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Water & Wastewater Program |
Greywater is household wastewater that has not been contaminated with toilet discharge (blackwater). Greywater includes wastewater from baths, showers, bathroom wash basins, clothes washing machines, sinks (including kitchen sinks) and laundry tubs.
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a policy for all types of greywater systems effective March 22, 2010.
Policy 11.1 Permit by Rule Greywater Added includes 11 conditions
that must be met for a greywater system to be permitted on a "permit by rule" basis as described in Chapter 16 of the WQ Rules and Regulations. Meaning, no application for a permit or fee is required if all the conditions are met.Greywater systems that do not meet the conditions in the policy, shall submit a permit application to the DEQ to be evaluated on an individual basis.
Before using your greywater or constructing a greywater system check with your local town, city, and county to ensure there are no additional requirements.
Check if your County is a Delegated County.Where to start?
Before starting your greywater project, learn as much as
you can about how to do it. A little
bit of planning and forethought will save you time, money, and hassle when
operating your greywater system.
Additionally, there are several common mistakes than can be avoided.
Publications about greywater are readily available online and in
libraries and DEQ recommends that you draw on
these resources.
Avoiding one mistake will make the research pay for itself!
To get started go to
http://greywater.net/
At the time of this writing, it is one of the most complete sources
of information on the subject.
DEQ recommends purchasing and reading the book Create an Oasis with
Greywater before constructing a greywater system.
You will also want to read the free Greywater for the Garden guide as it has some valuable insights into maximizing your water efficiency.
Once you have researched greywater systems, read the DEQ publication Special Greywater Design Considerations for the State of Wyoming.
There are existing designs that you can modify to fit your situation. The following are examples for your convenience:
Laundry Drum
Simple Kitchen Design
Mulch Composter
Landscape Irrigation with Kitchen greywater
Laundry to Landscape
Laundry to Landscape -raised beds
Branched drain system from a shower
Branched drain with exposed pipes
Do not forget to search for informative greywater videos on sites such as YouTube and Google video.
More Information:
A quick reference brochure
Can I Use My Greywater?
Special
greywater design considerations for the State of Wyoming
Composting or Incinerating Toilets - As long as these systems
are completely self contained (no discharge except for the occasional
solids from the composting or incinerating process), these systems do
not need a permit.
Please be aware that if the composting or incinerating toilet system
fails or is abandoned for any reason, a fall-back waste disposal plan is
required. This could be either a conventional septic system with a
leachfield or a holding tank. These options require a permit and have to
be designed and constructed to the current applicable standards.