Domestic Grey and Black Water Recycling

Queensland company EcoNova have developed a world first domestic grey water recycling unit.

The NovaClear is designed to recycle all typical household wastewater (grey and black) to Class A+ reusable water quality - without further disinfection, such as chlorine or UV.

NovaClear� produces 2.2KL of Class A+ water, 24 hours a day using its patented MembraneSafe� technology.

Designed with support from 3 leading Queensland Universities, the NovaClear works similarly to the human kidneys; wastewater passes through membranes and contaminants are removed - resulting in safe water 99.9999999% free of pathogens.

Check out the NovaClear product page for details.

SepticTankInfo.com is a website with installation, maintenance and repair information for homeowners with onsite wastewater systems, including septic tanks, mound systems, aerobic systems, evapotranspiration (ET) and all their variants.

Big Brother - first house to use grey water legally

Tone Wheeler, the architect of the latest and environmentally greatest Big Brother house has claimed it to be the fist house in Queensland to use grey water legally.

The Queensland government has granted BB approval to conduct testing of a grey water treatment plant on site at the House, which will see grey water run into toilets for flushing and filtered water used to irrigate gardens.

Read more about one of the greenest houses on the Big Brother website news section.

Save Water AND Enjoy Longer Showers

I miss long hot showers; if I’m in the shower any longer than 5 minutes, the guilt factor starts to kick in and I promptly jump out, pick up my shower bucket, step outside and water the garden, clothed of course.

If you’re a fan of the New Inventors on Australia’s ABC, you may have come across the Quench Shower which allows you to have long hot showers guilt free. The Quench Shower is a shower unit which filters, heats and recycles the water that collects in the bottom of your shower giving an “endless” hot shower without the guilt of using litres and litres of water.

Installing one of these clever water saving Quench shower units is pretty price competitive compared to your average water wasting shower units, so if you’re consider a bathroom renovation or considering domestic water saving devies, then check out the Quench Shower.

Study shows - rainwater tanks most efficent for water saving

A study by Marsden Jacobs Associates for the Australian Conservation Foundation, has shown that rainwater tanks are one of the most cost-effective solution to the water crisis facing Melbourne, Sydney and South-East Queensland.

The report found the widespread installation of rainwater tanks in Australian capital cities would mean big savings in water, energy and money.

The study found:

Rainwater tanks are a more cost effective option than dams and desalination plants.

Rainwater tanks are five times more energy efficient than desalination plants and twice as energy efficient as the proposed Traveston dam, per megalitre of water produced.

If governments deployed rainwater tanks to 5 per cent of households each year in Sydney and South-East Queensland, dams and desalination plants planned for 2010 could be delayed past 2026 (Sydney) and 2019 (SEQ).

The majority of Australian houses are suitable for a rainwater tank instillation. In Sydney, 65 per cent (or 1.1 million houses), in South East Queensland 73 per cent (or 900 000 houses) and in Melbourne 72 per cent of houses have potential for the instillation of a rainwater tank.

“While 38 per cent of households in Adelaide have rainwater tanks, fewer than 6 per cent of the houses in Melbourne, Sydney, South-East Queensland and Perth do,” said ACF’s urban water campaigner Kate Noble.

“Rainwater tanks collect and store water far more efficiently than dams, especially in times of drought. As the climate changes we should be installing tanks to take advantage of the rain that does fall on our rooftops.

“If governments systematically installed rainwater tanks in Australia’s major cities, we would secure as much water as the planned Kurnell desalination plant in Sydney, the Tugan desalination plant on the Gold Coast and the stage one of the unpopular Traveston Dam proposed for Queensland’s Mary River,” Ms Noble said.

Front Loader Washing machines - how much water do they save?

I took the leap and purchased a water saving front loading washing machine some month ago and have been enjoying the savings in both water and dollars ever since. After the old top loader crapped itself, I decided to go for a more environmentally and (apparently) cloth friendly machine.

Although I laid out more coin to begin with, it’s proved to be much more water efficient; it washes more clothes on much less water.

So how much water does a front end loader save you? Taken from the Water Efficient Labelling and Standards (WEFLS) website, here are some simple figures:
A 6.5 KG, 4 star water rated, front loading machine will use 62 Litres per wash, compared to
a 6.5 KG, 3 star rated, top loading machine will use 92 Litres of water per wash.

In our household we’d average about 3 washes per week, so we’re saving 60L of water per week, or 3120 Litres per year. Combine this with the fact that a front end loader can use 60% less energy per wash and it’s a no brainer.

