Greywater Management in

Rural Areas
A Guideline for Greywater Reuse in Rural India

Prepared for
WaterAid

Prepared By
Anshuman
 Contents

1. Status of Wastewater & Greywater Management in Rural India …….…………….. 4

2. Existing Guiding Standards, Policy & Regulatory Framework ………………..……. 6
3. Definition & Characteristics of Greywater ………………………………………..…. 10
4. Benefits of Greywater Treatment & Reuse …………………………………………... 13
5. Technological Options for Greywater Treatment & Reuse ………………..……….. 14
6. Guidelines for Application of Greywater Reuse Technologies in Rural Areas ….…. 26
7. Cost Perspectives for Greywater Reuse Systems ……………………………………... 30
8. Health Considerations and Precautionary Measures …………………………..…….. 32
9. National & International Case Studies on Greywater Management ………….…….. 34
10. Conclusion & Recommendations ………………………………………………….…... 39

References

3
1. Status of Wastewater & Greywater Management in Rural India

The efficient management of wastewater has gained considerable significance amongst the
rising stress on water resources due to population growth and developmental activities. One of
the growing concern, especially in the low and middle income countries has been the very low
volume of wastewater getting treated before disposal. Globally, over 80% of all wastewater is
discharged untreated (UNWWDR, 2017), while in India about 63% of untreated/partially
treated sewage from urban areas finds its way into water bodies to become a major cause of
pollution.

1.1 Wastewater Generation in Rural India

The total liquid waste generated by rural India stands at about 39,337 MLD (MoDWS, GoI).
Domestic wastewater produced in rural areas comprises majorly of grey water and black water.
Grey water is the component of wastewater produced by households which is not contaminated
by urine or faecal matters (viz. originating from laundry, kitchen and bathroom), while black
water refers to the wastewater from toilets comprising of urine and faecal matter (see broader
definitions in section 3). Water supplied to rural areas of India amounts to about 50 litres per
Grey Water Management in Rural India
capita per day (lpcd), out of which about 65-70 % of total water supplied is converted into grey
water. Thus, based on the quantity of water supplied, about 31,000 MLD of grey water is
generated by rural India primarily including the waste water from kitchen, bathroom, laundry
One extremely important determinant
rd of the volume and nature of waste water is economic
and cleaning activities. As per the Governmentstatusestimates
and access to water2/3 sources.of total communities
In less-affluent liquidwithwaste poor accessinto rural
India (that also includes the grey water) are generated
water, quantitiesby seven
typically range fromstates viz. U.P
20 to 30 litres/person daily. The(9727 MLD),
volume increases to 3

approximately 100 litres/person in developing areas. In fully urbanized regions, it is in the range
Bihar (3124 MLD), M.P (3122 MLD), Gujarat (2792 of 100 to 200MLD),
litres/day. Maharashtra (2013 MLD), West 4

Bengal (1994 MLD) and Andhra Pradesh (1794 The MLD). Of the
census 2011 revealed that only total
37% ofwastewater
the rural households have(including
drainage inside their the
greywater) generated in rural India, about 47% (~50%) is generated by 19% of the large Gram
premises. State-wise generation of liquid waste is given below:

Panchayats1 (Figure 1).

Liquid waste generation (MLD) across stataes

Total liquid waste generation in rural India– 39,337 MLD

Liquidwaste Generated by Gram Panchayats (GPs) in India
Seven states generate ~ 2/3rd of India’s total liquid waste generation
Distribution of Gram Panchayats Share of Liquid Waste Generation
10000 9727
19% Liquid waste generation by states in MLD

47%

53% 5000
3124 3122
2792
2013 1994 1794 1757 1744 1674
45% 1357 1235 1186 1184 1065 1065
927 796 705
53 49
0
28%
sh ar sh at tr
a al sh ha an
a la rh es ab na
du ka es nd T a
h r g a t a an ra a t j a U Go
8% de Bi ade uja ash en ade dis sth Na at Sta kh ary Ke isg Sta un ng
ra r G ar t B Pr O aja il rn E r H t P la
r P P h s R m Ka N Jh a
h a t illy T e
No. of Gram Panchayats (24700) Liquid waste generated (39337 MLD) a a a e r a a h H
tt hy M W dh
T C
U ad A
n
Small GP; <1500 Medium GP Large GP; >5000 M

Source: Format B1- Basic Habitation Information, National Rural Drinking Water Programme, MoDWS, GoI http://indiawater.gov.in/imisreports/

Figure 1: Liquid waste generation by Gram Panchayats (GPs) in Rural India

Reports/BasicInformation/rpt_RWS_AbstractData_S.aspx?Rep=0&RP=Y&APP=IMIS, accessed on 17.2.18

Note: For the purpose of comparison, liquid waste generation is considered that inter-alia
(Data & figure Source: Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, GoI)
includes grey water.

1.2 Decentralised Approach and Greywater Management

Further, there are 2,55,576 Gram Panchayats in the country. A profile of liquid waste generated
in these Panchayats indicates that 19% of large Gram Panchayats generate nearly 50% of the

Improved wastewater management is vital for waste, as given in the figure below..
water security and sustainable growth. The
typical approach of wastewater management as a whole requires a shift from being considered
a ‘waste’, to being a valuable resource that can be reused and can serve as an alternative source
of water. World over and within India as well there is an increasing realisation of enhancing
the efforts on decentralised wastewater treatment solutions since centralised wastewater
1 Source: Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, GoI, (n.d)WHO, Ridderstolpe 2004 3

WHO, Crites and Tchobanoglous 1998

4

4
4
 treatment systems may not remain viable option for a vast country like India due to high
investments and operation & maintenance costs involved in treatment technologies, collection
pipe networks, land etc. On the other hand decentralised wastewater systems (DEWATS) offer
comparatively low cost treatment options with flexibility of size and implementation ease
specially for the rural areas. For a comprehensive and sustainable decentralised wastewater
and sanitation system it is important that besides the toilet facilities the greywater management
systems is as well planned within the sanitation schemes. This is important not only for the
hygienic and healthy living conditions in the rural areas but it also opens up great opportunity
for treatment and potential reuse of treated greywater for various purposes including, for e.g.
most commonly, irrigation. The greywater reuse has significant potential to be an alternative
source of water if it is implemented scientifically with adequate precautions. The idea should
be to go beyond pollution abatement to fully utilise the potential of wastewater as a valuable
resource.
Experiences, specially from across the semiarid regions, show a considerable increase in the
reuse of treated wastewater for agriculture purposes. The major factors for this were the
scarcity of alternative water sources for irrigation, the high cost of artificial fertilizer,
demonstration of minimal risks, high cost of advanced wastewater treatment systems, socio-
cultural acceptance and recognition by water resource planners2.
Rural areas in several states across India currently discharge a significant volume of untreated
domestic sewage. Traditionally, grey water is disposed untreated in open areas or discharged
to water bodies. Vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue and cholera are largely related
to stagnant grey water near the households. There is an opportunity to not only reduce water
borne diseases and pollution of water bodies but also move towards sustainable wastewater
management by widescale integration of greywater management in national/state level
schemes/programs. The interventions on greywater management shall also help in achieving
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Target 6.3) that explicitly focuses on improving
the water quality by reducing pollution, reducing the proportion of untreated wastewater and
substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.
The Government of India, in 2014 Launched its flagship sanitation program Swachh Bharat
Mission (SBM) that has reportedly improved the sanitation coverage significantly and helped
many of the districts become open defecation free (ODF). In order to sustain the achieved ODF
status the Government of India recently launched a ten year (2019 to 2029) strategy for rural
sanitation that is aimed at achieving the vision of ODF Plus. The strategy which is also aligned
to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-6) aims to focus on sustained access and usage of
household & public sanitation facilities as well as implementation of Solid and Liquid Waste
Management (SLWM) in rural areas which amongst others also comprises the Greywater
Management.
This however requires a combination of interventions including use of efficient & affordable
technologies, wider dissemination of technological know-how & best practices, conducive
policy implementation, sustainable finance mechanisms as well as inclusive water
management with involvement, awareness and capacity building of the relevant stakeholders
and local communities.
This document aims to provide an overview of exiting opportunities and technological options
for greywater treatment & reuse in rural areas and provides an understanding of the
regulations/standards, implementation strategies and potential benefits in this regard.

2Source: EAWAG, SANDEC, ETH DUWIS. Greywater treatment on household level in developing countries - A
state of the art review. 2005.

