Here is my abstract outline so far. Please keep in mind it will be updated much more in the coming week! Feel free to comment on the content and layout of the outline!
A Grey
Technology for a Blue Future
Introduction:
Water is only a sustainable resource
until overexploitation disrupts the natural cycle. Upon realizing this, many
efforts have been made to preserve this resource, but they are not always
affordable. Greywater treatment is a
method of greatly reducing household water usage. This report will aim to
answer the question, “Can retrofitting a house to incorporate a Greywater
Treatment System be an economical method of water conservation in the Okanagan?”
Research
Application:
To obtain the results for this report,
the water flow from various fixtures of a house in Penticton, B.C. was
monitored to determine how much water is available for treatment. It is
estimated that indoor fresh water consumption can be cut by at least 30%.
During the summer, irrigation of lawns consumes between 50% and 70% of
municipally treated water. Using treated greywater would not only save money on
irrigational purposes, but would alleviate strain on municipal treatment
centers as well.
Conclusions
and Recommendations:
It is expected that while saving
large amounts of water, it will not be economically beneficial for the person
who retrofitted the house. This will be largely due to the overall cost of the
treatment system and the cost of dismantling walls and floors in order to
install the necessary piping. However, the payback time for houses that are
attached to a septic tank is shorter because of the reduction in flow to the
tank. It is recommended that a greywater system be implemented upon the
construction of a house to reduce installation costs because once the system is
in place, the water bill savings are high.
References:
See References posted at the bottom of the blog.
