Grey water in the bush?

[bat119]

I rented a spot in a seasonal park where everybody runs their grey water into a hole in the ground beside the trailer nobody seems to know if its illegal or not. I should mention the unwritten park rule is to use eco friendly products only. I googled around the government sites couldn't find anything,this is in Saskatchewan by the way

[tinlizzie23]

Don't know what the Canadian laws are, but here in the States, most CGs prohibit dumping your waste, even gray water, anywhere except into approved sewer systems/dumping stations. There is good reason for this - even use of so-called eco friendly products can still contaminate the ground water, and the majority of CGs use one or more wells to supply clean ground water. Illegal or not, IMHO, dumping waste water directly on the ground is a bad practice, and should be avoided.

[bat119]

Really doesn't sound like a good idea to me either I'm going to keep hauling mine over to the dump station, its really not that hard to dump two tanks with my quad. I thought there must be a law against it.

[mcfarmall]

Sounds like a practice that has its roots in Haiti or someplace similar. I see at least 2 problems with that...the potential for surface water contamination and creating an unsanitary condition right next to your site. For some reason giving a dishpan of wash water the heave ho into the woods seems different than letting it trickle from your gray tank. Maybe it's because the heave ho is spread out over a rather large area and is dissipated quickly whereas the trickle stays in a concentrated area.

To me it's a lot like my jerk neighbor that burns his garbage in the firepit so I can enjoy the stench or me bagging my trash and walking it to the dumpster.

[edatlanta]

What about our neighbors the tent campers. Where do they dump their gray water from washing dishes and also those stand up outside shower enclosures. Why can and do they dump gray water on the ground and you can't if it goes through a holding tank first? Something isn't right about this.

[Grumpy]

It all varies by state/province and in many cases it is controlled by the local/county Health Dept.. We've been to some CG that encouraged you to water their trees with the grey water and we've been to others that definitely forbid it. We've even had rallies at some state Fair Grounds that allow it to be dumped. So I would just follow the locals.

[Green-Harley]

Many of the older houses in South Texas had grey water plumbed outside to water gardens. I know several that still water this way and haven't heard of any ill effects.

[Seann45]

Bat119 I am in Saskatoon and after a lot of searching I found one little mention that you could not dump GREY water within 200 meters of rivers lakes or streams. I have 2 "blue boys" and prefer to haul everything to a dump site..

[TexasA&M]

Originally Posted by edatlanta

What about our neighbors the tent campers. Where do they dump their gray water from washing dishes and also those stand up outside shower enclosures. Why can and do they dump gray water on the ground and you can't if it goes through a holding tank first? Something isn't right about this.

This is my train of thought as well. I see no issue with putting soapy water on the ground.

[clubhouse]

Originally Posted by Green-Harley

Many of the older houses in South Texas had grey water plumbed outside to water gardens. I know several that still water this way and haven't heard of any ill effects.

Recently I saw a HGTV show showing "ECO Friendly" ways to conserve water. The focused on a business in SF that plumbed washing machines to drain to a cistern and that water was then used to water landscaping. To me this isn't any different than dumping gray water on the ground. Personally I don't, I have a tote that we used to haul to a dump station, but regardless if super liberal & environmental SF doesn't have an issue what is the issue to grey dump in the woods. Now, a serious caveat, would be if you are using some type on non-eco friendly additive to the tank prior to dumping or causing issues for fellow campers.

[max2bob]

one thing to consider in grizzly bear country is it might have the unwanted effect of attracting a bear. they have a keen sense of smell and any food particles or soaps in the gray water can attract them. no shower enclosures are allowed in glacier park for example and the cited reason is the soap residue will attract the bears.

[33 RLDS]

Where do you think the water from your cesspool/septic tank at home is going? Into outerspace? Lol. Better tell all the animals in the woods to not pee or poop on the ground. And tell them not to die and rot on the ground. I am much more worried about shale gas fracking contaminating my water then gray water on the ground. That being said we dont know of any campground in NY that allows it and I use my portable tank and drag it to the dump station..:excited:

[TX_Arvee]

If campgrounds gave the OK to water the trees around your site or dump into the woods, there would probably not be that much of an impact fr places that are not heavily used.
However, if given the OK, I bet it owuld not be long until someone dumped a black tank out on the ground...

[TeamFoxy]

Where does everyone think water placed into a septic system winds up? The solids settle and are held in a tank (which eventually needs to be pumped out) while the liquid continues on into a drain field where it is dispersed into the top soil above the water table.

In many places, there is a layer of clay or rock between the aquifer and the surface water. Drinking water often comes from the deeper aquifer, but other places rely on shallow wells for residential water. What one can safely do in one place may not work elsewhere.

[TCNashville]

I agree with TX Arvee, not long before someone pulled the wrong valve handle and oop's, lots of poops!

[cekkk]

It's not a good idea. It's nice to say eco-friendly products or dishwater is fine, but that ignores a major ingredient: People. People, mostly men, pee in the shower. Lots of studies all percentages from the 30s to the 60s. And that clean dishwater? Would you use it to scrub the kitchen floor? Of course not. It's loaded with grease (that's why you use detergent), good waste, God knows what all.

Ours is a very rural county and still, we cannot legally run our washing machine or tub water on the surface. It has to go through the septic. Of course, that regulation is probably the work of one of dozens of county employees who really have nothing to do, and often spend their day looking for something to regulate. I guess they're building up their resume to land a federal job.

[norty1]

Most every Florida state park we have been in have signs that prohibit dumping grey water, even for tent campers. They provide sinks in the bath house for washing dishes.

[popjim52]

I think its just plain ole unethical.....I wouldnt want my next door neighbors drains from his house being dumped in my front yard so why would it be allright to leave my drainwater at someone elses place?????

[Crabman]

Glad to see this discussion is remaining civil here. I`ve seen this subject matter get out of hand on other forums.

[TX_Arvee]

I think the frequency and volume of dumping done at a campground would overwhelm the capacity of mother nature to process. One responsible RV'r in the middle of the woods would probably not be noticed. 200, dumping daily in a small campground would probably get nasty, calculating the idiot & accidental discharge factors.

I dumped my greywater while having to stay in Camp Driveway during home repairs into my garden area. The dry ground took all of it without any smells or ill effect.