Greywater for use on single family residential yards in Los Angeles County is a great untapped local and sustainable water resource. If implemented more widely with the use of strategic incentives and marketing, residential greywater could yield a higher quality and quantity of shade and fruit trees for homeowners across a wide range of neighborhoods in the county.
The program would reduce the share and quantity of potable water used for landscape irrigation and divert it from sewage treatment. As a piece of a greater roadmap towards a resilient water future for the region, these simple greywater systems that require no permit, implemented by individual homeowners could divert a volume of water comparable to the annual flow of the LA River. This consumer-led effort could start our county on a path to resilience today, with no red tape (well, maybe some plumbers tape).
The project is comprised of three parts. It includes an analysis of the state of greywater implementation practices in the area with an examination of permitting requirements, existing incentives and county-wide planning goals. Also included is a GIS soils/infiltration vs. zoning analysis and a survey of the composition of greywater. With a few exceptions, greywater implementation should go ahead without causing damage to the soil substrate due to the soils types found throughout LA County. Finally, marketing materials are provided that address the how, what, and why of greywater implementation in LA County, punctuating its social, economic and environmental benefits with a call to action.
Please read the full report here.
