SABI Magazine February March 2016 | Page 16

Water recycling Wiser flushing with grey or “gently used” water Saves lots of high quality water By Carol Posthumus “Short term (less than one year) irrigation with bath and laundry greywater has proven to be generally beneficial to edible and non-edible plant growth.” Rainwater Harvesting sieve and tanks F lushing of toilets uses a lot of expensively treated drinking water. Toilet flushing reportedly uses between 30-50% of a household’s total drinking water supply. The WRC reports that in order to help address this situation and seek some solutions, they funded a study on dual greywater and drinking water systems for high-density urban buildings. Greywater, says the WRC, from showers, baths, hand basins, laundry tubs and washing machines can provide a solution to our water scarcity challenges. Indeed a joint pilot study – by the Universities of the Witwatersrand (WITS), Johannesburg (UJ) and Cape Town (UCT) – funded by the WRC, is sho