Grey water in the bush?

[Tim L-JAY]

In a PROPERLY maintained LIVING septic system, solids DO NOT remain in the tank. They are broken down by the bacteria and then flow into the leach field. If you use bleach a lot, or other chemicals that kill the bacteria, then you will have a septic tank that requires pumping. However, I agree with Hattie, as far as confined camp areas are concerned. It does attract pests, and may run off into other sites and make mud for them. When I disperse camp, in the woods, far away from other campers, I leave my grey cracked open. I know hikers and forest service wants your poo buried, but they don't enforce that for the deer, bear, coyotes, etc... JMHO

 

[Bassdogs]

Its lind of like a speed trap. Good way to raise $$ in fines if its actually enforced. Think the real reason is that they're afraid that there is always the guy who decides its ok to let it all flow into the woods.

Just returned from a trip to Fla gulf coast. At a state park the neighbor site occupied by an obsessive compulsive kind of guy. TT and TV were spotless even after driving to the CG on wet roads, no idea how he accomplished that. Set up took 1 1/2 hours with extreme care placing plastic blocks under each leg support, rigging water and elec lines so they didn't touch the ground, and a good 1/2 hour dismantling the hitch receiver, WD system, and stuff I couldn't figure out on the tongue of the TT. A real control and neat freak. Next am as I walked the dogs, noticed a green garden hose connected to the waste dump cap and running carefully under and out the rear of the trailer and into the bushes at the rear of the site [about 15' from a salt marsh]. Hmm, wonder what that was for?

I've seen campers get pretty creative in ways to deal with grey water at the site, but this guy really surprised me. He probably rinses out his pop cans and folds up his cardboard before walking it over to the recycling bins but guess his enviromental conscience only goes so far.

 

[Sledgehammer-JAY]

In a PROPERLY maintained LIVING septic system, solids DO NOT remain in the tank. They are broken down by the bacteria and then flow into the leach field. If you use bleach a lot, or other chemicals that kill the bacteria, then you will have a septic tank that requires pumping. However, I agree with Hattie, as far as confined camp areas are concerned. It does attract pests, and may run off into other sites and make mud for them. When I disperse camp, in the woods, far away from other campers, I leave my grey cracked open. I know hikers and forest service wants your poo buried, but they don't enforce that for the deer, bear, coyotes, etc... JMHO

Yup, microbes are very important to proper septic tank operation, but still yet a bit of sludge will still stay in the tank.

For me, I have a tote and the "stuff" goes to the dump station, grey and black. If I were ever boondocking away from other campers and needed to dump some grey water, I probably would. They a lot more dangers to the environment than a little grey water.

 

[jaycojls]

When I boondock, I dig a foot, foot and a half deep, two foot by one foot hole and drain grey water into it every so often. I never let it overflow. When I leave, I put the dirt back in the whole and make it look like there never was a hole.

 

[AKGperson-JAY]

Here in California, we are allowed to divert our clothes washer and shower gray water from our home to our lawn & garden so I can't see any harm in dumping TT gray water on the ground. The potential problem is dishonest campers also dumping their black water since they both flow through the same waste line. Maybe that's why some CGs prohibit it.

 

[Bassdogs]

Its a losing argument to fight the EPA and Tree hugger lobby. Rules are rules so I follow them especially on this issue while in CG's. On my own property or off the grid, I do it in a responsible way. Responsible way may not be "as defined by the EPA.

Interesting that Calif is among the most restrictive states for enviromental rules but in some places allows residents to use grey water on their lawns and gardens.

