Opinions and Regulations on Gray Water

[Annie W]

I don't see any harm in minimizing our impact wherever possible, in whatever form that takes.

It's a mere truism that our impact will NEVER be "zero", ever, no matter what we do--simply because we exist, and our mere existence has an impact.

Ideological purity, of any sort, quickly leads to silliness.

and that is the crux of it: 'our mere existence'. --- as IF "our mere (physical) existence" is somehow a problem ??

Apparently so. According to science worshippers...
Their model/truism dictates that humanity ought be "managed, & controlled" in any context(s) & by any means disciples can cook up.
BLM as one such.  
and failing that, ultimately banned/annihilated. Yes, no more humans will solve EVERY thing.  And that ideological snafu they dare call "truth".  



I rest my case, Your Honor.

 

[lenny flank]

and that is the crux of it: 'our mere existence'. --- as IF "our mere (physical) existence" is somehow a problem ??

Apparently so. According to science worshippers...
Their model/truism dictates that humanity ought be "managed, & controlled" in any context(s) & by any means disciples can cook up.
BLM as one such.  
and failing that, ultimately banned/annihilated. Yes, no more humans will solve EVERY thing.  And that ideological snafu they dare call "truth".  

blinks


blinks again



Okaaaaayyyyyyy................

 

[John61CT]

It would be good for Mother Gaia if the human population were 95% lower than it is now.

Especially if they saw themselves as caretakers, manager-gardeners of the little bit of ecosystems they interfered with, rather than just exploiting / extracting whatever their greed desired without regard for the others sharing in the overall organism.

 

[jimindenver]

I seem to recall that it is legal in Arizona to dump grey water BUT dish water is considered black water. That does not include the BLM. The host in Quartzsite was telling me that if the rangers catch you dumping grey water out here that you will not be using BLM land again.

I did see a hole that was used for trash in Ehrenberg. The wind or more likely a coyote had removed the dirt right down to the plastic bag holding it.

 

[Weight]

There are two different issues. Out in the wild. Or in a urban or suburban location. many on this forum are not out in the wild. We are parked on streets, parking lots, park land. If we start draining or dumping grey water everyone in a van or camper will be condemned. Why is it illegal to sleep in a vehicle? Some one pissed on the curb.

 

[lenny flank]

^
Double-plus to this.

Dumping your waste (of any sort) on the street is a REALLY stupid idea, and is guaranteed to bring about all sorts of laws against us.

 

[SoulRaven]

AZ has a number of different rules depending on location, and I suppose so do other states. This is an excellent article: http://rvtravel.com/more-on-the-gray-area-of-dumping-the-gray-tank/ and as someone stated, "wash" or "gray" water from a kitchen sink or dishwasher is considered sewage per AZ law, so black, not gray. Those that break rules make it harder for everyone else which we are seeing all too often.

 

[akrvbob]

A whole issue you’ve left out is simple quantity, it’s one thing to use 2 gallons of water from a solar bag to shower, and another thing to dump 30 gallons out of your grey tank.

The concentration is all-important.

All liquid wastes I leave behind are scattered far and wide all around my camp, depending on how long I’ll be there. If I’ll be there a while, I walk 50 feet away from the rig and pee. Next time It’ll be 50 feet away and 5 feet over from last time. Next time I’ll go 50 feet out and 5 feet over from last time-and repeat. After about a week, I’ll have made a circle and so I’ll move another 10 feet out and start over again. Same with dish and bath water.

And even then, if it is in a container I “fling” it in a circle so it is even more dispersed.

I think there is virtually no chance I’ve done any harm to anything.

Compare that to opening your grey valve and dumping it all out in one spot. I’m no expert, but common sense seems to tell me that dumping 20-40 polluted gallons in one spot and you will have done harm to some of the plant and animal life there.

You must have noticed when you’ve carried it around for awhile it really stinks! That tells me it is not a healthy thing to just be dumping all in one spot.

 

[Annie W]

Thank you for explaining how you behave... in the wilderness, Bob. -
This makes perfect sense to me, a relative newbie.

For also another reason: IF it's "illegal" to intelligently pee on the ground,
then what about the First, original, native, & indigenous people some still living.
Not only have they NOT "messed" earth up, we can learn from some of their ancient wisdom.

 

[Annie W]

AZ has a number of different rules depending on location, and I suppose so do other states.  
This is an excellent article:  http://rvtravel.com/more-on-the-gray-area-of-dumping-the-gray-tank/

Thanks.
it said also: "[font=arial black, sans-serif]Water Dumping Guidelines[/font]
• Scrape all food bits off dishes, pots, pans and cooking utensils into the garbage before washing.
• Wash and rinse dishes in dishtubs and take several yards away from campsite and dump on plants...
(no water goes into the gray tank). Empty tub at a different place each time. 
• dump only as much as necessary to avoid gray water rising up into your bathtub before you are able to visit a dump station.
• Dump your tank into a freshly dug hole as slowly as possible to allow water to soak into soil and not overflow onto the ground.
• NEVER dump your black tank into anything other than a dump station or sewer connection.
• Consider using a macerator (article). $227 https://www.amazon.com/Flojet-18555-000A-Portable-Macerator-Carrying/dp/B001HKZHIW
Usage instructions : http://www.dyersonline.com/flojet-portable-waste-pump-system-18555-000a.html

That last product anybody using it ?