Grey Water

I had mentioned waste water in a previous post. The more correct term is grey water; it's not sewage but rather the runoff from showers, sinks, washing machines, etc.

Janne made a drawing for the environmental permit we received, so we're all set. But I didn't realise until I talked more with Janne last week how much is involved. Essentially, we have to bury a 700 liter plastic tank to hold runoff, and then dig two trenches 10 m long into which we put gravel and then lay drainage pipes. (The environmental requirements have become more stringent in the past few years.) The idea is to filter this water slowly and have it the groundwater table safely. Here is a good overview of the system.

Janne says the hole-digging and trench-making are fairly simple as there is a bobcat on the island which will make short work of it. Plus the tanks and pipe are light plastic, and so easy to handle. That leaves the gravel, which isn't, so we've decided to buy now and helicopter in with the rest of the house so it's onsite when we are ready for it.