So I'm done on this topic

 

[NVGun40]

Someone mentioned it earlier and it reminded me of an incident a few years ago which I was personally involved in. I was tent camping at a well known National Park here in Alaska that summer. I was in one of the campgrounds with mix tents and RV's. This precise subject came up with the gentlemen camped in the space next to me. I was in a tent, he was in a rather nice travel trailer. We were well away from any stream or river or lake. The park ranger was making his rounds; the gentlemen having just arrived that day was directly checked by the ranger. He was getting a ticket because his wife was seen by the ranger dumping a tub of their dishwater out in the bushes, instead of letting it into their grey water tank.
Meanwhile, I had been there two days and had been seen doing the exact same thing. Not a word said.
Though, I did not want to, I was inevitably drawn into the argument with the gentlemen and the Ranger. The specific question was asked, why I could dump my dirty dishwater, scattering it amongst the shrubbery and they could not. The Rangers reply was because he has a holding tank for that, and I as a tent camper do not. By the way, we are also not allowed to dump out dishwater into the campground toilets.... it makes them fill up to fast...
SMH, many campgrounds and parks have ridiculous enforcement of rules which make no sense at all.

 

[spoon059]

I'm sure the rules apply because people will take it too far. If everyone just limited it to gray water, it wouldn't be so bad. It everyone was careful about where they dumped it, it wouldn't be so bad.


But... there would be that guy that throws out the excessive food waste with dish water. If we can rinse plates, why can't I drop my chicken bones here too? If I can drop gray water, why I can't I pee behind my camper? Since I already peed behind the camper, might as well dump my black tanks too. Seems a little drastic, but have you seen some one the clowns next to you at a park?


Then you have the guy that dumps his 40 gallon gray water and makes a huge mud pit for the guy behind him... now the park has to deal with the complaints.


It just becomes easier to ban all of it. We still wash our kids in the outdoor shower behind the RV. I have yet to get yelled out for using the outdoor shower, even though we use baby shampoo on them. I will wash large pots and pans at the outdoor kitchen after I scrape as much food waste off as possible. My 2 year old drops more food around the table than I would drop by rinsing off the pans. Again... I have yet to be yelled at for having a 2 year old drop stuff or rinsing pans outside.

 

[AKGperson-JAY]

A quick question - which tank is a trailer's kitchen sink hooked to, gray or black? I just assumed gray but it should be black.

 

[NVGun40]

Kitchen sinks empty into the grey tanks

 

[bumbles75]

How about the guy that might run his grey out of the same hose that his black drains out of instead of a garden hose like mentioned before. That hose may have all kinds of nasty stuff still in it if it wasn't properly rinsed the last time he used it.

 

[RoyBraddy]

Alot of camp grounds are doing something like this for GRAY WATER disposal. This is CLOUDLAND CANYON at Trenton GA and they have two of these in each block of camp sites...

Roy Ken

 

[Bookemdanno]

Sorry I didn't get to thank everyone for your reply's earlier, but we hooked up this morning and I just got home about an hour ago. Thank you for all your reply's thus far. The reason I brought this subject up again, was when my family was camping this week at McKinney Falls in Austin, TX, my daughter asked about the pop-up camper that was next to us and the separate out door shower they set up, which looked like a small standing tent with a hose hooked up to it and a hose that drained out into the woods.....So when my 9 yoa daughter asked why they could do that and why I was hauling our shower water over to the dump station in our tote....I was stumped and didn't have an answer for her. It made sense to me, as in the summer we frequently shower at our rear outdoor shower in our bathing suits, so the gray tank doesn't fill up. I just wanted to let everyone know why I searched the forum and brought up the subject again...I must say you all are a wealth of knowledge and are very cordial to one anther!!


Thanks,
Dan

 

[Grumpy]

I just assumed gray but it should be black.

Why?

 

[slabat]

I don't see a problem with letting grey water drain on the ground....the problem I see is you have some trailers that have massive grey water tanks, and in parks that are heavily used you would have a muddy mess. I think that is the biggerst problem is how to control the amount of grey water that you are allowed to dump, also if it is raining and you add more water to the ground you are going to have the potential of a huge mess. I think it comes back to a few would spoil it for everyone so it is easier to make a rule that states you can't dump grey water on the ground

 

[AKGperson-JAY]

Grumpy, Not all greywater is equally "grey". Kitchen sink water laden with food solids is more heavily contaminated than greywater from showers and bathroom sinks. Although greywater from these sources contains less pathogens than blackwater, many regulatory bodies consider it as blackwater.

Ken