From Buckets to Irrigation Systems
Gravity fed systems are notoriously fickle. Much effort is required to properly design and install a pipe network that will deliver water evenly across the required areas. After installation, additional tuning will be required to balance the system.
Gravity systems moved out of
mainstream graywater re-use in Australia over 10 years ago. An exception to this is the simple movable gravity hose with an open end - this is a popular, inexpensive method that does stop wasting water down the drain however is extremely inefficient, and causes many problems in the garden.Is it worth installing a modern graywater pumping and irrigation system? This is entirely up to you.
Complete pressurized systems can now be found for around $1,000, including collection unit, pumping system and all irrigation components. If water is cheap and plentiful, you don't need a graywater system.
However if your garden is going to suffer because of water rationing, then the outlay will be covered by not having to replace plants every year.
Place your mouse over the image to see the pressurized irrigation network.
Therefore, most early graywater pumping systems placed filter media between the inlet / overflow area of the container and the pump itself (right diagram).
The downside of this approach is that substantial amounts of graywater were lost to overflow as the filter media began to collect solids.
New graywater capable pumps can process hair, lint and other solids with ease—Just Water Savers (Australia) has proven this in many thousands of systems.
Therefore, filtration necessary for graywater dripperline irrigation can be placed AFTER the pump (diagram below).
GRAYbarrel external filtration design:
Because water is pumped through the filter, instead of relying on gravity, much less graywater is lost to overflow.
In addition, the filter can be placed in an easily accessible location
away from the pumping unit. This is a major benefit for crawl space
plumbing installations.
Internal Filtration Issue:
Previous graywater pumping systems included internal filtration media, resulting in significant graywater loss.
With a clean filter, graywater passes easily by gravity from the inlet / overflow chamber, through the filter media, and into the pumping chamber (below).
When debris collects in the filter media, graywater cannot pass through the media by gravity as quickly as it arrives in the inlet / overflow chamber. Water builds up in this chamber and drains to waste (below).
