Waste not want not

Whether homeowners are looking to save water for financial or environmental reasons, reclaimed water systems can help your customers reach their goals.

Water is inexpensive in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, where Jason Turpin installs rainwater harvesting systems. So his customers aren’t hoping to save money; they’re looking for a way to make their landscapes self-sustainable.

“This is a fantastic solution for anyone that’s looking for green solutions,” says Turpin, CEO of Turpin Landscaping.

The company installs about 15 systems a year, mostly for residential customers, and that number has been up a little this year since the company has been installing more water features.

In drought-stricken areas, graywater reclamation systems are becoming more popular. Rootstock Landscapes in Forestville, California, installs 20 to 25 of them each year, along with rainwater systems, and founder Sean Jennings hopes to double that number in 2016.

“It’s been a pretty good thing to have in our toolkit as landscapers because once we install the system, there’s more that goes on from there,” says Jennings, who is also the company’s lead installer. “People are interested in what they can plant, and they want to design something around the graywater, so it’s a good way for landscapers to get in the door and get a little extra project out of it.”

Rootstock’s graywater systems also include a rain harvesting component to increase efficiency.

Installing the systems.

Rainwater harvesting systems collect water from downspouts, filter it and pump it out into the landscape. Rootstock’s graywater systems work by installing three-way valves and pipes that allow residents to let water flow into the sewer when harsh chemicals are in play, or into mulch basins where it’s filtered and then dispersed.

It takes an average of three days for Turpin Landscaping to complete a rainwater project with a three-man crew, but can take as long as three weeks, depending on the size of the system and the water features included. “More time and energy goes into make the decorative features than the actual rainwater harvesting part,” Turpin says.

But before they can get started, contractors need to get the proper permits. When the scope of a project is just a water garden or plants, there are no permits required, but contractors do need to be licensed. When systems are used for storm water management, permits can take anywhere from one week to six. The cost starts at $6,000 and goes up from there.

Rootstock Landscapes offers two options to reuse household water from either showers and baths or laundry. The Laundry to Landscape system is the easiest to do and doesn’t require a permit, while the Shower to Flower system does.

The laundry option takes a two-man crew one day to install and costs $800 to $1,000. Since the shower system includes an electronic valve switch and requires permits, it starts at $2,000 and can cost as much as $3,000. Depending on the extent of the project, it takes two employees two to three days to complete it.

Keeping it up and running.

Rainwater harvesting systems can get clogged with sediment or debris, so Turpin recommends pumping them out once every three years. And the downspout filters should be cleaned four times a year, he says, adding that his company offers both of those services to customers.

Rootstock Landscapes’ systems use mulch basins as a biofilter for graywater, so there isn’t much upkeep. “As water gets in there and it starts to build microbial life, the wood chips eat a lot of the minerals that come out of the water,” Jennings says. “That’s why you want it to run out into the basins so it can have that opportunity to filter. If the water spills out of the basin or runs along the surface or something, you just have polluted water. I’ve seen systems where it’s just nasty.”

To prevent runoff, Jennings does a survey with his customers to see how much water they use on a day-to-day basis. Usually, systems require 1 square foot to 1 gallon of water for clay soil and ½ square foot for each gallon of water in sandy soil.

The Laundry to Landscape system has a joint in the line where homeowners can detach the union and flush the line with a garden hose if necessary. Otherwise, the only maintenance is replacing the mulch.

Educating the customers.

Since reclaimed water systems are relatively new, there’s an element of education that goes into sales.

“People think they’re going to be able to water everything in their gardens sometimes,” Jennings says. “They think they can just send it out into the garden just like a drip line can send water out, so I try to educate people as best I can.”

He also has to make sure homeowners know they should be using a graywater-safe soap for their laundry, and that they should turn their valves when using bleach or other harsh products so that they drain into the sewer instead of the landscape.

Turpin hears a lot of concerns about standing water and mosquitoes, but since his systems usually include a water feature like a waterfall or fountain, it’s not an issue.

Other customers worry that the water will smell bad or that vegetables won’t be safe to eat. “As long as it’s designed properly and you’re using the proper plants with graywater, it’s completely safe,” Jennings says. “It’s a really simple, easy, go-to system for people to be able to recycle their water and to try to reduce that bill and do their part to save the water that we use on a day-to-day basis.”