5
2. Existing Guiding Standards, Policy & Regulatory Framework

The policies and programs in India related to sanitation has traditionally focused on
construction of toilets and treatment & disposal of sewage and industrial wastewater. However,
with growing realization that appropriate management of greywater can reduce the burden on
the fresh water supply and augment water for non-potable domestic purposes, some recent
initiatives mention about treatment and reuse options for grey water, separating it from the
sewage (toilet water) and faecal sludge. Grey water has been of little focus in the past until
recent years where it has factored in the planning of some of the schemes of the government
of India. Greywater management has been included within the Solid and Liquid Waste
Management (SLWM) framework for rural areas where it is one of the identified key activities
of the ODF Plus initiative of under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)-Gramin strategy for
2010-2029. Some of the key initiatives that link to the overall sanitation and wastewater
management in India are as mentioned below.

2.1 Key Policies & Regulation related to Greywater Management in India

2.1.1 Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC)

Since its inception in 1999, the Total Sanitation Campaign focused on eliminating open
defecation. However, The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation modified the TSC
guidelines in 2006 to include Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) with funds
provisioned up to 10% of the TSC project cost given to a particular district. Grey water had
been included as a part of liquid waste produced by households in rural areas and technical
options for treatment of greywater was included in the revised guidelines. As SLWM was
introduced under TSC for the first time, the campaign also gave importance to capacity
building of stakeholders at State, District and Gram Panchayat level to implement activities of
the campaign (UNICEF, n.d.).

2.1.2 Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G) Phase II

The objective of Swacch Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G) Phase II is to sustain the Open
Defecation Free (ODF) status of villages and to improve Solid and Liquid Waste Management
in rural areas, making villages ODF Plus. Greywater management interventions are envisaged
to be undertaken in consonance with the recently launched Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) through
the Village Action Plan. Financial support for the interventions is planned as per the size of
population of the villages, at the rate of INR 280 – INR 660 3 per capita for greywater
management activities.
The SBM-G Phase-II and JJM identify greywater management in rural areas and prioritizes
interventions in villages with population greater than 5000 which are to plan conveyance and
treatment systems for greywater such as Waste Stabilization Ponds (WSP), DEWATS and
Constructed Wetlands etc., while smaller villages may adopt individual or community level
Soak Pit systems. The mission also realizes market potential of greywater and promotes reuse
model for greywater. SBM-G Phase-II encourages Gram Panchayats to lease treated greywater
from WSPs for pisciculture, duckweed farming and water chestnut farming activities and to
fix annual rates for the water. Household awareness programs are also envisaged by the
mission to increase the understanding of grey water treatment and reuse in rural areas. The
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation promotes the use of Soak Pits in rural area for

3
(Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, 2020)

6
 Greywater management, however, the States have flexibility to choose technological option
that best suits their locations. (DDWS, MoJS, GoI, 2020)

2.1.3 Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)

Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) was launched in 2019 as an initiative of the Central Government that
aims to supply adequate quantity of drinking water to rural households, through individual tap
connections by 2024. The Central Government plans to assist the States/Union Territories to
implement the scheme, while Gram Panchayats and local community will be involved in
planning, implementation and management of village level water supply systems.
Grey water management is one of the components of the mission, which looks at developing
infrastructure for collection, treatment and reuse of greywater. The guidelines for
implementation of JJM captures the institutional and funding mechanism for grey water
management in villages. The District Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) and Gram
Panchayats (GP) are the identiifed agencies responsible for commissioning the grey water
component of the scheme. Village Action Plans (VAP) which includes treatment and reuse of
greywater, is to be prepared by GPs, while being assisted by local Self-Help Groups and youth
volunteers. Financial convergence can be made with funding sources such as SBM-G, Central
and State Finance Commission Grants for creation of infrastructure for grey water management
(Ministry of Jal Shakti, 2019).

2.1.4 General Standards & Regulations for Wastewater Management in India

A specific standard for greywater management both for discharge and ‘fit-for-purpose’4 is yet
to be developed in India, however there have been few guidelines and standards for wastewater
treatment, discharge & reuse specified by agencies such as Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB), Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) & Central Public
Health and Environmental Engineering Organization (CPHEEO).
The exiting standards are primarily defined for discharge of treated wastewater/sewage to land,
surface water bodies, drains, land for irrigation, coastal areas etc. CPCB in 2019 prescribed
norms for use of treated effluent for irrigation that requires, besides meeting the norms
prescribed under the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986/Consent, also meeting the norms
of Total Dissolved Solid (TDS) and Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR). It prescribes the TDS to
be 2100 mg/l and SAR to be preferably less than 18 but not more than 26 in the treated effluent
(depending on soil/crop type), while it should also meet any other parameters suggested in the
Irrigation Management Plan (IMP) (CPCB, 2019).
As mentioned earlier a well-defined standard for greywater water treatment and reuse is yet to
be developed however there are international guidelines that have been used in various
countries that can be of help in planning and development of greywater treatment and reuse in
India with adequate consideration of local conditions. These are discussed in Section 2.2
below.

2.2 International Policies & Regulations

Greywater management has gained fair momentum in developed nations. Various countries
across the world have brought regulations & guidelines related to wastewater reuse as well as
greywater treatment and reuse based on the local conditions and risk factors.

4 Fit-for-purpose refers to treating wastewater to a water quality standard acceptable by a user.

7
2.2.1 World Health Organisation (WHO)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) based on studies suggested the following guidelines
for treatment and land application of treated wastewater in irrigation that is same for greywater
(WHO, 2006).

Table 1: WHO guidelines for reuse of treated wastewater in irrigation

Category Reuse condition Intestinal nematodes Faecal coliforms
(no. of eggs/L) (cfu/100 mL)
Irrigation of crops likely to be
≤1
a) eaten uncooked, sports fields, ≤ 1000
public parks a
Irrigation of cereal crops, No standard
≤1
b) industrial crops, fodder crops, recommended
pasture and trees b
a A more stringent guideline limit (< 200 faecal coliforms/100 mL) is appropriate for public lawns, such as hotel lawns,
with which the public may come into direct contact.
b In the case of fruit trees, irrigation should be ceased two weeks before the fruit is picked. Sprinkler irrigation should not
be used.
(Source: World Health Organization, 2006. Overview of greywater management: Health considerations. WHO-
EM/CEH/125/E)

2.2.2 United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)

The USEPA in its 2012 guidelines for wastewater reuse adopted the NSF/ANSI Standard 350
and prescribes Standard 350 effluent criteria (Table X) to all treatment systems regardless of
size, application, or influent quality. It provides individual classification for a residential
treatment system for restricted indoor and unrestricted outdoor use (Class R) or a multi-family
and commercial facility water treatment system for restricted indoor and unrestricted outdoor
use (Class C) (Refer table 2).

Table 2: WHO guidelines for reuse of treated wastewater in irrigation

Class C
Class R
(Multi-family and Commercial
(Residential treatment system)
Parameter facility water treatment system)
Single Sample Single Sample
Test Average Test Average
Maximum Maximum
CBOD5 (mg/L) 10 25 10 25
TSS (mg/L) 10 30 10 30
Turbidity (NTU) 5 10 2 5
2
E. coli (MPN/100 mL) 14 240 2.2 200
1
pH (SU) 6.0 – 9.0 NA 6.0 – 9.0 NA
3
Storage vessel disinfection (mg/L) ≥ 0.5 – ≤ 2.5 NA ≥ 0.5 – ≤ 2.5 NA
4
Color MR NA MR NA
Odor Non-offensive NA Non-offensive NA
Oily film and foam Non detectable Non detectable Non detectable Non detectable
Energy consumption MR NA MR NA
1
NA: not applicable
2
Calculated as geometric mean
3
As total chlorine; other disinfectants can be used
4
MR: Measured reported only

8
 Some of the country based international policies and regulations in reference to greywater
treatment and reuse are as follows.

2.2.3 Eastern Mediterranean Region

The WHO (2006) in its study based guidelines suggested the following limits for Eastern
Mediterranean Region.

Table 3: Permitted limit for greywater reuse according to the use type
Permitted limit
Test a) Irrigation of b) Irrigation of c) Toilet flushing
ornamentals, fruit trees vegetables likely to be
and fodder crops eaten uncooked
Biological oxygen
≤ 240 ≤ 20 ≤ 10
demand BOD5 (mg/L)
Total suspended solids
≤ 140 ≤ 20 ≤ 10
TSS (mg/L)
Faecal coliforms
≤ 1000 ≤ 200 ≤ 10
cfu/100 mL
(Source: World Health Organization, 2006. Overview of greywater management: Health considerations. WHO-
EM/CEH/125/E)

2.2.4 Australia
The Australian health and safety related requirement i.e Queensland’s Greywater Code, lays
several conditions. A part of its conditions mandates the following microbial quality
requirements for safe use of greywater for urinal and toilet flushing (WHO, 2006).
• Thermotolerant coliforms less than 1/100 mL.
• Total coliforms less than 10/100 mL.

