Confused about Grey Wate

[darkknight66]

Newbie here...maiden voyage is this Friday for Labor Day weekend.  I'm confused about the whole "grey" water issue.  What exactly is grey water and what do I do about it ?  I have a 2008 Rockwood with full galley and bath/shower. We probably won't use the shower on board this trip.

[dthurk]

Waste water from a toilet is called black water.  Waste water from other sources, sinks and showers, is called grey water.  Laws in most states prohibit dumping of grey or black water directly on the ground.  You should devise some sort of collection system for grey water and dispose of it in a dump station.  Some have been known to dispose of it in a toilet in the campground bathhouse.

Have fun on your trip!

[coach]

Since I don't generate a big volume of grey water (no shower), I take a simple approach as do the Camping Regulations at Mamoth that suggest

• To eliminate unpleasant odors and muddy campsites, catch your drain water in buckets and empty into toilets in the restrooms.

A short hose attached to the PU drain into a bucket works fine. Simple is always good.

When you start using the on-board shower, you'll need to haul all that water away!

[AustinBoston]

Newbie here...maiden voyage is this Friday for Labor Day weekend.  I'm confused about the whole "grey" water issue.  What exactly is grey water and what do I do about it ?  I have a 2008 Rockwood with full galley and bath/shower. We probably won't use the shower on board this trip.

If you don't have a potti, you don't produce black water; all of your waste water is grey water.  In some places, disposal of grey water is less stringent than black water, but this does not mean you can just dump it on the ground!

Beware, too, that some juristictions make no distinction between black water and grey water, so in those places it is  a serious health violation to dispose of it on the ground.

Grey water, when it has been used for washing dishes, contains bits of food that can attract unwanted vermin.  Those bits of food also eventually break down (i.e. smell like garbage), and will attract flies when doing so.

Find a way to collect the grey water (your camper may have one built-in, though most without a potti do not), and dispose of it:
1) at a dump station
2) in a restroom toilet
3) (when remote camping...NOT at a developed campground!) in a pit at least 200 feet from any water source

Austin

[austinado16]

Newbie here...maiden voyage is this Friday for Labor Day weekend.  I'm confused about the whole "grey" water issue.  What exactly is grey water and what do I do about it ?  I have a 2008 Rockwood with full galley and bath/shower. We probably won't use the shower on board this trip.

Welcome! Sounds like a nice camper.

Don't pass up this opportunity to purchase a new "toy" for the camper.....in this case, one of those fancy "Blue Totes" on wheels, as sold by Barker, or Tot-N-Stor, etc.  Your local RV stores/shops/dealers will carry them, along with a ton of other great stuff you just can't live without.

Have a fun maiden voyage!

PS:  If you're in Cali, I've got a 15 gallon wheeled tote for sale.

[Tim5055]

Gray water is a term which is legally defined state by state as well as a term used by the RV industry to identify the contents of one of the two waste tanks on an RV.  Thus you have numerous "definitions" of what gray water is and depending on who is speaking it can make a big difference.  Confusion arises because the RV industry considers kitchen sink waste "gray water" while the EPA and most state health departments consider it sewage.  To add to the confusion many communities advocate the practice of reusing/recycling gray water for landscape use.  Do not let this confuse you, when talking about gray water recycling they normally exclude water from a food preparation sink.

The easiest legal definition I found on line was the Arizona definition:

 R18-9-701(4)

[coach]

The main reason food prep water is normally not considered grey is DEFINITION. Bits of food are nutrients for the plants. Studies have shown that RARELY some bad stuff goes down the kitchen drain (ergo the law). "There has not been one documented case of greywater transmitted illness in the US."-from:Greywater education I can dump up to 400 gallons a day of grey water on my yard legally, but not a drop during a drought in a SP, I don't think I'm allowed to urinate outdoors either, but I do! I'm not suggesting you piss outside or dump your greywater outside. Knowledge is power.

Why use grey water?
It's a waste to irrigate with great quantities of drinking water when plants thrive on used water containing small bits of compost. Unlike a lot of ecological stopgap measures, grey water reuse is a part of the fundamental solution to many ecological problems and will probably remain essentially unchanged in the distant future. The benefits of grey water recycling include:

Lower fresh water use
Less strain on failing septic tank or treatment plant
Grey water treatment in topsoil is highly effective
Ability to build in areas unsuitable for conventional treatment
Less energy and chemical use
Groundwater recharge
Plant growth
Reclamation of otherwise wasted nutrients