Water consumption is reduced by use of a compost toilet. In a traditional house toilets use around 50% of household water. An ordinary toilet uses between 8 and 10 litres. We use a compost toilet that does not use water. Rainwater is harvested, stored, filtered and used on the holding. The sink units, showers and baths use water saving showerheads.

Water In

We have replaced mains water with harvested rain water and an on-site bore hole. Rain water is stored in the cool, dark conditions of underground tanks to discourage the growth of algae and bacteria.

Water Out

Water use was reduced as the first priority. We use a compost toilet which is the most important part of that water reduction. For the remaining water output we have employed a sophisticated recycling system.

Greywater is routed from the five main sources in the cottage: shower/ bath, bathroom sink, kitchen sink and the washing machine into a common discharge buffer tank. The kitchen sink is diverted into the on-site water recycling works to avoid problems with food and cooking oil residues.

The grey water from the buffer tank passes through several filtering systems i.e. a settling tank, a grease trap, and then a sand filter. The resulting water is stored and re-used to irrigate the smallholding.

The quality of the grey water collected ultimately depends upon what goes in it when it is clean. Soap and detergent residues can be harmful so we sparingly use biodegradable cleaning products, even so to get really good quality grey water we will need to filter out any large particles by using a simple mesh filter on the utility sink plughole.

Our own water recycling system

The most complete solution to sewerage (and sewerage charges) is our own, on-site water recycling system. Our system includes a settling tank, a horizontal reed bed, a flow form pond and a willow trench soakaway. This water recycling works attempts to replicate marshlands which are nature's kidneys, just as forests are her lungs. They clean the water that passes through them.

Reed beds are holes or vessels that hold water, filled with gravel and/or sand or soil, and planted with aquatic plants. Dirty water flows in at one point and cleaner water out at another point. Horizontal Flow Reed Beds (HFRBs): The liquid flows through the bed horizontally, beneath the surface of the gravel. Because the dirty water fills all the spaces between the gravel, HFRBs are not good at oxygenating water hence the flow form pond. The willow trench acts as final polish and soakaway.

The reality of the system involves first removing any large solid material. Organic material and fine particles are removed from the water as they become attached to the gravel, forming slime. Large populations of bacteria and other minute organisms eat the slime pollutants. Bacteria also convert and remove nitrogen-containing compounds, making the waste more palatable to plants.

The plants provide ideal growth conditions for waste-eating bacteria, which form very high populations on the plant roots and rhizomes. The plants also transport air from their leaves to their roots, which helps the bacteria digest the waste. Also important is the role of the plants in ensuring that water can continually flow through the gravel spaces. Perhaps 80% of the treatment of a new reed bed will be achieved before the plants are added. But unless they become established, the bed will soon block. Harmful organisms in the waste are killed in the environment of the reed bed, which is generally more hostile to pathogens than the environment of our bodies.

Our water recycling system also has an aesthetic appeal absent from most other waste water treatment methods and provides an important refuge for wildlife.