area has not recorded any significant rainfall in the six months since the tanks were installed, these have never produced any water.

According to John Grimes, Managing Director, Perpetual Water, “If 21% of NSW households used purified grey water for their gardens, washing machines and toilets, the state could save the entire capacity of the Nepean Dam every year - without the need for government investment in a new water infrastructure.”

Designed specifically for the urban environment, and already popular in the ACT and NSW, on-site grey water purification systems purifies household grey water and treats it to a high quality level (Class A). This water can then be safely used to water gardens and lawns, wash cars, flush toilets and run washing machines.

It is vital that grey water undergoes proper treatment prior to reuse. Untreated grey water is full of bacteria, high in soap, salt and has a high pH which can kill gardens, damage health, create offensive odours or run off into the environment.

The latest grey water purification systems like Perpetual Water - Home® system utilises new technology that effectively treats grey water and allows households to save and reuse up to 67% of their daily water consumption without changing their lifestyle. The system can work in conjunction with rainwater tanks, which will reduce a household’s water consumption even further. The innovation in this technology is not only the method of water treatment, but also in its ease of use, its small environmental footprint and its automated operation.

Grey water has now become viable, long term resource which will help Australian’s manage water issues well into the future. Households will be able to reduce their dependence on town water supplies, keep their gardens alive and live a water-rich lifestyle which is not dependent on rainfall.

John Grimes is the Managing Director of Perpetual Water. Perpetual Water is a Canberra based company founded in 2003 to develop Grey water recycling technologies in response to the unprecedented level of water stress & subsequent water restrictions faced by the world community. For more information visit http://www.perpetualwater.com.au