Three local green technology companies presented at the Colorado Green Tech MeetUp this month, but the most impressive technology in green living was grey water recycling.
The Colorado Green Tech MeetUp meets every second Thursday of the month at the Wolf Law Building at the University of Colorado in Boulder. They offer a networking happy hour (See previous article: The entrepreneurs event) at 6:00 p.m. and then presentations by three local green technology businesses at 7:00 p.m.
This month (November 2009) they featured BioHarmony, a company founded by Dr. Liboff who uses a very weak magnetic field to stimulate the growth in plants and the fermentation process for biofuels. Another company called gomobileIQ offers driving route software subscriptions to small businesses. The program reduces the amount of energy and time required for small businesses to make service calls and deliveries. This saves companies a great deal of money and reduces the amount of fossil fuels expended.
However the most intriguing company to present was Water Legacy, LLC. They sell grey water reuse systems primarily for the home. Michael Vail, founder of the company, made the presentation. His company which promotes water conservation and the company logo features a toilet with the phrase, “Don’t flush drinking water.”
As featured in this examiner’s last article: Clean drinking water is becoming more precious than gold, Water Legacy offers an option to flushing perfectly good drinking water down the toilet and uses grey water from the shower and bath to reuse in the toilet. Grey water is any water from sinks and tubs. Raw sewage from the toilet is called black water.
Grey water recycling is not a new technology. Many local municipalities use grey water to irrigate city lawns and landscaping. Grey water reuse is regulated by cities and the health department. Check with your health department and local or state regulations before using grey water recycling systems. While water rights to collect fresh water off the ground and roof are highly regulated in Colorado, grey water reuse is not impacted by this law. Learn more about Colorado water law here.
However grey water can contain pathogens. Vail explained that they treat and filter grey water prior to its use in the toilet, thereby eliminating any pathogens. Remember that the household would be reusing the water they used to bathe. Please keep in mind that our kitchen sink contains more germs than our toilets do. According to the MSNBC Today show the kitchen sink can contain as many as 500,000 bacteria per square inch. Remember that not all bacteria are harmful. In fact humans need certain bacteria to aid in digestion and other bodily functions. This brings us to the human being. Humans have far more harmful germs to people than other life forms. The mouth can contain over 615 bacteria according to the Harvard University Gazette. Plus, the University of Georgia College for Agriculture and Environmental Sciences department states in a report that each human being can have over 300 million germs (mainly bacteria) on their bodies at any given time. Of course it boils down to what our mother’s told us, “Wash your hands.” Hygiene is very important, so the toilet is the least of our worries when it comes to germs. Just ask any elementary classroom teacher just how many viruses they caught in their first year of teaching. We are Petri dishes spreading germs everywhere, so the toilet is “not guilty”.
Vail continued that the filtered and sterilized grey water is safe enough for your dog to drink straight out of the toilet. His company’s goal is to protect clean water, which is a precious resource. Grey water reuse is an evolving market and Vail stated that water is highly subsidized and undervalued as a resource.
Water Legacy only has one other competitor located in Canada. Vail’s company has been focusing on Colorado and Arizona as growing markets in grey water reuse. The system cost is a “few hundred dollars” according to Vail.
If every homeowner purchased a low flow toilet with the Water Legacy grey reuse system, there would be huge savings in water usage, which in turn helps the planet. Water Legacy, LLC is making a difference one toilet at a time.
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Upcoming articles:
Women in Sustainable Energy and the viewpoint of a former PUC chair, Coloradoans of all faiths meet on climate change, and Holiday green tips
If you have a holiday green craft idea, green tip, or green business you would like to feature in Michele’s upcoming holiday green tips article, please contact her at mspencr@ix.netcom.com.
Comments
I became interested in the use of grey water when studying earth homes and their use in irrigating herb gardens in the passive solar corridors on south facing walls. I have seen articles suggesting water collection methods that route water to these box gardens, however I've been advised that Colorado penalizes anyone collecting water in such manners (takes away from the watershed and common water, I guess). But I'll have to check out this Vail company to see how their system works.
Thank you Michelle for your article on Water Legacy. We appreciate your support for the concern about conservation of water. Chris
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