2.2.5 Other Developed Countries

Japan: The city of Tokyo in Japan has made mandatory for buildings with an area of over
30,000 m2 to install grey water systems.
Spain: Spain has brought regulations to promote grey water reuse in multi- storeyed buildings
Israel: In Israel and the West Bank, the Centre for Transboundary Water Management
(CTWM) is developing technologies to reduce pollution by unsafe disposal of grey water, as
well as increase the water supply to rural communities. In the water scarce region this promises
to reduce domestic water consumption by 40% by reusing treated grey water in irrigation
mainly for fruits and crops that are sold in local markets.

9
3. Definition & Characteristics of Greywater

3.1 Definition of Greywater

There have been several references to greywater across several literature that provide a wide
understanding of greywater characteristics and definitions. In general the term ‘Greywater’ is
referred to the domestic wastewater generated in a household from bathrooms, laundry
washing and kitchen, and does not include the wastewater generated from toilets. There have
been various definitions referred across the world, the main difference between them being the
inclusion of wastewater from Kitchen. The wastewater generated from toilets that contain the
faecal matter is generally termed as ‘Black Water’. Some of the definitions of greywater by
various agencies are as below
WHO: According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the term "Greywater" refers
to the untreated household wastewater, which has not been contaminated by toilet waste. It
includes the water from bathtubs, showers, hand basins, laundry tubs, floor wastes and washing
machines. It does not include waste from kitchen sinks, garbage disposal units or dishwashers.
USEPA: The United States Environmental Protection Agency mentions various definitions
under different references.
Under the Terms of Environment it defines the ‘Gray Water’ as ‘Domestic wastewater
composed of wash water from kitchen, bathroom, and laundry sinks, tubs, and washers’.
Under the EPA guidance for Federal Land Management, it defines Gray Water as ‘Any wash
water that has been used in a home or business, except water from toilets. This water is
considered to be more reusable, especially for landscape irrigation purposes’.
MDWS, GoI: The Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation in its report on Grey Water
Management in Rural India, describes Grey water as ‘the category of waste water that is not
contaminated with faecal or urinal matter. This broad category includes post-use water from
most domestic purposes like bathing, washing dishes, laundry etc.’
In general, the domestic sewage is considered to be a mix of black water and grey water.

3.2 Characteristics of Greywater

The greywater varies considerably in terms of quantity and quality from region to region and
depends largely upon the location, household size, living standards, and their water use
behaviour.
Greywater in most of the households contains soap, shampoo, toothpaste, shaving cream,
laundry detergents, hair, lint, body oils, dirt, grease, fats, chemicals (from soaps, shampoos,
cosmetics) and urine. The most significant pollutant in a greywater is the laundry detergent
(high in sodium and phosphorus). Greywater also contains microbial load from bacteria,
parasites and viruses coming from bathing and laundry wash. (WHO, 2006).
The composition of grey water, is substantially different from sewage. The volume and
composition differs according to household members and economic condition of the
household. But typically, it contains only about a tenth of the nitrogen found in sewage and
has a lesser load of pathogens. Grey water contains Total solids (TS), Total Suspended Solids
(TSS) settleable and colloidal solids. It also contains 60% to 70% of readily degradable organic
solids and 30% of inorganic solids, nitrogen and phosphorus (MoDW&S, n.d.).
The typical characteristics of grey water as identified by Ministry of Drinking Water &
Sanitation (MDW&S, GoI) is presented in Table 4 below.

10
Table 4: Typical characteristics of grey water
Parameters Grey Water
BOD (mg/l) 100-300
COD (mg/l) 200-500
TSS (mg/l) 100-300
Faecal Coliforms (MPN/100 ml) 102 -103
Total Coliforms (MPN/100 ml) 102 -103
(Source: Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation, 2015)

Similarly, typical characteristics of grey water as identified by WHO is presented in Table 5.

Table 5: Typical composition of grey water

Parameter Greywater range
Suspended Solids (mg/L) 45–330
Turbidity (NTU) 22–200
BOD5 (mg/L) 90–290
Nitrite (mg/L) < 0.1–0.8
Ammonia (mg/L) < 0.1–25.4
Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (mg/L) 2.1–31.5
Total phosphorus (mg/L) 0.6–27.3
Sulfate (mg/L) 7.9–110
pH 6.6–8.7
Conductivity (mS/cm) 325–1140
Sodium (mg/L) 29–230
(Source: WHO, 2006)

Chemical Constituents
The inorganic fraction in grey water mostly comprises of sand and grit that settles to form and
inorganic sludge layer. Greywater contains up to about 10% of nitrogen and about 10% to 30%
of phosphorus of total water system. Nitrogen and phosphorus are contributed to greywater
mainly from washing activities & laundry. Soaps & laundry water in general bring higher
chemical load viz. (sodium, phosphate, boron, ammonia, nitrogen) to greywater and are high
in suspended solids. Nitrogen and phosphorus are important nutrients that can be beneficially
used for plant growth, however, in excess they can lead to eutrophic condition of water bodies
by depleting their dissolved oxygen. Greywater may also contain oil & fats, toxic compounds
besides the traces of heavy metals and groundwater elements (such as Al, Boron, Sulphur etc.)
that have been reported in developed countries.

Organic Constituents
Organic constituents of grey water comprises mainly of the proteins, carbohydrates and fats.
These in excess can deplete the oxygen level of a water body causing pollution.

11
Microbial Constituents
Ideally, if managed properly the microbial presence remains low in greywater. However, due
to chances of cross contamination typically four kinds of pathogens viz. viruses, bacteria,
protozoa and intestinal parasites (helminths) could be found in greywater. These include
thermotolerant bacteria, faecal coliforms, etc.

The characteristic of an untreated greywater based on the water source is as summarised below

Table 6: Characteristics of grey water based on water source

Water source Characteristics
Microbiological: variable thermotolerant coliform loads
Chemical: sodium, phosphate, boron, surfactants, ammonia and nitrogen
Laundry from soap powders and soiled clothes
Physical: high in suspended solids, lint and turbidity
Biological: high in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
Microbiological: lower levels of thermotolerant coliforms
Chemical: soap, shampoo, hair dyes, toothpaste and cleaning chemicals
Bathroom
Physical: high in suspended solids, hair, and turbidity
Biological: lower levels of concentrations of biochemical oxygen demand
Microbiological: variable thermotolerant coliform loads
Chemical: detergents, cleaning agents
Kitchen
Physical: food particles, oils, fats, grease, turbidity
Biological: high in biochemical oxygen demand
(Source: Greywater Treatment on Household Level In Developing Countries - A State Of The Art Review; 2005.
EAWAG, SANDEC, ETH DUWIS)

12
4. Benefits of Greywater Treatment & Reuse

The persistent challenges of water scarcity and pollution across the world has given increasing
momentum to efficient wastewater management involving strategies for wastewater treatment
and recycle/reuse. Some of the key benefits of greywater treatment and its potential reuse are
as discussed below.

• Greywater treatment and reuse has gained considerable momentum across the world as
decentralised approach originating from various drivers such as low cost intervention,
broader technological options, adaptability to diverse conditions, and potential to reuse and
reduce water shortage locally. The greywater treatment and reuse thus offers advantage
over centralised treatment systems that are often cost intensive and require significantly
large infrastructure over a large network.

• Decentralised options of greywater management offer better involvement & ownership of

local communities and if implemented well scientifically, can become more sustainable
solution in rural India.

• Treated greywater has significant potential to be used for non-potable purposes such as
washing, cleaning and toilet flushing at household level as well as kitchen gardening. One
of the main benefits of treated greywater is its potential to be reused for irrigation that could
reduce freshwater consumption. Besides these it could be used for recharging ground water
as well if done well and scientifically.

• One of the biggest advantages of greywater reuse is its utilization of on-site resource which
would otherwise be wasted. This reduces the demand of freshwater and ensures long term
sustainability of water bodies. Greywater treatment and reuse is of particular significance
in Rural India where piped network of water & sewerage system are yet not well developed
and such system can provide a cost effective option to handle the wastewater disposal,
reduce the burden of diseases and become an alternative source of water to reduce the water
stress.

13
5. Technological Options for Greywater Treatment & Reuse

The greywater treatment and reuse options vary depending upon the nature of effluent
constituents originating from various types of region, water use patterns, and desired end use.
The treatment methods can range from low cost primary treatment methods to comparatively
more costly secondary treatment methods that requires meeting high standards for its reuse,
for e.g. in irrigation, toilet flushing etc.
While a good range of greywater treatment technologies exists and have been in use across the
world, it is vital that the feasibility of various such technological options be evaluated
comprehensively for application in rural areas in India. There have been several technologies
& methods that are already in use in rural India with varying degree of success and experiences.
This section attempts to provide a wider understanding of the range of available technological
options for greywater treatment and reuse. It also can serve as a start point for evaluating and
deep diving into identifying options suitable for application in rural India.

