Graywater Use by the Army -- Is It Time Yet?
Abstract
Department of the Army installations used over 41 billion gallons of potable water at a cost of $67.4M in FY10; costs, value increasing; military costs cheaper than private sector; approximately 25% of Army installations are vulnerable to water scarcity; shortages; competition for water; withdrawals unsustainable in some locations; many uses of water could use lower quality. Drivers to reuse graywater: Executive Orders 13423, 13514 require reductions in water use; incorporate water efficiency/conservation measures; LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) USGBC; Green Building Initiative; and Army Net Zero Water Initiative. What are the water supply challenges of today? The current centralized infrastructure is aging, expensive to repair and expand, and designed around one high level of treatment for drinking water. Available sources of water are dwindling and the quality of available sources is declining. What can be done to increase the available supply of water? How can we efficiently use what's available? The answer is GRAYWATER REUSE. What is graywater? Graywater is used water from bathroom and kitchen sinks, showers/bathtubs, and laundry facilities. What are the barriers to graywater reuse? The barriers are consumers' perceptions about using lower quality water, the inexpensive cost of potable water for many regions, the lack of residential plumbing infrastructure to accommodate partially treated water, the lack of enabling regulatory codes, and the lack of product standards. The charts also depict states with graywater programs, advantages/disadvantages of graywater use, graywater treatment systems, European water reclamation systems, graywater reuse opportunities, concerns for graywater use, standardization, green construction codes, maintenance, endpoint devices, use in toilet tanks, Tri-Service ESTCP Project, cascading systems, and toilet demonstration at UGA.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 11, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA563690
Entities
People
- Martin A. Page
- Richard J. Scholze
Organizations
- Construction Engineering Research Laboratory