LANDSCAPE

Treatment of Grey Water in India

SUBMITTED BY LIZA GILANI RAHEMA SHAH

Grey water
Greywater is washwater. It refers to the waste water generated from domestic activities such as laundry, dishwashing, and bathing. There are significant distinctions between greywater and toilet wastewater (called "blackwater"). In many utility systems, greywater is combined with black water in a single domestic wastewater stream. Yet greywater can be of far higher quality than black water because of its low level of contamination and higher potential for reuse. When greywater is reused either onsite or nearby, it has the potential to reduce the demand for new water supply, reduce the energy and carbon footprint of water services, and meet a wide range of social and economic needs. Wastewater from kitchen sinks and automatic dishwashers tend to have high concentrations of organic matter that encourage the growth of bacteria. This water is sometimes referred to as dark greywater.

In order to reuse greywater from a particular building, a dual plumbing system is required to separate the usable greywater from the more contaminated blackwater. The outputs from toilets, bidets, and kitchen sinks are not suitable for use in irrigation without proper treatment, and should be taken to the foul sewer or the septic tank. Only wastewater from cleaner sources, such as baths, showers, hand basins, and floor drains should be included in the greywater system.

Care should be taken to limit the release of inappropriate substances into the greywater system. Heavily soiled or bloodstained clothes, diapers, animals, etc should not be washed in sinks draining to the greywater system. Chemicals such as bleach, cleaning agents, paints, etc should not be disposed of into the greywater system, nor should any substance that may cause blockage, or detrimentally affect the plants to be irrigated with the greywater. Detergents (like those used in washing machines) have a detrimental affect on some plants because of their contents of sodium compounds.

http://www.csbe.org/graywater/guide2.htm

USES OF GREY WATER

Greywater can be reused for purposes that dont require potable water such as In Individual house hold/Apartment/Colony for Toilet flushing In School for Floor Cleaning In Government/ Non Government Office for Irrigation In Hospital for Gardening In Hotels for Construction thereby reducing potable water use. Greywater can also be allowed to seep into the ground to recharge aquifers and reduce the volume of wastewater needing to be treated. As it is best suited to the irrigation of plants, trees, and shrubs. Ideally, the area to be irrigated should be at a lower level than the greywater outputs so that the entire system can operate by gravity, and the need for a pump is avoided.

Greywater provide benefits such as:

Water efficiency by recycling non-potable water Minimizing fresh water usage Decreasing the chemical used for treatment Recharging groundwater Utilizing otherwise wasted nutrient for plant growth Minimizing the load passed through septic systems

RECYCLING At present, several water recycling systems exist which can be used to: Water recycling systems without purification Water recycling with purification Water recycling without purification is used in certain agricultural companies like tree nurseries etc and dwellings for applications where potable water is not required like garden and land irrigation, toilet flushing. For filtering the water to become potable (or near-potable), there are numerous systems based on soft processes. These include Natural biological principles such as: Mechanical systems like sand filtration, Lava Filter system etc Biological systems (plant systems as treatment ponds, Constructed wetlands, compact systems as Activated sludge system, Aeraobic and An aerobic Biofilters, submerged aerated filters, etc

BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT SYSTEM

This level of treatment involves utilizing the biological content in greywater to reduce microbial contamination, suspended solids, turbidity and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous).
Greywater is characteristically low in nutrients and this would inhibit the efficiency of biological treatment systems for application in Ashram schools. Consistency in treated greywater quality can also be achieved through greater storage volumes which assist in the biological treatment process. However, the consistency of biological treatment systems could vary greatly according to the types of chemicals used at greywater sources. Some substances or products used such as laundry washing products, soaps or shampoos with high amounts aluminum or zeolite could poison or hinder the biological process .

Grey Water Treatment by mini wetlands:

All grey water is fed into a mini wetlands. First into a large pond planted with aquatic plants, then led into a biological filter using microbes before being led into a mini wetlands made up of slow flowing meandering channels planted with more aquatic plants. The entire zone is planted with water-loving, edible plants - bananas, papayas, pumpkins, and various tubers. Before discharging into the river, the water goes through a charcoal filter

http://dqfarm.blogspirit.com/archive/2009/07/25/grey-water-treatment-mini-wetlands.html

Aerobic Pre-treatment

The aim of this stretch filter treatment technique is simply the removal of large particles and fibers to protect the subsequent infiltration pipes from clogging and transferring it as soon as possible for treatment into a biologically active, aerobic soil-zone environment where both macro- and microorganisms can thrive. Stretch-filters are made to retain fibers and large particles and allow the rest of the organic material to travel on to the next stage of processing. This filter is suitable for public facilities where the principal source of greywater is hand-washing and showers without any food waste to speak of. If this type of filter is used to remove food wastes, these will accumulate in the filter which then becomes anaerobic and makes the effluent malodorous. The result is often that too frequent changes of the stretchfilter becomes necessary ---thus creating an undesirable, high-maintenance situation.

Anaerobic to aerobic pre-treatment If any significant quantity of food waste enters the system from dishwashers and kitchen sinks receiving cooking grease and a fair amount of food residue, this option is recommended. A typical installation is not very different from a traditional system; but the treated effluent is of much better quality and does not pollute nearly as much. Ideally, it should consist of a three-stage septic tank for sludge and grease separation. The separated sludge can thus be removed less frequently [every fourth year instead of bi-yearly as is standard practice with many conventional systems]. The outgoing effluent in the septic system is anaerobic. Following the septic tank is a sand filter designed for restoration of aerobic conditions. The final treatment stage leading to purified water of near potable-quality is treatment in a planter bed. This is not the most inexpensive solution. It is, however, one of the most effective, simple-to-maintain on-site treatment techniques available today.

Clockwise from top left: 1. Three-chamber septic tank 2. Sandfilter with a geo-textile cloth 3. Final result from the sandfilter (swimming-quality water) 4. Close-up of the effluent: odor-free, clear and suitable for planter irrigation.

REUSE OF WATER IN INDIA

Reuse of greywater is important in the context of availability of rainwater and overextraction of ground water for meeting water demand during annual cycle. An analysis of rainwater and groundwater availability and water demand in Ashram schools of Madhya Pradesh highlights the importance of greywater treatment and reuse. Chart below depicts annual water demand, water availability and extraction pattern that clearly justifies greywater reuse system. In Madhya Pradesh and in several other states, groundwater is a major source and temporarily supplemented by surface/rainwater during the monsoon. The greywater reuse will substantially reduce groundwater abstraction since majority of water demand for toilet flushing and gardening in Ashram school can be met from treated greywater.

Annual water demand and supply cycle typical of ashram schOol