Graywater research findings at the residential level
type: CreativeWork
description: As populations continue to grow and water supply sources become more stressed, innovative means for reducing our reliance on municipal water are becoming more prevalent. Graywater reuse is one water conservation practice which has the potential of reducing household water demands by 30% indoors and outdoors, depending upon irrigation demands. In areas where water scarcity is an ongoing challenge, implementation of graywater reuse practices is becoming more widely accepted. However, constituents commonly found in graywater may pose a threat to the environment or human health. The objective of this thesis is to present graywater research findings from 2003 to the present which have occurred as part of a graywater research program at Colorado State University. The research findings address issues and concerns raised regarding graywater and present the case for graywater reuse being a viable safe, simple and economical technology. In order for graywater reuse applications to continue to expand, the concerns regarding public health risks raised by regulating agencies and public health officials need to be fully addressed. Early research on a residential pilot graywater system for outdoor irrigation formed the foundation for more recent research targeting effects on soil quality (chemistry and microbiology), plant health, groundwater contamination, graywater quality and potential human health risks (Sharvelle, 2009, Shogbon, 2010, Neghaban-Azar, 2012). An optimal residential graywater system prototype for drip irrigation has been developed (Alkhatib, 2008) which includes two tanks, one for collection, coarse filtration and settling and the other for usable storage. The WERF study (Sharvelle et al., 2012) showed no need for disinfection of graywater being used for irrigation. The presence and levels of pathogens on field sites whether being irrigated with either municipal water or graywater were the same. The WERF research (Sharvelle et al., 2012) coupled with the prototyp…
abstract: As populations continue to grow and water supply sources become more stressed, innovative means for reducing our reliance on municipal water are becoming more prevalent. Graywater reuse is one water conservation practice which has the potential of reducing household water demands by 30% indoors and outdoors, depending upon irrigation demands. In areas where water scarcity is an ongoing challenge, implementation of graywater reuse practices is becoming more widely accepted. However, constituents commonly found in graywater may pose a threat to the environment or human health. The objective of this thesis is to present graywater research findings from 2003 to the present which have occurred as part of a graywater research program at Colorado State University. The research findings address issues and concerns raised regarding graywater and present the case for graywater reuse being a viable safe, simple and economical technology. In order for graywater reuse applications to continue to expand, the concerns regarding public health risks raised by regulating agencies and public health officials need to be fully addressed. Early research on a residential pilot graywater system for outdoor irrigation formed the foundation for more recent research targeting effects on soil quality (chemistry and microbiology), plant health, groundwater contamination, graywater quality and potential human health risks (Sharvelle, 2009, Shogbon, 2010, Neghaban-Azar, 2012). An optimal residential graywater system prototype for drip irrigation has been developed (Alkhatib, 2008) which includes two tanks, one for collection, coarse filtration and settling and the other for usable storage. The WERF study (Sharvelle et al., 2012) showed no need for disinfection of graywater being used for irrigation. The presence and levels of pathogens on field sites whether being irrigated with either municipal water or graywater were the same. The WERF research (Sharvelle et al., 2012) coupled with the prototyp…
author: Marjoram, Christine, author
author: Roesner, Larry A., advisor
author: Sharvelle, Sybil, advisor
author: Klein, Donald, committee member
language: eng
language: English
keywords: graywater, reuse
date published: 2014
date modified: 2026-07-27T19:13:06Z
provider: Colorado State University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Colorado State University. Libraries

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/82498

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.25675/3.018559