5.1 General Considerations

Generally, there are three levels of treatment of wastewater that are used in combination
depending upon the effluent water quality, desired end use, economic aspects etc. These are
A) Primary Treatment
Primary treatment involves removal of most of the floating materials or those that are
settleable. These can remove about 30% of the carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand
from domestic sewage.
B) Secondary Treatment
Secondary treatment primarily involves biological treatment of wastewater under aerobic or
anaerobic conditions through use of microbes (bacteria). It removes major portion of oxygen
depleting organic matter and suspended solids, and is followed by disinfection process to
remove pathogenic microorganisms from the treated wastewater.
C) Tertiary Treatment
Tertiary treatment is final step of treatment process that involves advanced treatment of
wastewater to further remove remnant organic load (BOD), suspended solids and nutrients
such as nitrogen and phosphorus.
Technological choices under each of these steps are incumbent upon the quality of intake
wastewater, desired outlet water quality and further need of reuse or fit-for-purpose water
needs.
It may be noted that, in the context of greywater treatment and reuse in India the need
and choices of these steps as well as associated technology will vary in consideration of
the local conditions and feasibilities with respect to the land availability, soil strata
conditions, water use & discharge characteristics, economics and social acceptability.

14
5.2 Technologies for Greywater Treatment and Reuse

The technological options and feasible alternatives for managing grey water in rural India have
been categorised into ‘Onsite treatment systems’ that are at household or community level, and
‘Offsite treatment systems’ that are at village level (MoDWS, n.d.).

Section 6 discusses the criteria and strategies for choice and use of such technologies in the
context of rural areas in India.
This section presents in general a range of technological options (figure available for treatment
and reuse of grey water that can be used for rural application.

Grey Water Technologies

On-Site Off-Site

Household Level Community Level Village Level

• Soak Pit • Community Soak Pit • Waste Stabilization Ponds

• Leach Pit • Community Leach Pit • Duckweed Ponds
• Magic Pit • Community Kitchen • Constructed Wetlands
• Kitchen Garden Garden • Reedbed/ Phytorid
• Intercepting Chamber • Conveyance/ Small Bore

5.2.1 On-Site Technological Options for Greywater Treatment

Onsite treatment systems are can used at the household or community level (semi-centralised).
Generally, soak pits, leach pits and kitchen gardens are the options suggested at household
levels, while community pits, wet lands etc. are suggested at the community level.

(A) Greywater Treatment Technologies at Household Level

1) Soak Pit System

A dug out pit is filled with stones or burnt bricks. The stones or bricks increase the surface area
over which biological and chemical action takes place. The grey water is diverted into the pit
from which water seeps & gets soaked into the ground through porous walls of pit (Figure 2).
The greywater from the soak pit percolates into the ground and in the process filters small
particles through the pores across the soil layers while the microorganisms in the soil digest
the organic matter. Soak pits are suitable for areas with good absorptive soil properties and is
not recommended for clayey soil or rocky terrain.

15
 Figure 2: Soak Pits (Schematic & Pictures)

Advantages:
It is low cost option of treating grey water at household level and easy to construct. No drain
are needed and the greywater from the household gets absorbed underground providing odour
free and mosquito free surrounding. It also recharges the groundwater. The O&M costs are low
and can be borne by individual.
Disadvantages: Soak pits are not suitable for rocky terrain and areas with high water table, as
the pit will overflow if the greywater quantum exceeds the design flow. Due to the possibility
of cross contamination with faecal matter it can cause groundwater contamination.

(a) Modified or Magic Soak Pits

A modified or magic soak pit, is a modified version with porous-walled underground chamber
that is covered at the top. The underground chamber is connected to a collection tank from
where it receives pre-settled effluent and allows the water to slowly soak into the ground.

Figure 3: Modified Soak Pit

2) Leach Pit System

These are brick-lined leach pits suitably constructed in the courtyard of individual houses at a
convenient place (Figure 4). A leach pit is a brick-lined circular pit constructed in honeycomb
masonry, with a diameter of approximately one meter that allows water to percolate into the
ground. The pit should have a proper insect proof cover and the water should be passed into
the pit through a water seal trap (Nhani trap or P trap) to avoid insect movement and mosquito
breeding as well as foul smell (WSP & MoDW&S, 2012). The leach pits can be made in brick
masonry or concrete rings (RCC) and a silt trap shall help remove solids and ensure proper
functioning of the pit.

16
 Figure 4: Household Leach Pits (with Brick & RCC masonry)

Advantages: It is one of the cheapest methodology of treating grey water at household level.
It is one of the simplest and easy to construct and requires minimum space. The O&M of the
system is easy, minimal and low cost as well. No drain is needed and the greywater gets
absorbed underground providing odour free and mosquito free surrounding. It also recharges
the groundwater.
Disadvantages: Not suitable for impermeable soil, hard rock strata and rocky terrain and areas
Shrikant Navrekar
with high water table, as the pit will overflow.
Shrikant
3) Kitchen Garden System
Kitchen garden system is another easy methods to treat greywater and use it for growing
vegetables/flowers/fruits at household level. The grey water is passed through a grease tap to
remove to remove impurities and diverted to a storage tank or trench. A nhani trap or P trap
with screen should be used to remove impurities and solids. A silt chamber can be provided to
trap the organic and inert matter. Water from the storage tank or trench is utilized for suitable
vegetables/flowers/fruits that can be planted in a planned manner at the available space.
Periodic cleaning of the grease trap and silt chamber is required.
Kitchen garden systems can be with or without piped root zone systems.
Shrikant Navrekar
(a) Kitchen garden system without pipes
This is a low maintenance simple surface system in which the grey water is treated through a
simple device such as a silt and grease trap before being let out into the kitchen garden.

(b) Kitchen garden system with pipes

This is an improved version of kitchen garden with a piped root zone system. In this an
underground perforated pipe is used to convey that is treated in the filter bed material, from
where it directly reaches the roots of the plants.
Reuse: Treated greywater can be reused to grow vegetables, flowers or fruits in houses, which
have available space.

Advantages: It is an environment friendly process in which the nutrients contained in grey

water are beneficially used for plant growth, while saving freshwater which otherwise would
have been used for gardening purpose. It also prevents stagnation of water.

17
 have a residual effect on the plants grown. If such chemicals are being used, the grey water
may not be used to grow tubers (potato, onion, etc.).

Figure 3: Schematic of grey water reuse in kitchen garden

Figure 5: Kitchen Garden System

Limitations: Use of strong detergent may be harmful to the kitchen garden. Moreover, in rainy
days, the kitchen garden will not require additional water, so a bypass system has to be made
to divert the grey water to a soak pit system. It requires adequate land space and willingness
of households to grow vegetation.

(B) Management of Grey Water at Community Level

4) Community Leach Pit
Two types of greywater sources are present at community level in rural areas i.e. greywater
from public places like public stand posts for water supply, wells, hand pumps, schools etc.
and greywater from houses which cannot be managed at domestic level. The greywater from
public places42mostly comprises of spilled water which is comparatively cleaner, while
domestic greywater which becomes community greywater in due course, will have increased
load of pollutants due to grease, kitchen waste water, food particles, bathing and clothes
washing water, silt etc. These treatment systems will have to established and managed by Gram
Panchayats (GPs) with the help of local self-help groups (SHGs).

mmunity level1) Community Leach Pit

rventions These are brick-lined pits constructed at a convenient place for a group of houses. The number
of houses to be connected are estimated based on the volume of grey water discharged from
ommunity level interventions on waste water management, the conveyance of waste
each house and the availability of space for the pit. The grey water from the houses should be
from the source of generation to a point of treatment is needed. For that, usually
preferably carried to this pit through a shallow underground pipeline.
ntional drains (open/closed) or small bore sewers can be used.
It requires a Nhani trap or P trap and a primary silt chamber to be constructed at each connected
housepit
Community Leach and as well a secondary silt chamber near the leach pit.

s a brick-lined pit
ucted at a
nient place for a
of houses. The
er of houses to be
cted should be
ated based on the
water discharged
each house and the
available for the
unity leach pit.
water from the
s (kitchen waste Figure 6: Community Leach Pits
bathing water,
ng water, etc.) should be carried to this pit.
18
Waste Stabilization Ponds Shrikant Navre

e stabilization ponds (WSP) are shallow man-made basin into which wastewater
 Advantages: Advantages are the same as in the case of household leach pits. It can cater to a
larger number of households together and provides dry and clean house premises and streets.
It is a low-cost option as compared to a centralized treatment units with drain and its O&M
costs are comparatively lower than the centralized treatment systems as well.
Disadvantages: Not suitable for impermeable soil, hard rock strata and rocky terrain and areas
with high water table. Requires occasional removal of blockages from pipes and de-sludging
of the pit once in two years. However, if silt chambers are provided and cleaned periodically,
de-sludging is not needed for about 5 to 6 years.
Similar approach of community greywater treatment is also use in the name Community Soak
Pit in various areas (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Community Soak Pit

2) Soakaway Channel with Sludge Tank

This method can be employed for a group of households to collectively manage the greywater.
Grey water from individual households are initially discharged to a sludge tank where floating
material and oils are intercepted. Then it passes to a three chambered channel filled with sand
and gravel for filtration, through which the grey water percolates to the ground. As the
soakaway channel gets filled up, it should have cleaned and left to dry, post which the channel
can be used again.
Advantage: This system can absorb large volume of community greywater preventing open
stagnation, vector breeding and contamination of water sources
Limitations: There is a possibility of groundwater contamination in areas of shallow water
level.

