Clean pants and wet plants: that’s what a greywater harvesting set up can give you!
In the Sonoran Desert, people have made use of greywater – gently used water from their washing machines, handwashing sinks, and/or showers – to irrigate gardens and trees for generations. With increasing concerns about tapping into the Colorado River for our water needs, nourishing outdoor plants with greywater is an easy way to conserve water and go hydro-local in the desert, especially if you have citrus trees or other exceptionally thirsty plants surrounding your home.
Ready For A Couple Ways To Get Started With Greywater this Summer? Here’s What You Can Do:
Sign Up For An Upcoming Greywater Harvesting Class
If you're a Tucson Water customer, we recommend WMG's greywater harvesting class, which is required in order to receive the greywater rebate offered by Tucson Water. This virtual class will teach you the basics about how much greywater your home produces and how to draw up a plan to send greywater to your landscape. Not all homes are set up to send water from washing machines, sinks, and/or showers outside, so this class will help you determine which greywater sources will be easiest for you to tap into.
Once you complete the application process, Tucson Water will mail you a check of up to a $1,000 rebate to pay for installing your greywater system. To get your rebate, you’ll also need receipts for the materials purchased, and labor from a licensed contractor to help with any parts of the installation that were outside your comfort zone. Once the application and those materials are submitted, you can expect a check in 6-10 weeks.
The greywater rebate is the kind of local policy we need for a hydro-local future in Tucson, so we need as many people as possible to take advantage of it. Sign up for an upcoming greywater rebate class here today!
2. Make a laundry-to-landscape system your monsoon season project.
Sending washing machine water to your landscape is one of the easiest ways to repurpose gently-used water in your household. With some simple plumbing modifications, you can save thousands of gallons of water a year in irrigation and grow your favorite trees, shrubs, or native edible plants with recycled water!
If you want to install your own laundry greywater system, you can get started with our simple Laundry-To-Landscape (L2L) kits that provide all the parts you need.This low-cost system is simple to install and easy to adjust. If you need a little extra help, WMG also offers free quarterly classes that walk you through how to install the kit, as well as how to pair your laundry greywater with the watering needs of your plants.
