Publication Date

8-1-2023

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Water Policy

Volume

25

Issue

8

DOI

10.2166/wp.2023.101

First Page

759

Last Page

779

Abstract

Potable water scarcity is a global issue. Recent and ongoing droughts in the Western United States make residential water conservation crucial. Several water agencies have invested in conservation programs that educate residents on non-traditional water sources, such as laundry-to-landscape (L2L) greywater systems, which reuse washing machine water for outdoor irrigation. This study analyzed landscape vegetation and 21 greywater characteristics of 30 households with L2L systems in Santa Clara County, California. Greywater from most residential systems, even ones decades-old and unmaintained, had acceptable reuse values for major water quality parameters tested. Overall, 89% of fecal coliform counts fell within the acceptable range for water reuse, although counts were higher in non-code-compliant systems than in code-compliant L2L systems. The mean values for coliform counts, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total organic carbon, magnesium, sodium, chloride, and sodium adsorption ratio were lower than the means previously reported for L2L systems. Analysis of water samples indicated high levels of iron and calcium, which merits further investigation. Outdoor vegetation appeared diverse and healthy. The promising results here indicate a high potential for expanding L2L programs. Wider system adoption can diversify regional water supply in service areas where the residential sector accounts for significant water use.

Keywords

Drought, Fecal coliform, Greywater, Greywater characteristics, Irrigation, Laundry to landscape

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Environmental Studies

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