3) Intercepting Chamber
The grey water is channelized through a de-siltation unit. The silt chamber should be
constructed near the source of water and the silt free water can be transferred through pipes to
the plantation site.
Reuse: Treated grey water can be used for irrigating existing gardens, roadside trees or
commercial vegetable garden or orchards in the village
Advantage: It will prevent stagnation of water in public places and avoid pollution of nearby
water bodies.
Limitation: For establishment of this system, public plantation area should be available in the
vicinity.

19
5.2.2 Offsite Management of Grey Water at Village Level
Offsite treatment systems are centralised systems that are implemented at village level with
larger number of households in groups. Generally, waste stabilization ponds, constructed
wetlands, DEWATS etc. are the suggested options for offsite greywater treatment.
For offsite village level intervention, grey water needs to be conveyed from the source of
generation to a point of treatment for which usually conventional drains (open/closed) or small
bore sewers are used. For centralized management of grey water at village level, the
households should be equipped with a silt chamber through which greywater is transported to
final treatment units. Pipelines are recommended for transportation of grey water due to
economical nature, reduced chances of clogging due to garbage dumping and ease in laying of
pipelines compared to construction of drains. The choice of the technology depends upon the
quantum of grey water to be treated; distance from household to the treatment unit and land
available with the Gram Panchayat.

1) Greywater Stabilisation Pond/ Waste Stabilization Pond (WSP)

These are shallow man-made ponds in which wastewater is collected and after a retention time
of a few days a well-treated effluent is discharged. Waste Stabilization Pond (WSP) systems
comprise of three ponds i.e. anaerobic, facultative and maturation ponds that are constructed
in series. WSPs are excavated at a suitable site away from the human habitation where the grey
water treated almost naturally. This involves stabilisation of water for sedimentation and
separation of impurities and a microbial bio-degradation process that reduces the pollution load
Grey Water Management in Rural India

of grey water and increases its usability.

(i) Anaerobic
Chlorination of Treated pond:
Water The anaerobic pond receives grey water and solid and inert matter from
collection system. It acts
At the end of the maturation pond, a pot chlorinator asinstalled
can be a settling pond
to achieve extra where the solids and inert matter settles at the
safe water

bottom and anaerobic digestion or organic matter takes place in settled solids. These have
for reuse. However, care should be taken to adjust and maintain the standard chlorination dosing.

generally a depth of 2.5 to 3 meters and have a retention time of 1 to 2 days.

Operation and Maintenance
(ii) Facultative
A) Cleaning pond:
of intercepting chambers on thePartially
pipeline and bar treated
screens beforeand clarified
anaerobic ponds; water from anaerobic pond is received in
the facultative
B) Maintenance of embankments of pond
the ponds;where both, aerobic and anaerobic digestion takes place. The aerobic
digestion
C) Periodical takes
desludging of anaerobicplace at the ifupper
pond and filter/screen, any; layers while the anaerobic digestion takes place at the
lower
D) Removal layers.
of floating These
scum from all ponds; are generally shallower to provide maximum aeration and surface area

and have
E) Post-monsoon a depth
maintenance of system;
of the entire 1.2 to and 1.5 meters and have a retention time of 3 to 5 days.

F) Periodical anti-mosquito spraying, as and when required.

(iii) Aerobic pond or Maturation Pond: The last step in the treatment process is the
Maturation Pond stabilised water from the facultative pond is received and where mainly
Figure 5: Grey water stabilisation pond
aerobic digestion and oxidation takes place to further reduce the toxicity of grey water.

Figure 8: Grey water stabilization pond/ Waste stabilization pond

20

53
 Reuse: The treated grey water can be used for agriculture or pisciculture
Advantage: The capital cost of the system is low and it can be managed by unskilled
manpower
Limitations: Availability of open land with the Gram Panchayat and the system being
disturbed during the rainy season are the major limitation of this system.

2) Duckweed Pond
Duckweed pond system comprise of small free-floating and fast growing aquatic plant (e.g.
Spirodela, Lemna, Wolffia and Wolfiella) that besides being fish feed, can reduce the BOD,
COD, suspended solids, bacterial and other pathogens from waste water. It can be used to give
further treatment to effluent from facultative pond. Along with producing high quality of
treated greywater, financial returns can be generated from duckweed-fish cultivation.
Duckweed ponds are suitable for a village having population of about 4000-5000. For about
half mld of waste water, one hectare of pond surface area (0.5 hectare for duckweed and 0.5
for fish pond) is required.
Reuse: The treated grey water can be used for agriculture. A combined duckweed – fish
cultivation system can be established. Harvested duckweed can also be used as fish feed.

Figure 9: Duckweed pond

(Source: Sulabh International Social Service Organisation; ENVIS)

Advantage: Duckweed is less sensitive to low temperature and high nutrient levels, pests and
diseases. Duckweed forms a green mat over waste water, reducing chance of mosquito
breeding. Provide attractive opportunity for economic returns and employment opportunity
through pisciculture while treating the greywater.
Limitation: Availability of open land with the Gram Panchayat is the major factor.

3) Reed bed/ Phytorid System

The Reed Bed or Phytorid is a natural plant based system in which wastewater is treated
through a bed of aquatic plant (such as species like Phramites australis, Phalaris arundinacea,
Glyceria maxima, Typha spp., other common grasses etc.) (Figure 10). The gravity based
system comprises of a primary removal of solids followed by a bed of porous media that
supports the root structure of vegetation forming a filter media that naturally treats the
wastewater. The oxygen diffuses to wastewater from atmosphere while anaerobic treatment
happens at lower level of reed bed and the nitrogen & phosphorus are taken up by the plants.

21
 Figure 10: Reed Bed / Phytorid System (schematic)

Advantages: It is a cost-effective technology and being gravity based does not require
electricity/power. It is scalable and easy to maintain and the plants add to the aesthetics. Being
a natural system it mostly operates passive and requires little intervention of an operator.
Limitation: Requires initial design and knowledge of reed bed setup. Once setup mixing of
other flows can destabilize the system.

4) Constructed Wetlands (CWs)

Constructed wetlands (CWs) are simple and natural process based low-cost wastewater
treatment systems that can treat the wastewater and make it possible for its reuse. In a
subsurface constructed wetland (CW) wastewater can flow either horizontally or vertically
through the highly permeable substrate (e.g. gravel, rock or soil).

(a) Horizontal Flow Constructed Wetlands (HFCWs)

A horizontal flow constructed wetland (horizontal flow CW) (Figure 11) is a natural planted
filter bed that can treat the grey water or black water. The wastewater enters the inlet zone and
flows horizontally through the porous filter medium which is continually soaked with water.
The medium comprises of a large gravel and sand-filled channel that is planted with selected
aquatic vegetation to assimilate nutrients. During its horizontal flow, solid particles are filtered
out by granular media and the microorganism decompose the organic matter in wastewater
through a combination of physical and biological (aerobic & anaerobic) processes. A pre-
treatment of wastewater is required to avoid clogging of media.
To ensure the continual subsurface in a horizontal flow constructed wetland, the water level is
maintained at 5 to 15 cm below the surface (Tilley, et al 2008), (MoDWS, GoI, n.d.). Reports
also suggest that a horizontal filter bed area of about 2 m2/PE 5 is sufficient for complete
treatment and removal of pathogens from wastewater (Sonavane et.al 2008), (CPCB, 2008).
The range of plant species that are suitable for constructed wetlands include helophytes, reeds
(like Phragmitesaustralis, Phragmiteskarka, Arundodonax), Typhalatifolia (cattail),
Typhaangustifolia (cattail), Juncus (bulrush) etc.

5Population equivalent (in waste-water) refers to the amount of oxygen demanding substances whose oxygen consumption
during biodegradation equals the average oxygen demand of the waste water produced by one person.

