Kill Your Plumbing
The Greywater Guerrillas say it's time to use less water.
By Matthew Green
July 16, 2008
After the driest spring on record and a statewide drought proclamation, North Oakland resident Laura Allen would seem an ideal candidate for some sort of conservation award. Armed with little more than some piping, a few buckets, and a bit of creative plumbing knowledge, Allen built a home graywater system that bypasses the sewer system by reusing the water from her sinks, showers, and washing machine to flush the toilets and irrigate the deep-rooted plants and trees in her lush backyard garden. Her five-member household uses about 100 gallons of water a day, almost 80 percent less than an average East Bay household of the same size. Too bad that in California, what she's doing is not allowed under the state plumbing code.
