Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Rednys t1_iug487w wrote

Reply to comment by Kytyngurl2 in U.S. Streams Are Drying Up. Data showed that in the South and West, streamflow droughts got longer between 1951 and 2020, regardless of threshold. Worse yet, droughts in these regions are becoming more intense by Wagamaga

You flushing your toilet is not simply throwing it away. And adding more plumbing and tanks to hold and distribute your grey water adds complexity and cost to housing and more maintenance. All this for an extremely small amount of water "saved".
Additionally if your waste water isn't being diluted by some "clean" water it's much more toxic and much more solid which could also lead to problems.

24

xeneks t1_iugs9lb wrote

The waste being diluted enough so it’s able to be treated and doesn’t solidify or clog in pipes is something that I am sure is an actual issue. I wonder if they have to add water sometimes to offset the water saving of residents who achieve amazing low water consumption patterns? Also, if they have to add water to be able to actually process the wastewater as it’s received? This is why I think a way to create little bags of faeces like in the martian movie and book, makes sense. The faeces is a high cost, high value component. Simply bagging it means suddenly pipes have less physical material to address, and also, the faeces isn’t contaminated with other chemicals such as detergents or hair or clothes or or teeth or hand washing compounds.

2