22
Figure 11: Horizontal flow constructed wetland (HFCW); (schematic & picture)
(Schematic diagram Source: UN-Habitat, 2008)

Advantages: It is a comparatively inexpensive system in the locations where land is available.

It can be maintained by local community since it doesn’t require high-tech spares, chemicals
or energy. The treated effluent from a properly managed constructed wetland can be used for
irrigation and aquaculture or safely discharged to receiving water bodies.
CWs can remove nutrients and have a high treatment efficiency with removal of COD up to
about 95%. There is no visible wastewater aboveground and hence there is no nuisance of
odour.
Disadvantages: HFCWs have lower oxygen transfer capability as compared to vertical flow
CWs and hence have lower nitrification capability. Some of the disadvantages associated
include high space requirements, Great care is required during construction and intensive
maintenance during the first 2 years involving activities like pulling out undesirable plants and
dead vegetation, replanting, fertilizing as well as cleaning pipes.

(a) Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands (VFCWs)

The vertical flow (VF) constructed wetlands are made of a flat bed of sand/gravel that is topped
with sand/gravel and vegetation. The wastewater is fed from the top intermittently in large
batches which gradually percolates down through the bed and is collected by a drainage
network at the base (Figure 12). Once the bed is completely drained and it allows air to refill
into layers to facilitate oxygenation (UN-Habitat, 2008).

Figure 12: A Vertical Flow Constructed Wetland (VFCW); (Schematic)

(Source: UN-Habitat, 2008)

23
 Advantages: Vertical flow CWs have better oxygen transfer capacity and hence provide good
nitrification (better than HFCWs). They are considerably smaller than the horizontal flow CWs
and can efficiently remove the BOD, COD and pathogens.
Disadvantages: Vertical flow CWs have a disadvantage of being less efficient in solids
removal as compared to the HFCWs. VFCWs can clog if the media si not selected properly.
Due to the limitation & advantages that both of these systems provide there is growing interest
in Hybrid Constructed Wetland Systems that combine the HFCW and VFCW.

5) Conveyance Systems
Conveyance systems are relevant in rural areas of India where they can be used as an interim
and cheap option to address the open channels/drain that exists in rural areas. These open drains
are upgraded to a covered drain with an objective to remove the wastewater or rain water from
the households in a controlled and hygienic way and minimize public health hazard.

(a) Small Bore Sewers/Intercepting Chamber

The grey water is channelized through a desiltation unit. The silt chamber should be
constructed near the source of water and the silt free water can be transferred through pipes to
the plantation site.
Small bore sewer systems are constructed to handle only the liquid portion of household
wastewater for off-site treatment and disposal. In such systems Interceptor Tanks are
constructed after each household or group of households to trap and separate grit, grease and
floating materials from the flowing wastewater. The settled solids are periodically removed
from the interceptor tanks. The silt free water can be transferred through pipes to the plantation
site or should be connected to treatment systems like community leach pits, waste stabilisation
ponds, constructed wetlands, phytorid etc.
Reuse: Treated grey water can be used for irrigating existing gardens, roadside trees or
commercial vegetable garden or orchards in the village
Advantage: It prevents stagnation of water in public places and avoids pollution of nearby
water bodies.
Limitation: For establishment of this system, public plantation area or other off-site treatment
systems should be available in the vicinity to which such systems need to be connected at end.

5.3 Options for Treated Greywater Reuse

The wide variety of treatment options provide various possibilities for grey water reuse. These
reuse possibilities however depend much upon the nature effluent characteristics, type of
treatment technologies applied and feasibility of end reuse in the region.

Potential Reuse Options

Some of the major possibilities of reuse options of for treated greywater in rural areas are as
follows.
• Residential reuse:
Treated greywater opens up considerable opportunities for reuse in residential households
in rural areas. Main reuse options include flushing of toilets, cleaning, gardening,
plantation etc.). However care needs to be given for proper O&M and functioning of the
chosen technological options for reuse.

24
• Irrigation Reuse:
One the most significant reuse potential of treated greywater is for irrigation in agricultural
areas. Many greywater treatment technologies provide a good option for reuse in irrigation.
One of the main concerns related to irrigation reuse is potential risk to crops (decrease in
crop yield) and land degradation that can happen due to excess salts accumulated in water
and soils. Suitability of irrigation, salinity management, salt tolerance of the cultivated crop
and characteristics of the irrigated soil must be evaluated for irrigation water reuse.
• Groundwater recharge:
Grey water infiltration provides an opportunity for groundwater recharge and can happen
either intentionally (through percolation pits or trenches) or the unintentionally (through
excess irrigation). Recharge to groundwater through wastewater happens significantly but
often rather in an uncontrolled manner. Feasibility of subsurface infiltration depends
significantly on the type and structure of recipient soil in the region. Sandy or loamy soils
are best suited for infiltration while coarse sand, gravel or clayey soils are not suited for
greywater infiltration.
Greywater infiltration through soil improves the greywater quality and serves as a water
resource, however, a considerable risk often exists for groundwater contamination if the
system are either ill designed or poorly managed. Grey water use for groundwater recharge
is an indirect and long-term reuse option as water in this case ultimately re-enters the
hydrological cycle.
• Surface Discharge:
A common method of disposal of grey water, if done with proper treatment, it helps
maintain ecological value of receiving water bodies such as nearby streams, lakes etc.

25
6. Guidelines for Application of Greywater Reuse Technologies in
Rural Areas
Worldwide application of greywater treatment technologies is followed through some known
guidelines such as the WHO “Guidelines for the safe use of wastewater and excreta in
agriculture and aquaculture” (WHO, 1989b) and the USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency) “Guidelines for water reuse” (USEPA, 2012) etc.
Specific policies and guidelines for greywater reuse in India are still to be well developed.
However, agencies such as Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (Govt. of India) have
laid certain guiding principles in this regard. This section discusses some of such key
guidelines and principles that can be helpful in planning and implementation of greywater
treatment and reuse in rural areas of India.

6.1 Key Guiding Principles & Strategies

Some of the key guiding principles for implementing greywater treatment & reuse in rural
areas include the following
a) Identification of appropriate & feasible technologies at different levels viz. -
household, community, and the village-level
As discussed in previous sections there are array of different technologies that are suitable
to different level of rural areas. Right technological choices need to made for household,
community and village levels based on the number of households, location, availability of
land, greywater characteristics, end-use/reuse priorities, available finances, O&M, etc.
Some of the suitable choices for technologies have been presented in section 5, such as
Soak pits, leach pits kitchen gardens at household and community levels with applicable
specifications. Waste Stabilization Pond, Constructed wetland etc. at village level where
larger systems are needed.
b) Adequate planning for Operations & Maintenance (O&M)
Greywater treatment and reuse projects must have inbuilt long term planning for O&M
with adequate technical support and financial mechanisms identified between the key
stakeholders such as Households, Gram Panchayats, District authorities, Contractors etc.,
for sustainability of the project in long run. Ensuring adequate technical support for O&M
is equally important to avoid any possible adverse impact on groundwater or agricultural
crops or other water bodies.
c) Adequate Stakeholder Engagement, Awareness & Capacity Building
A very critical component of project in rural areas is adequate engagement of key actors
and stakeholders in the development and co-creation of solutions. This involves activities
related to awareness generation, IEC, behaviour change as well as capacity building on
ground at different levels (e.g. households, community etc.), which are must for success of
greywater management.
d) Developing innovative financing and viable business models for greywater treatment
and reuse
Financing options for projects must be explored keeping in mind the possibility of shared
funding between States, Villages (GPs) and Households as feasible. There are several
examples where GPs have implemented with shared funding from the State and village
contributions. Projects can also explore sale of treated grey water for partial cost recovery.

26
 An important approach is to seek convergence of finances from various funds that are
available under various government programs such as Grey
MNREGA, MPLAD, inSBM,
Water Management SFC
Rural India
grants.
e) Ensuring regulatory compliance and adequate monitoring & evaluation
Knowledge and compliance of applicable regulatory norms & standards must be ensured
andareanmenus
There adequate monitoring
of options available&at evaluation (M&E)
the household, systemand
community should
villagebe developed
level, all offeringand
followed. treatment systems. While soak pits, leach pits and kitchen gardens are suggested
cost-effective
at individual household levels, larger community pits and wet lands are suggested at the
6.2 community
Key Criteria
level. Atfor
the Selection
village level,ofthe
Technologies
Gram Panchayat can invest in bigger initiatives such
as duck
Some ofweed pondimportant
the most systems, Phytorid-based
factors that musttechnologies and waste
be considered while stabilization
choosing the ponds.List of
technologies
technology option under three implementation level for greywater management is
include the costs, physical and geographical environment, local availability of manpower and shown below.
material, socio-economic circumstances, legal framework, characteristics/quality and
quantities of greywater, effluent disposal or reuse priorities (EAWAG, SANDEC, ETH
Deciding
DUWIS. Parameters for Choosing Level of Greywater Technology
2005).
Solutions
There are several factors that are important for choice of technological options for greywater
management. Someforofgreywater
Technology options the key parameters
management thatdepends
are important forparameters,
on various adoption ofthese
technologies in
rural areas at the three levels (viz. household, community and village level) are presentedat in
parameters becomes significant to choose the level of technology intervention to be adopted
Table 7.
three implementation level such as house hold, community and village level. A compendium on
these technologies is at Annexure A.

