Dish water disposal for vans

[LoveCareThinkDo]

To answer your actual question:

I spoke to the BLM camp host at the Bouse camp area at Plomosa and Highway 95, and asked him about this exact issue. He told me that all the BLM is really concerned about is people creating large puddles of water. He said if the water doesn't puddle up (for more than a few minutes) that they don't really care. He also said that you aren't allowed to dump a gray-water tank, both because of the puddling issue and because bacteria builds up in the tanks. He did not need to mention that dumping black-water is out as well. He specifically suggested to me that it is OK to just run a hose straight to the ground from inside your RV and dump gray-water straight from your sink to the ground, as long as there isn't lots of food in it (which would attract insects into your RV anyway). The point is that any time you empty your sink it will soak into the ground in just a few minutes... so you are good. 

THEN he specifically brought up that he just goes pee outside, right around his RV. So, if you go up to get your camping permit and that guy is not right out front, do not go around back looking for him. You might find more than you bargained for. 

Naturally, your mileage may vary and other camp hosts may apply the rules differently. Mostly I think, if you don't create a problem it won't be a problem.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

When you don't have a grey tank such as an RVs, what do you do with your dish water that you clean dishes in?

Arizona, like most states, defines dishwater as sewage.  Try to minimize food residue in dishwater and dispose of small amounts discretely, preferably in a cat hole.

My solution is: beagle prewash (gets rid of all food and grease, and the beagle likes it), spray with a vinegar or bleach and water mix, air or towel dry; nothing to dispose of.

This is the answer coming from Carrie Templin, the Public Affairs Specialist at the Bureau of Land Management in Arizona:

 . . . [size=small]The answers to your questions are more complicated than originally thought. Although the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) found at 8365.1-1 (3) generally excludes “wash water” from BLM’s prohibition against draining or dumping, it can be specifically prohibited by Supplemental Rules issued for a specific area. This applies equally to RVers and tent campers . . .[/size]

[size=small] . . . Under State laws and regulations in Arizona, “wash water” or “gray water” from a kitchen sink or dishwasher is classified as sewage. If discharging it onto the ground from a RV or camper might cause it to enter an aquifer, the visitor could be subject to violation of State of Arizona regulations unrelated to BLM regulations. [/size]

Full text here:
https://www.rvtravel.com/more-on-the-gray-area-of-dumping-the-gray-tank/

 

[uncagingmyspirit]

Really amazing information!
Thank you all for responding.

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[MrNoodly]

...He said if the water doesn't puddle up...

Most boondockers I know fling their water so there are no puddles.

 

[highdesertranger]

thanks Spiff. so the state of Arizona considers water from washing dishes black water same as sewage. interesting.

this brings up another slightly related point,

what is it,
grey water
or
gray water

highdesertranger

 

[maki2]

I went online and bought a small 5 gallon tank to put under the sink. It was made for food trucks. I have a HEPVO P trap from the sink going into the tank. I also put a threaded drain line with a shutoff valve cock close to the base of the tank for emptying it out. When I want to empty it I screw a length of garden hose onto the fitting and open the shutoff valve. Gravity takes the water outside to a bucket or directly into an RV waste station facility. The HEPVO P trap has a built in air vent so that the tank fills and empties properly and the design of the HEPVO keeps tank odors from coming back up the sink drain.

You can modify other types of containers to become a tank using "uniseal" fittings. They are a flexible donut shaped rubber type of fitting. You drill or cut a hole in your container to match the outside diameter of the uniseal. The inside diameter is of a specific size that will allow for various plumbing fittings or plumbing pipes to be inserted through it. This creates a no leak way to get water into and back out of the tank.  There are some very small uniseal fittings that can be used to create a vent for the tank.

Here are some links to the products needed for putting in the drain tubes, these links are to reputable online sites

 uniseal fittings

video showing uniseal install

Hepvo P trap

Hint...rectangular buckets and tanks take up a lot less space for the volume of the container than round 5 gallon buckets. Plus it is easier to get a good seal on a flat surface than on a curved surface.

I am in an area with thousands of boats so we have a lot of marine related supply stores. One of those stores specializes in marine sanitation products. That is where I learned about using Uniseal grommets and how to use them to create a custom tank setup.

 

[B and C]

this brings up another slightly related point,

what is it,
grey water
or
gray water

highdesertranger

Depends on if you are English or American.

[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]Grey[/font][font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif] and [/font][font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]gray[/font][font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif] are both accepted in the English language. They refer to a color of a neutral tone between black and white, and can also be used metaphorically to convey gloom and dullness. However, [/font][font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]gray[/font][font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif] is the more popular spelling in the US, while [/font][font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]grey[/font][font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif] reigns supreme in the UK.[/font]

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

This is the answer coming from Carrie Templin, the Public Affairs Specialist at the Bureau of Land Management in Arizona:

Thanks for doing that research! That definitely trumps the opinion of some old dude who hosts a BLM campground, no matter how entertaining I thought he was. 
Personally, I'm gonna go with a reasonable amalgam of both "The Rules" and "the unofficial skuttlebutt from the old dude who works for the BLM and deals with them on a regular basis." When I do dump water on the ground, it is usually less than half a cup, and usually has nothing more in it than some cold coffee or hot chocolate.

 

[lenny flank]

1. Dump the soup or whatever out of the can into the pot. 

I've been cooking soup, spaghetti-o's, whatever, right in the can for decades now, since my backpacking days.
Nothing to wash up. Just toss the can in the trash.  
It always riles up my health-food friends who think it will kill me or something.

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

Here are some links to the products needed for putting in the drain tubes, 

Thank you! That is some really valuable information for van builders. I have seen so many poor hose fittings glued in with everything from caulk to hot-melt-glue. All of them leaked. I like that these are very inexpensive, so it would be possible to stock a decent selection of them to help others with their builds, with very little investment. I will add this to my repertoire of solutions.

 

[highdesertranger]

thanks B and C. highdesertranger

 

[LoupGarou]

I pour the dish water into my cassette toilet.

 

[theinfamousj]

what is it,
grey water
or
gray water

In Arizona, it would be grAy water. In the United States, Grey is a name and gray is a color.

Different in the UK, but Arizona has the London Bridge, not UK citizenship.

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[Van Mama Wannabe]

This might sound crazy, but would a Berkey purify dishwater enough to make it drinkable? I mean if it purifies pond water…

 

[Dingfelder]

Yecch ... that's a long way to go to get drinkable water ...