Can we create micro-grids for water?
What is a Greywater System?
Greywater systems recycle and treat water from non-sewage sources in a building to reuse for other purposes, like irrigating a property’s landscaping.
One of the ways to ensure that we conserve water is by using greywater systems to reduce usage of water. Given California’s tendency for droughts, recapturing and reusing water helps us in conserving water and ensuring that tenants have access to water in times of need.
Throughout Holos Communities’ properties, we’ve recycled 558,000 gallons of water through our existing properties thanks to greywater systems, and plan to incorporate more in our upcoming projects.
One of the newer greywater systems we’re implementing is at Corazon Del Valle, where we’re implementing a greywater system to recycle water solely from the laundry units in one of the 90-unit buildings. When fully operational, this greywater system is projected to recycle 72,000
gallons of water per year, to be used to irrigate the extensive landscaping.
While this greywater system will recycle water from one of the two buildings at CDV, the water recycled is enough to water all of the landscaping at both buildings in the CDV complex. This means there will be an untapped source of potable water from the other building at CDV that can be recycled and reused.
This opens up a couple of questions:
What happens if we recycle water from additional sources beyond laundry units?
If we capture the water from the other building at CDV, what can that water be used for?
Greywater systems are capable of recapturing and recycling water from other sources beyond laundry units, such as bathroom and kitchen sinks, showers and more. The current estimates for the amount of water the greywater system we’re implementing at CDV will recycle is only with one source of water - adding additional sources can increase the amount of water recycled!
Which brings us to the second question. Below is map of of the surrounding area around CDV, with the neighboring Panorama High School highlighted as well.
The beauty of greywater systems is that they can be used to water nearby green spaces, promoting resiliency not only on our properties but in the neighborhoods that our properties reside in. This idea of developing micro-grids that serve populations beyond our residents is one that Holos Communities is experimenting with. In theory, water saved at CDV doesn’t have to stay at CDV; it can be used at nearby establishments as well.
What if we were able to share that excess water with the community, including nearby green spaces? Using it to irrigate the high school football field next door would be a start, and would raise the resiliency of the high school by making it less reliant on water from the grid. Additionally, water that would be conserved at CDV would serve a purpose beyond the apartment complex, further integrating CDV into the neighborhood.
Micro-grids help conserve water wherever they’re implemented in. Whether at an apartment-wide level or in the neighborhood, developing and installing micro-grids help cut down on costs, develop resiliency against drought, and promote interconnectedness across the neighborhood.