There are many reasons which one might consider recycling of grey water and rainwater harvesting. It is well known that we are a few short years away from having a water crisis in the South Africa. Many individual municipalities are already rationing water and are considering or implementing mandatory rainwater harvesting. Many municipal sewer systems are tasked by the needs of the current populations and are being pressured by government to update systems to keep wastewater from overflowing the treatment plants into waterways and polluting the water supplies.
Many municipal freshwater suppliers cannot keep up with growth and struggle to meet the needs of industry and residential growth. The use for implementing “Brac” grey water recycling and rainwater harvesting systems is very simple and relatively inexpensive.
More than 20% of the world’s fresh water is in the five great lakes in America, fresh water is not always located where people live and the need for it is. It is said that the next “Great War” in the world will not be fought over oil or land, but for the rights to fresh water. One third of the world’s population is already facing problems due to both water shortage and poor drinking water quality. The effects of it include massive outbreaks of disease, malnourishment and crop failure.
The Colorado River that formed the Grand Canyon often never makes it to the ocean and Lake Meade is more than 2 meters low. These water supplies, and many like them, are depleted by human consumption and use, manufacturing, irrigation for farmlands and drought. Furthermore, excessive use of water has led to the degradation of the environment, costing the world billions of dollars.
Though water and water bills in many areas is relatively inexpensive, it is very common to see that your municipal; sewer and water systems are in need of updating and enlarging, they are in the process of updating their failing infrastructures. What does this mean to you as a consumer?
It means that the cost will go up. In commercial applications the percentages will vary with the types of manufacturing and level of water used. But in the instances of tall buildings recycled water can be used in the cooling towers to aid in air conditioning as well as toilet flushing and irrigation. Many systems can be designed specifically for buildings and incorporate rainwater harvesting to partner with a “Brac” grey water system, adding the ability to collect and conserve more water.
When these systems are used the demands for fresh water is cut back and the outgoing sewer water is reduced saving money for you the consumer and the commercial costs for manufacturing are reduced allowing higher profitability while being green at the same time. The way grey water systems are designed is simple. They separate shower, baths, and laundry drains in residential homes and in commercial uses they can pull from sinks, condensation lines from HVAC systems and rooftops.
This water is filtered and chlorinated and stored in tanks. The tanks are monitored by sensors and pump systems and are calculated to meet the needs of the water supply.
The systems are all calculated from the plans of your new building or can be retrofitted into existing buildings. From this we get the sum of the following information to consider: location of the building for average rainfall and size of the roof structure that will be used for collecting rain; the number of people using the building and its purpose; and sources to collect grey water such as showers, bath, laundry units, A/C drains, and in many commercial cases water collection from manufacturing.
Everyone has a responsibility to save water so we can ensure that future generations can enjoy the same standard of living we enjoy today. There are economic benefits to being water efficient, but it requires us to reassess our relationship with water and learn to use it sparingly.
We cannot increase our demands for fresh water without it having negative effects to the environment, society and the economy |
