Bay Area residents like Sarah Shourd are figuring out what to do with all the greywater on their hands. Sarah does not mess much with her short brown hair, plain olive green T-shirt or black pants, but she does make a fuss about water conservation in her multi-unit apartment building.

"The first thing I did when I moved in was borrow a pipe-wrench and disconnect the bathroom sink so that I could use the grey water," from a collecting bucket below "to flush my toilet," says Sarah.

She is just one Bay Area participant in the grey water movement, which is the recycling of wash water used in daily household functions. People everywhere save the "grey water" from their homes to use again in the garden, or as in Sarah's case the bathroom.

According to California's grey water guide, grey water is "untreated household waste water which has not come into contact with toilet waste." This definition includes water collected from bathroom sinks, showers, bathtubs, washing machines and laundry room utility sinks. It excludes water from toilets, or any water that has come into contact with human waste or food particles, which is defined as black water, which is not considered safe for re-use by California's standards.

"Our landlord is amazed by how low the water bill is," says Sarah.

Aside from conserving costs there are many benefits to re-using grey water. The most obvious is the preservation of a dwindling supply of water, our most precious resource. Recycling grey water helps balance oxygen levels in our natural waters.
By not releasing toxin-ridden grey water into the environment, the underwater eco-systems of our oceans and rivers are better sustained. Marine life can use the oxygen in the water, instead of the oxygen being consumed by household pollutant's breakdown process. Detergents are poison to marine life but nourish plant life.

Plants that thrive in acidic soil, like begonias and violets don't do well with highly alkaline grey water. Rosemary and juniper do quite well. According to California code, grey water is okay for edible plants as long the plant is not eaten raw, and the grey water doesn't touch the edible parts.

"At this point everyone has to do something, we can't just keep wasting massive amounts of water," says Naomi Brilliant an employee at Frank Johnson Vineyards in Sonoma and owner of Roshambo winery. Both are anomalies in the water-sucking world of wineries. Frank Johnson is one of few local wineries that use grey water to irrigate its orchards.

Being part of the solution can be as simple as unscrewing the kitchen sink piping, harvesting rainwater water in a bucket or re-routing laundry water into a garden.
If DIY projects aren't your thing, there are many commercially available options that range from simple pumps to appliances that'll make you want to remodel. We especially like the Smart dual flush sink + toilet available from Caroma. The sink bowl on top provides white -clean- water for hand washing. The wash water, now grey flows into the tank below ready for the next flush.

But this conservation effort is not without its complications. Using grey water may require major lifestyle adjustments. Most beauty products used in everyday life contain ingredients harmful to plant life, which make some grey water unsuitable for irrigation use. Laura Allen, of the Greywater Guerillas-- a local education and activist group-- suggests switching to eco-friendly brands like Ecos or Dr. Bonners. These brands make products without boron, sulphates, salts and other chemicals harmful to the environment and your garden.

The grey water movement is a double-edged eco-friendly sword. It requires more work but makes consumers conscious of what is going down the drain.

Then there is the issue of whether using grey water is a feasible solution for you. Easiest to set-up in single-family homes, using grey water presents multiple challenges for city dwellers in multiple family dwellings, like apartment buildings. Most buildings don't have gardens to grey water. But fear not. There are plenty things downtown SF denizens can do. Take after Sarah and use grey water to flush the toilet. In the kitchen, wash dishes in a dishpan, then rinse. Or install a shut-off valve in the shower. Five dollars, or less can cut your water costs/waste in half. Which is something your landlord will certainly appreciate.