Grey Water Crisis Essay

lthough greywater systems offer some relief to the water crisis in California, it also poses several dilemmas to the public such as high costs to build and maintain, and an influx of harmful pathogens in the water supply. There are plenty of different corporations that install greywater systems such as Greywater Corps or Greywater Action. Greywater Corps demands a price of $1000 to install laundry systems. According to Greywater Action “laundry to landscape installation price ranges from $700 to $2000, Branch drain installation is $800 to $3000, Pumped system installation is $1000 to $4000 lastly, Automated pumped system for drip irrigation is $5000 to $2000”. If the systems become damaged prices vary from $100 to $600 depending on materials needed for each individual system: “laundry to landscape system materials costs $100 to $250, Branch drain materials are $200 to $400, and Pumped system materials are worth $400 to $600” …show more content…
The quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) is designed to measure and estimate a microbe’s capacity to become a threat to human health (“Quantitative Microbial Risk”). This tool is vital when determining whether or not an alternative water source meets the requirements of the United States clean water act. Unprocessed greywater has the possibility of containing human feces and fecal contamination of small animals (O'Toole, Joanne, et al.). Body waste can pollute the greywater system buy the washing of baby clothes contaminated with feces. Another way fecal matter enters the greywater system is from the collection of rooftop rainwater. Birds and other small animals leave droppings on the rooftop gutters which eventually gets collected in the greywater tanks. The bacterium from the fecal matter indicates the probable existence of disease-causing bacteria and viruses. A harmful pathogen bacteria found in greywater is E. coli