Table 7: Key parameters for selecting level of greywater management intervention

Sl. Parameters for selecting level Household- Community- Village-level
No of grey water management level solutions level solutions solutions
intervention
1 Quantity of Grey water generation Low Medium High
2 Favourable soil condition Yes Yes No
3 Ground water level condition Low Low High
4 Availability of space at individual Yes No No
House Hold
5 Availability of community space No Yes No
6 Existing drain Network No No Yes
(Source: Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation, GoI; n.d.)
Suitability of level technology implementation may vary according to various scenario. Given
Besides the above, the criteria for selection of technology based on local conditions are as
the diversity in geographical conditions and habitational density across the country, suitability of
illustrated below
greywater management solutions also varies accordingly. The following matrix presents different
technical
a) and operational
Technologies optionsAreas
for General suitable for these varied scenarios. These choices will inform
the overall implementation framework for the districts.
For general areas, based on space availability and the type of soil, the following choices of
Thegrey water options
technical treatment technologies are:
recommended are recommended (refer Figure 13).
1. Soak pits

2. Leach pits

3. Magic pits

4. Kitchen garden

5. Community soak pit

6. Community leach pit 27

7. Community wet land

 Space at Household

Adequate Space Kitchen Garden/Leach Pit

Inadequate Space

Permeable Soil Leach Pit

Semi Permeable Soil Modified Leach Pit

Impermeable Soil

Space with Community

Permeable Soil Leach Pit for
Nearby group of houses

Small Bore/ WSP/

No Space Reed Bed/
Nearby DEWATS

Figure 13: Choice of technologies for General Areas

(Source: DDWS, Ministry of Jal Shakti, 2020)

b) Technologies for areas with seasonal or permanent High Water Table/ Water
Logged Areas
For such areas, based on space availability and water table, the following choices of grey
water treatment technologies are recommended (refer Figure 14).

Permanent High Water

Table Area

Space Available At Kitchen Garden

Household

Inadequate Space

Space with Low Community Leach Pit for

Water Table Nearby Group of Houses

Small Bore/ WSP/ Reed

Semi Permeable Soil
Bed/ DEWATS

Figure 14: Technologies for areas with High Water Table/ Water Logged Areas
(Source: DDWS, Ministry of Jal Shakti, 2020)

28
 c) Technologies for areas with Hard Strata / Rocky Area
For such areas, based on space availability and water table, the following choices of grey
water treatment technologies are recommended (refer Figure 15).

Hard Strata/ Rocky Area

Space Available At Kitchen Garden

Household

Inadequate Space

Space with
Community Leach Pit for
Permeable Soil
Group of Houses
Nearby

Small Bore/ WSP/ Reed

No Space Nearby
Bed/ DEWATS

Figure 15: Technologies for areas with Hard Strata / Rocky Area
(Source: DDWS, Ministry of Jal Shakti, 2020)

d) Factors critical for off-site treatment technologies

Factors critical for off-site treatment technologies include distance of treatment site (long
distance are costly), availability of land (Government land availability), reliability of
electricity (for technologies requiring electricity), neighbourhood (away from residential
areas), geological conditions (Soil type, groundwater table).

6.2 Key Challenges in Implementing Greywater Treatment and Reuse systems

Some of the key challenges in implementation of greywater treatment and reuse systems
include
• One of most prominent challenge is the behavioural barriers on reuse of greywater,
Overcoming them is critical for success of grey water reuse system.
• Lack of awareness of government schemes at household level
• Poor or absence of solid waste management in the villages lead to clogging of drains
and a significant financial expense happens for cleaning of drains
• Cross contamination of drains due to direct or indirect discharge of black water in to
the drains.
• Lack of institutional support at the GP and district level to evaluate feasibility &
suitability of technologies.
• Most of grey water management technologies require O&M and it is a key challenge
due to lack of resources at GP level.

29
 7. Cost Perspectives for Greywater Treatment & Reuse Systems
Economic considerations for greywater management systems constitute several factors that are
of importance and are dependent on local conditions. Financially, a general rule for choice of
system is to first think of Ponds, then Tanks and at last the Filter based system (Morel A.,
Diener S. 2006).
Typically a design of greywater treatment system would involve the investment cost of land,
nagement in Rural Areasconstruction,
transportation of material, lab testing of greywater, running cost (including
personnel cost for O&M, de-slugging etc.
The main funding components to manage a greywater treatment system comprise of
n this example, What
a) cost norms
Software can be used
Component: to develop
(involving a liquid
funds for support activities such as communication
o approximately wastefor
management proposal at the GP level?
f personnel
demand creation and behavior change, capacity building of key stakeholders,
gement program. monitoring, etc.)
Assuming that water supply to households is 70 liter per
specific design b) per
capita Hardware Component:
day and estimated This involves
wastewater funds
generation is related to the capital expenditure for
ent project and about 80construction of the infrastructure for greywater
percent of water supply, wastewater generation pertreatment and reuse; and
The smaller the household per day shall be of the order of 280 liter. Further,
ex per household c) O&M
assuming Component:
an average The funds
of five persons for the
in each O&M to
household andsustain the infrastructure constructed in
terms
considering of repairs,
black consumables,
water generated etc..
as 7 liter per person per
day, the volume of gray water from each household would be
aste management
245 liter. The typical conservative cost norms specified in the
holds
National
Costs forStrategic Plan for
the treatment Rural Sanitation
system would vary (2012-22) for a to region. The typical conservative cost
from region
imate for a community of 300 households are provided in Table 5.
norm specified in the National Strategic Plan for Rural Sanitation (2012-22) for a community
mmunity of 300 of 300 households are presented in Table 8.
useholds Table 5: Typical cost norms for a liquid waste management
proposal
Table for a community
8: Typical offor
cost norms 300liquid
households
waste management for a community of 300 households
Particulars Estimate Capex Cost per
50,000 Household in a
30,000 Community of
300 Households
30,000
Soak pit Rs. 600 Rs. 600
20,000 (unlined, 1 per household)

4,00,000 Stabilization pond Rs. 80,000 Rs. 267

10,000 Drainage channel (approx. Rs. 1,00,000 Rs. 333

Rs. 10,000 per sq m)
5,40,000
TOTAL Rs. 1,200

6000 The actual

(Source; cost
WSP, for a liquid
MoDWS waste management project
GoI, 2012)
shall depend on specific design considerations such as the
30,000 The actual spread
geographical cost for a GP,
of the liquid
soil waste management
conditions, population projects depend on specific design
36,000 considerations, however,
density, and so on, as waste
for a liquid a guidance tool, the
management range may be from Rs. 1,200-1,750 per
project.
household. Thetool,
As a guidance smaller the number
the range of households,
may be from the higher the capex per household will be
Rs. 1,200-1,750
per household.
(Source: WSP, The
MoDWS smallerGoI,
the number
2012). of households, the
higher the capex per household will be.
A general comparison of technologies based on the Capex and Opex is presented in Table 9.

30
 Mountainous H M L M
High water table area L L H M
Region with Hard rock strata L L H H

L: Low suitability, M: Medium suitability, H: High suitability

Table 9: Comparison
Comparison of technologies
of Technologies Basedbased on the Capex/Opex
on Capex/Opex
Technology Capex Opex Management capacity
HH/community Level
Kitchen Garden
Leach Pit/Magic Pit at HH level
Community Leach Pit
OFF Site
Waste Stabilization pond
DEWATS/Phytorid

Low Medium High Very High

(Source: MoDWS GoI, n.d.)

Peri-urban areas are more densely populated than rural areas, and it is likely that households will be closely spaced leaving very little
9

free-space for household level grey-water solutions. Tribal areas are likely to be sparsely populated, and have little community level
infrastructure such as drains. Mountainous regions need a special focus since their terrain is not suitable for several technologies.

Greywater
12 should be considered an economics resource. The economic potential comes from
the possible savings or income from the by-products e.g. irrigation water, biogas, nutrients as
well etc. This however is difficult to comprehend as the pricing of water remains irrational in
most part of the country.

