Reed bed system - greywater

 

 

Our commercial grey water system creates 3 to 4 showers worth of untreated grey water a day.  It is "commercial" because it is hooked up to a timer that makes sure no greywater is kept more than 24 hours- so at a set time, it sends any unused greywater to the sewer. (early in 2009)

 

Skip to Update - Jan 2012

We were not too keen on using it untreated on the fruit trees, so Paul has built a wetland treatment system using five baths as gravel beds, with wetland plants to clean up the water before it gets used on any food plants.

The pond at the bottom of the system is a stock trough, which will become a good home for frogs. A few have already moved in - Pobblebonks or Eastern Banjo Frogs.  They will be even happier when the landscaping is completed! 

 

 

Our commercial grey water system creates 3 to 4 showers worth of untreated grey water a day.  It is "commercial" because it is hooked up to a timer that makes sure no greywater is kept more than 24 hours- so at a set time, it sends any unused greywater to the sewer. (early in 2009)

 

Skip to Update - Jan 2012

We were not too keen on using it untreated on the fruit trees, so Paul has built a wetland treatment system using five baths as gravel beds, with wetland plants to clean up the water before it gets used on any food plants.

The pond at the bottom of the system is a stock trough, which will become a good home for frogs. A few have already moved in - Pobblebonks or Eastern Banjo Frogs.  They will be even happier when the landscaping is completed! 

Planning

 

Stage 1

 

(Ignore the bricks - they are the layout for the parterre vege garden beds!)

Five baths and a stock trough - earth works by a bobcat.

 

stage-2

Getting the levels right so that the water will flow from bath to bath and lastly to the pond.

This green look after a rather wet November 2009 in the Buninyong area!

All the tanks and the pond are full.

Paul is measuring up for the steel mesh cover.  Water lilies and other plants waiting in the styrene boxes.

Nice blue pots will not be seen under water holding up the mesh, but at least they will not change the ph of the pond like concrete would.

Update January 2012

2010 and 2011 have turned out to be really wet years and we turned off the grey water going through the baths at the start of Winter 2010.

Now it is Summer 2012 and we have just had 4 hot days in a row, and Paul has connected it all up again and got the solar pump working.

The landscaping around the perimeter begins.