If you’re after a front end loader at a reasonable price here’s a couple of 4 star rated ones:

6 kg Fisher & Paykel WH60F60W1 (AppliancesOnline.com.au)

6.5 Kg Bosch WAE20260AUW (AppliacesOnline.com.au)

7.5kg Samsung J1455AV (AppliancesOnline.com.au)

If you know of any other highly efficient machine, let me know, I’ll list them here.

Queenslanders asked to reduce water use to 140L today.

The Australian reports:

“TODAY, Brisbane and southeast Queensland residents will be asked to reduce water use to 140 litres a person a day, following a fall in storage to 20 per cent of capacity. That will be about half the recent personal water use by Australians.”

Check out the full article.

Save Water in The Bathroom & Laundry

• Turn off the tap when brushing teeth.
• When shaving, fill the basin instead of letting water run.
• A quick shower uses less hot water than a full bath tub.
• Consider installing low flow, water efficient showerheads and taps in the home. Clear Solutions Graphic Basin Mixers have built in water flow control (From $355) and their Como Showerhead (Priced from $159.00) use a maximum of 13L/minute.
• Have a full load of washing before starting the machine.
• Avoid dripping by turning off taps firmly. Also fix any leaks you may have.
• Don’t use the toilet as a rubbish bin! Flushing away tissues etc is not how to win ecological brownie points. Get a rubbish bin for the bathroom. Clear Solutions Stainless Steel pedal bins start from $59.00.
• Fix any toilet leaks. To check for leaks, put a couple of drops of food colouring in the tank, wait 10 minutes. If without flushing the colour appears in the bowl you have a leak, which is costly and wasteful. Get it fixed.
• Limit the length of your shower. Reducing showering time by 1 minute can save 2,000 gallons of water per year.
• The toilet has the dubious honour of being the largest water consumer in the home, using over 13,000 gallons of fresh water per year. As from approximately a decade ago, all toilets have to, by Australian standards have dual flush action, which is 3L of half flush and 6 L for full flush.

The water cost of producing daily consumables

Some interesting figures on the amount of water in takes to produce daily consumable items.  I’m naturally devastated  that two of my greatest gastronomical indulgences are on this list:

• Hamburger - 2,400 Litres
• Cotton T-shirt - 2,000 L
• Cup of coffee - 140 L
• Slice of bread - 90 L
• Glass of beer - 75 L

Source http://www.waterfootprint.org/

savewater! awards winners

The savewater!® Alliance works with member water businesses, government agencies and product companies to deliver water conservation programs throughout Australia. The savewater! awards® recognise outstanding achievements and innovation in water conservation by businesses, government, schools, local communities and individuals.

The 2006/07 winners of the awards include:

• Coles Group Limited - The new $5 million, two story extension of Target’s head office in Geelong is more than an aesthetically pleasing building: its 1600 square metre roof is used to capture stormwater that is fed and stored in 16 tanks positioned beneath the building.  Read more
• Hume City Council - Hume City Council is set to save more than 70ML of potable water per year through initiatives that maintain existing assets and plan for a sustainable future. This saving equates to around 28 Olympic sized swimming pools. Read more.
• Quenos Altona - Qenos continues to improve water efficient practices at its Altona-based plants, saving 1.2 billion litres of water per year compared to 2002 consumption. During 2005/2006, it saved a further 730ML – or 292 Olympic sized swimming pools* – by upgrading three significant processes. Read more

See all the category winners here.

The facts about Stage 5 water restrictions for residents

South East Queensland’s recent introduction of Stage 5 water restrictions should be a wakeup call for the rest of the country.  Stage 5 water restrictions include:

• Gardens - only water existing gardens with buckets or watering cans on allocated days between 4pm–7pm. You can use tank or grey water at anytime.
• Vehicles - only use a bucket to spot clean mirrors, lights, glass and number plates
• Pools - From 1 July, only top up existing swimming pools from town water as a last resort and only where a rainwater tank or downpipe rainwater diverter is fitted and the premises complies with three of the following - a swimming pool cover, water efficient taps and showerheads, water efficient toilets, water efficient washing machine
• New or renovated pools - may only be filled with water sourced from areas not under Level 5 restrictions (ie brought in by truck)
• High water users – must submit a water use assessment form to audit their water use and identify saving opportunities.

Courtesy of the Qld Water Commission Stage 5 restriction guide.