Grey Is The New Green

It has been made brutally clear to Metro Atlantan?s that Lake Lanier is not bottomless and that, in fact, that bottom is getting uncomfortably close.

Now what once was considered a radically "green" way to supplement our water supply is becoming acceptably "grey".

Grey water is water that has been used, but is still clean enough to be used again. Previously, using grey water is something only committed environmentalists did. Now, it is something we will all have to look at.

Showers used to be a place to relax, now we're being asked to cut them to five minutes and re-use the water.

"As my wife says," offered environmentally aware homeowner Curt Mann, "one thing we're absolute certain of is that the status quo is not working."

So Curt Mann and his wife installed what's called a Brac Grey water Recycling System when they renovated their house.

"Our definition of grey water," explained Charles Cone of Southern Energy Solutions, "is bath water, shower water, water from your washing machine, it can also be condensate from your air conditioner." The system collects the water from the Mann?s shower, and bathroom faucets, and washing machine, and sends it to a fifty three gallon reservoir.

When a toilet is flushed, that greywater is pumped to the toilet tank to replace the water just used.

"And you have to get used to the fact," admited Curt Mann, "because they, you know, they call it grey water for a reason. It it has a grey-ish tint, so you so you have to adjust your perceptions and expectations."

A University of Florida professor and engineer has done research on the health impact of grey water.

"In the book," explained Charles Cone, "he says that no illness has ever been traced to the reuse of grey water.

If you are considering a greywater system, check with your local water department for regulations. The city of Atlanta encouraged the Mann?s to install it.

"It was also easy for us to understand the economic payback which is very real," Mann says. "With the city of Atlanta water rates for a family of four, the payback for us pencils out to about three years."

This new technology, which once was considered the wave of the future, may soon be considered the wave of the present.

Tis particular system is best installed during new construction or major renovation. Retro-fitting current plumbing to accommodate it is complicated and expensive. It costs $2,550-3,000 to install and can be modified to use residential greywater for outside landscaping.