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Oregon shares water management concerns with many states

Guest Blogger: Salvador Del Cid

There are countless high-paying jobs in Oregon.  Our housing market is booming.  And we have absolutely no water concerns, not in this so-called Webfoot State.

Fiction! All of it.

Yes, it’s well documented -- Oregon employment and housing are standing on wobbly knees.  But oddly, it’s the threat of future water availability that would make most bike riding, vegetable growing, recycling gurus here drop their BPA-free water bottles in shock.

Despite our rain, ocean, rivers and snowmelt, Oregon shares water management concerns with many states.  In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports 36 states are anticipating water shortages by 2013.

The solution, in Oregon, may lie partly in the state’s reuse ethics: graywater.

Most simply, graywater is water from the shower, bathtub, sinks, and laundry that can be captured and reused to flush toilets and to irrigate the outdoors.  Water savings can be substantial: an estimated 100 graywater gallons per day -- per home, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

Since 2008, plumbers in Oregon have been able to install graywater systems for toilet flushing -- an act that accounts for 30% of the water use in an average home.  The ballpark cost of a typical system: a few hundred dollars, plus local plumbing permits.  These are dollar amounts recouped very, very slowly through water savings.

To expand and encourage graywater use, Oregon is now in the process of legalizing graywater for use outdoors.  Yes, you heard it right -- simply watering flowers with graywater is against the law right now unless a homeowner has a costly, restrictive permit more apt for wastewater treatment facilities.

When allowed in September 2011, outdoor graywater use should be more affordable and accessible.  To this point, public hearings have been completed and the Environmental Quality Commission should approve new rules in August.

Once passed, the rules will allow homeowners to use graywater outdoors for moisture used in composting and for the subsurface irrigation of plants, lawns, and food crops (except root crops or edible parts touching graywater).  Irrigation will also be allowed on vegetated roofs (ecoroofs) and with special treatment, specific ponds and surface irrigation.  Outdoor irrigation will only be allowed during dry seasons.

While graywater use will be allowed for commercial, industrial, and institutional purposes, the DEQ expects most graywater use will originate from single-family residences. Each homeowner will pay $50 per year for an outdoor permit.

One well-known Oregon home is leading the graywater movement.  The Water House, built by the Portland Water Bureau and certified Earth Advantage Platinum, uses the Aqus graywater system to capture water for toilet flushing.  Additionally, the Water House was designed to WaterSense specifications, an EPA designation that means it is at least 20 percent more water efficient than a typical new home.

Despite the move to go gray, Oregon is not an early adopter.  Already, 30 states have varying degrees of graywater regulation to deal with increasing water stress.  In fact, since 2010, Tucson, Arizona, has required that graywater systems be installed in all new construction.

Likewise, DEQ’s prime candidates for graywater are new homes.  The DEQ believes the new rules, combined with Oregon’s green culture, will boost graywater use from an estimated 1.6% of homes in the state to 10%, which is higher than the national average of 7%.  If 10% of new homes adapt, the DEQ predicts it will issue 810 graywater permits in 2011 and 2,410 by 2017.

Big picture, Oregon hopes this translates to saving millions of water gallons annually. Rightfully so, considering water consumption around the world has tripled in the last 50 years.

One day, better high-paying jobs will resurface.  Homes will sell again.  Water…well, that’s a gray area, isn’t it?

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