In the Op-Ed section of the LA Times on Sunday, Marc B. Haefele put the spotlight on gray water.  A topic first brought to our attention during the drought of the early 1990s, gray water refers to using the wastewater that comes from a home’s washing machines, showers and sinks for outdoor irrigation.

Haefele tells us how since the last major drought, “draconian permitting processes”  have prevented the success of early gray water pilot projects from gaining major traction. Still, while we may only have 200 permitted gray water systems statewide, Haefele’s sources estimate there are more than 1.7 million illegal systems throughout California.

Along with fascinating statistics about the greatness of gray water, Haefele includes information on Senator Alan Lowenthal’s (D-Long Beach) “Shower to Flower” bill, which is currently under review by a state health and safety agency. Perhaps we should all keep our fingers crossed for its success, because as Haefele puts it “dry is becoming California’s future.”

This entry was posted on Monday, April 20th, 2009 at 12:33 pm and is filed under Central Basin News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.