Evaluation of the effects of greywater reuse on domestic wastewater quality and quantity

Abstract

This simulation study, based on experimental and literature data, evaluates the influence of onsite greywater reuse on domestic wastewater quality and quantity. For this, three scenarios were studied: no reuse; reuse for toilet flushing; reuse for toilet flushing and garden irrigation. Light greywater reuse reduced the daily household wastewater flows by 25–40%. These reductions mainly occurred during the morning and evening peak wastewater generation. Although daily loads of all pollutants decreased, their concentrations in the discharged wastewater increased owing to exclusion of potable water from the wastewater and replacing it by treated light greywater. The proportional concentration increase of most pollutants was lower than the decrease in wastewater discharge, due to degradation during treatment. The highest concentration increase occurred during the morning peak, coinciding with the highest flow reduction. This study is a first step towards quantification of the effects of onsite greywater reuse on sewers and wastewater treatment plants.

Keywords:

• domestic wastewater
• greywater
• onsite reuse
• quality
• quantity

Acknowledgments

This research was partially supported by Israel Water Authority and by The Grand Water Research Institute, Technion. The authors further wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their thorough and instrumental review.