Going green with greywater: Petaluma home is first in the county with a permitted system that uses old wash water for irrigation

May 8, 2008
By COREY YOUNG, ARGUS-COURIER

Got greywater? Everyone does.

The cloudy, soapy stuff that goes down the drains of our sinks, showers and washing machines usually gets mixed in with the same sewage flushed from toilets, headed to the wastewater treatment plant.

Next year, the creation of a new water recycling facility on Lakeville Highway will significantly boost Petaluma’s ability to turn sewage into water suitable for irrigation.

But Trathen Heckman isn’t waiting that long. The founder of Daily Acts and member of the city’s “Green Team” is putting the finishing touches on a household water re-use system that will irrigate his backyard gardens with old wash water — and lower his water bill at the same time.

Heckman’s westside home will be the first in the city — and by all accounts the county — with a legal, fully permitted greywater system.

A network of pipes and a constructed underground wetlands in his back yard will collect drainage from the sinks, showers, clothes washer and dishwasher in his two-bedroom home as well as a granny unit.

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