Need Help Drafting Rules for Greywater Recycling Prize

[MrCarrot]

I hope that as a first-time poster I'm not violating community standards.

Over on the site BigCarrot, I've proposed an inducement prize to spur the development of an affordable, easy-to-install greywater recycling unit. However, I don't know enough about the specifics of such a device in order to define the requirements it must meet. I would really appreciate it if this group would help me draft the rules or recommend someone I could contact who might be willing to assist me.

If you're unfamiliar with inducement prizes or how they work, you might've heard of the Ansari X Prize, the $10 million prize offered to the first group to create a commercial spaceship. I think that if the the environmental activist community helps chip in, we can create a prize valuable enough to attract the industry's attention.

[Corey]

Grey Water (also spelled greywater, graywater, gray water)
I added this link to give the public a starter info regarding greywater recycling.

One thing I should point out right off the bat is chemicals used in laundry and dishes along with hand soaps and shampoo and such needs to be carefully monitored especially those containing industrial estrogen. The reason I say it needs to be watched is that it is extreemly difficult to get Chemicals out of the water once its there. Putting greywater laced with chemicals dirrectly into irrigation could do more harm than help.

So one major rule would be you must use entirely organic biodegradable chemicals when using a home greywater recyclers. This would help minimize damage and possible contamination from soaps and such when using recycled greywater.

Industrial estrogen is proving to be harmful to wildlife in that it can cause the males to become infertile thus causing problems with reproduction. Flat head minnow study was done on a secure lake where Industrial estrogen was added to the lake to study the effects of how it effected the fish population. Within a year or two the Flathead minnow was extinct.

So dealing with chemicals is a major issue.

A counter that keeps track of how much water is in the recycler at any given time thus knowing when the system is maxed out and needs time to do its thing regarding filtering and such. The cleaner the water the longer it will take to filter it. Assuming you are using gravity filter through layers of sand and such.

[Johnny Electriglide]

Standards for gray water systems are already in place. Basically, plumbing codes require that no gray water go outside the house except to a black water or other septic system. The recycled gray water in the house from showers, rinse water cycles, and rainwater catchment goes through a series of filters and ultraviolet light to sterilize it on the way to a pressure tank. The requirement for a normal household is for two plumbing systems, one for gray water holding, and another for the septic system. The gray water system overflow and clean out must go to the septic system by code.
Various valves have been developed which switch the outgoing water of clothes and dishwashers to the gray water system for final rinse only, and manual valves for sinks. These help eliminate some piping, and the filters don't get clogged by the grease and soap as fast. Generally, a compost toilet system is used, with a necessary drain to septic by code. Low water flush toilets also go to the septic system. Septic may be the public waste treatment, which is too often only partially treated and not truly composted. These systems also get the hormones and other chemicals which are very hard to remove, and end up often in outflows to rivers where fish are known to have many less males and a lot of male/female freak fish. Other chemicals not taken out can gradually concentrate with subsequent downstream users, then help create the larger and larger estuary dead zones noted throughout the world.
The gray water systems help by reducing water needs, and the best are with totally independent homes. All take effort by the homeowners, and there are so many who could care less, and would do nothing when water is scarce and limited except let their toilets get full to the brim, then use the streets.