Grey water draining while at campsite.

[jerpil55]

Somewhere on this forum I posted a question about grey black water holding tanks, but forgot where it was posted. Anyway my question is this: Is it okay to hook up a hose to my grey water drain to drain it while camping a little at a time? Or let it fill up and dump it when I leave? Thanks.

[Grumpy]

I'm sure you will get many answers. What we have found is that it depends on where you're camping, local laws vary all over the place.

[norty1]

NO. It is illegal in most places and a health hazard. Especially in congested campgrounds where multiple campers are trickling the grey water.

It stinks and many would not hesitate to report it. I would ask the cg staff if you have a question. I have been in cg's that had grey water dumps scattered around but a blue boy is needed.

Now out in Iowa, it may be welcomed in some places. Check the local laws.

[Chrislorl]

No it is not OK. In most cases it will get you kicked out, in some such as a state or federal park you may get fined and kicked out. You have a tank for a reason, not just a drain. Think about what that campsite would be like if everyone did that. Yes it's just grey water but the soap, dish detergent, etc would build it up over time and kill off vegetation. They make portable grey water tanks, so if you are somewhere for a while you can dump into that and then roll it to the dump site when needed. I would hate to see you find out the wrong way and ruin your trip.

[Jagiven]

I always wonder what the ordnance is on the subject.

I never dump in the site. But really what is the difference with a tt tank, and a tenter dumping wash water.

[DebKen]

If you do not have a full hook up site that has a sewer hook up then you need to wait until you are leaving and dump at the dump station. If you do have a sewer hook up you should keep your gray water in the tank until after you have drained your black tank. We keep both tanks closed until the last day. We empty the black tank first and then empty the gray tank which helps to clean out the sewer hose.

[dewey02]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

I always wonder what the ordnance is on the subject.

I never dump in the site. But really what is the difference with a tt tank, and a tenter dumping wash water.

Volume!
Tenter dumping 1-2 gallons of dishwater vs. Travel Trailer dumping 35-50 gallons of the same.

[edatlanta]

Originally Posted by norty1

NO. It is illegal in most places and a health hazard. Especially in congested campgrounds where multiple campers are trickling the grey water.

It stinks and many would not hesitate to report it. I would ask the cg staff if you have a question. I have been in cg's that had grey water dumps scattered around but a blue boy is needed.

Now out in Iowa, it may be welcomed in some places. Check the local laws.

I agree that grey water should not be dumped on the ground in most congested and busy campgrounds, but......what about tent campers that:
dump their dish washing water on the ground and some have outside shower enclosures so they don't have to go to the bathhouse to shower.

Fair is fair, but if grey water goes through a holding tank it can't be dumped on the ground?

[edatlanta]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

I always wonder what the ordnance is on the subject.

I never dump in the site. But really what is the difference with a tt tank, and a tenter dumping wash water.

My thought exactly.

[norty1]

With the rise of nanny state politicians and environmentalists, there are all kinds of laws that try to control the issue.

Since common sense went out with the bath water years ago, Sorry I couldn't resist, there are "do not allow attempts" to make common sense legal. You know how that turns out!

Some states, Florida for instance have posted rules about dumping grey water even for tent campers. They do provide sinks. Georgia state parks provide grey locations for everyone's convenience.

I have even heard of some western states who encourage dumping. I am certain those are sparsely populated places.

Getting back to common sense, if you have ever been in a congested campground and smelled the odor from a large number of thoughtless people dripping their tanks, you may wish you could pass some laws too!

Volume and common sense is the key, Both are in short supply when camping without a sewer connection.

[Rootus]

Originally Posted by norty1

With the rise of nanny state politicians and environmentalists, there are all kinds of laws that try to control the issue.

... but you know how we got here, right?

Getting back to common sense, if you have ever been in a congested campground and smelled the odor from a large number of thoughtless people dripping their tanks, you may wish you could pass some laws too!

Yep, apparently so . We have regulations because plenty of people don't have any sense.

[33 RLDS]

What burns me up more is the recent increase of idiots that burn their garbage in the fire pits !!

[Tex1961]

There is an old Scuba Divers Creed. "Take only pictures, kill only time, leave only bubbles" That being said... Leave your campsite as good or better than when you arrived.

[TWP723]

Completely read the OP's post wrong. I thought he meant, can he let the grey tank drain throughout his stay (into the sewer) or should he let the grey fill (like a black tank) then dump.

[mike837go]

Originally Posted by Tex1961

There is an old Scuba Divers Creed. "Take only pictures, kill only time, leave only bubbles" That being said... Leave your campsite as good or better than when you arrived.

The Leave No Trace camping movement has a similar credo.

I try to live by that as much as possible. Both in camping and everyday life.

[Marcm157]

Originally Posted by mike837go

The Leave No Trace camping movement has a similar credo.

I try to live by that as much as possible. Both in camping and everyday life.

Me too except I failed on my recent trip to Copake as I left my water hose "Y" valve on the spigot!. I made a promise to myself to do better next time though...

[ScarabChris]

Maybe I missed it. But the way I read the original post is he wants to know if he can simply leave the grey water valve open while connected to the cg sewer hookup.

Not to let it drain on the ground. That would certainly be a big NO. I leave the grey water open while connected to the sewer in the campsite. No difference I can see between letting the sink and shower drain as you use them or letting the tank fill then dumping 50 gallons at once.

[TWP723]

Originally Posted by ScarabChris

Maybe I missed it. But the way I read the original post is he wants to know if he can simply leave the grey water valve open while connected to the cg sewer hookup.

Not to let it drain on the ground. That would certainly be a big NO. I leave the grey water open while connected to the sewer in the campsite. No difference I can see between letting the sink and shower drain as you use them or letting the tank fill then dumping 50 gallons at once.

+1

Exactly what I said. We just need the original poster to confirm! LOL

[ScarabChris]

In a big camp ground with full hook up there is a constant flow of grey and black water into the sewer system. I just don't see why it would be frowned upon to allow the grey water to trickle in as you use it versus allowing the tank to fill then dumping.

If the campground rules say you can release your grey and black water into the onsite sewer connection then I can't see any reason why they would rather 50 gallons at a time versus a little trickle as you use it.

I was just at Disney Fort Wilderness which I would consider a big campground and probably the best in the state of Florida if not the country. I rode my bike around and I look at everyone's campers and most if not all had their grey water valve in the open position. There was no smell that I could detect. Now....when I dumped my black tank of course the vent on my sewer connection released some odor. But there is no lingering odor from grey water trickling into the sewer.

[TWP723]

My suspicion is, the OP meant what every one else here said no to. LOL