31
8. Health Considerations and Precautionary Measures

8.1 Effects of greywater reuse on human health

Wastewater treatment and handling in general and greywater management in this particular
case, pose potential risk to human health and the environment since the greywater contains
excretions from bathing & laundry comprising of microbial and chemical contamination that
can transmit diseases.

Precautionary Measures
Some of the precautionary measure to reduce the risk to human health and to prevent nuisance
from greywater reuse, the following considerations are important
• Greywater must be disposed below ground surface unless it is treated and disinfected to
meet an appropriate standard.
• The treatment system must be designed and operated in a manner that it prevents direct
human contact with greywater.
• Cross connection with a potable water supply must be prevented and greywater should
not be allowed to enter storm water drainage system.
• Greywater reuse should not let the vegetables, fruits or edible plants to come in direct
contact of greywater.
• Breeding of mosquitoes must be prevented in all components of greywater system
including conveyance, treatment, storage and soil application.
• Greywater must be adequately disinfected and other advanced treatment should be
applied for it to meet the desired standard before its use in toilet flushing or for washing.
• Adequate signage must be used to with advise to avoid contact with the water.
• Greywater should not be stored, unless it has been treated and disinfected.

8.2 Effects of greywater reuse on plants

Reuse of greywater are useful for water as besides water it also provides nutrient such as N &
P to the plants, however, it may also contain sodium and chloride, which can be harmful to
some plant species.
Most of the laundry products viz. soaps and detergents as well as baking soda contain sodium
compounds whose high levels can cause discoloration and burning of leaves, and can
contribute toward an alkaline soil condition. Besides, they also contain chemical such as boron,
chlorides and peroxides that are toxic to plants. Bleaches present in greywater contain chlorides
that can as well damage plants.
High sodium concentration disturb soil’s ability to absorb water. A high sodium adsorption
ratio (SAR) results degradation and reduction in permeability and aeration of soil.

Precautionary Measures
• Applicable guideline and standards (set by CPCB) for discharge of treated effluent must
be followed and met before wastewater is use for irrigation.
• Plants irrigated with greywater must be regularly monitored and if any symptom of
damage appear greywater use must be discontinued.
• Applying greywater directly to foliage or stems must be avoided.
• Greywater should only be applied on well-grown plants and not on seedlings or young
plants, as they are more sensitive to the greywater impurities

32
8.3 Effects of greywater reuse on soil
Some of the main effects of greywater reuse on soil include increase in soil alkalinity &
salinity and reduction in the ability of soil to absorb and retain water which happens due to
sodium, potassium or calcium coming from laundry detergents. This also increases the sodium
adsorption ratio (SAR). A sandy, well-drained soil will be less affected by greywater
application than a poorly-drained clay soil [10].

Precautionary Measures
• Applicable guideline and standards (set by CPCB) for discharge of treated effluent on
soil/land must be followed and met before wastewater is use for irrigation.
• Application of gypsum (calcium sulfate) to the soil to reduce the pH levels
• Dilution of greywater by rainfall or fresh water before irrigation to clean the soil from the
build-up of sodium, excess salts, and other soil contaminants

33
9. National & International Case Studies on Greywater Management

9.1 Indian Case Studies

9.1.1 Greywater Reuse in Ashram Schools in Madhya Pradesh
Dhar and Jhabua districts of Madhya Pradesh faces acute water stress and water quality
concerns such as fluoride contamination. In the Ashram schools (residential) of the two
districts aimed at tribal students of the region, sanitation facilities remain non-functional due
to lack of water. The daily water requirement of students is about 60 - 70 litre per student.
Considering the consumptive use of 20-30%, greywater of about 23-35 litre per student is
produced daily. Hence, UNICEF along with NEERI explored the use of greywater for non
potable purposes for schools in the two districts during 2005-2006. Grey water treatment
systems were constructed at seven schools at Mandu, Kokawad, Kalidevi, Jhakela, Hadwada,
Ganganagar and Nalcha; with joint efforts of UNICEF, NEERI and Non-Government partners
(NEERI and UNICEF, 2007).
Technology Design and Reuse of grey water: The treatment system consists of screening,
equalization tank, filtration system, aeration and a storage tank. Screens with a mesh less than
10 mm size is set up at the outlet of pipes collecting grey water from various sources in the
schools. The equalization tank helps in achieving a homogenous load to the filtration system.
The filtration system is constructed using layers of gravels, sand and burnt bricks. During
filtration, the turbidity and colloidal matter, protozoan cysts and helminth eggs are removed.
A collection sump of an appropriate capacity is provided to handle the average daily generation
of treated greywater. Treated water was reused for gardening, floor washing and flushing
toilets.
Policy / Program Intervention: School Sanitation and Hygiene Education (SSHE) is a major
component of Total Sanitation Campaign of Ministry of Rural Development. Its objective is
to ensure water supply, toilet and hand washing facilities in the schools and promote behavioral
change through awareness programs on hygiene. Due to provision of toilet infrastructure at
rural schools under the campaign, there was a requirement to augment water supply through
alternative sources, to provide water for sanitation in schools.
Funds have also been provided for regular maintenance of the systems by the Department of
Tribal Welfare, Government of Madhya Pradesh. The students and the Parent Teacher
Association (PTA) of the schools were responsible for the operation and maintenance of the
greywater treatment systems
Drivers and Barriers:
The performance evaluation of the systems showed 50% turbidity and microbial removal
efficiency. However, the quality of treated effluent is impacted due to short circuit as seen in
the treatment system installed at Mandu.
Dhar and Jhabua districts are largely dependent on groundwater, which leads to
overexploitation due large groundwater abstraction. A major driver of setting up grey water
reuse system was to reduce groundwater abstraction, as majority of water demand for toilet
flushing and gardening in Ashram school can be met from treated greywater.
The use of greywater for non-potable uses reduced the expenditure for freshwater which had
to be sourced from tankers during periods of water stress. Utilizing Government fund to set up
the treatment system also made the process economically feasible for the stakeholders at

34
 Ashram schools. Cost-Benefit analysis showed that the cost of grey water treatment system
could be recovered within two years.
Water supply system in water stressed rural areas can be augmented through reuse of treated
grey water. The funds under various Government programs aimed at sanitation and hygiene
can be utilized to establish treatment systems, while involving the stakeholders for its operation
and maintenance can help in long term sustainability of these systems

9.1.2 Greywater Management in Fathepura Village, Mehsana, Gujarat

Fathepura village in Mehsana District of Gujarat has 214 house hold, with a population of 1200
and a cattle population of 1400. The source of water for the entire village is a deep bore well.
About 160000 litre is used daily in the village, out of which about 40000 litre is being used for
the cattle. It is estimated that about 96000 litres per day of grey water is produced in the village.
Considering the potential of treated grey water, the Gram Panchayat implemented a grey water
treatment and reuse project. An external consultant was hired to provide technical support for
planning and implementation of the work. The village received the Nirmal Gram Purashkar
Award from the Ministry of Rural Development in 2006 (UNICEF, n.d.)
Technology Design and Reuse of grey water: The grey water of the village is channelized to
a pond, located in the outskirts of the village. For this purpose, the village was divided into
seven zones and RCC pipelines were laid for carrying the water. After retention in the pond,
the water is sold for farming activities. The Gram Panchayat earns INR 12000 per year by
selling the grey water.
Policy / Program Intervention: Funding of activities for rural sanitation was done under the
Total Sanitation Campaign.
Driver and Barriers:
The Nirmal Gram Purashkar Award, initiated in 2005 under the Total Sanitation Campaign,
offers incentives upto INR 5 lakh to Gram Panchayats for initiatives taken for sanitation, liquid
and solid waste management in their respective villages (DDWS, MoRD; 2010). It served as a
driver for undertaking sanitation related activities in rural areas by the Gram Panchayat
Total expenditure of the project was INR 12.76 lakh out of which the Gram Panchayat paid
INR 2.70 lakh and remaining amount was funded by the Finance Commission. For making the
contribution, the Gram Panchayat mobilized fund through sale of mud from the pond, milk
dairies of the village and collection of INR 500 from each beneficiary household. Thus an
economic model was created for the reuse of greywater.
The large quantum of grey water produced in rural areas can be effectively treated using natural
methods. Treated grey water can be used to generate revenue to sustain community led
projects.

9.1.3 Case study from Erode District, Tamil Nadu

In the rural areas of Anthiyur block of Erode district in Tamil Nadu, grey water from
households was being disposed in open land or in water bodies, which caused vector breeding
and contaminated surface water bodies. Brammadesam Panchayat has about 75 households
and was facing problems due to odour problems, mosquito breeding and water stagnation. To
address these issues, grey water management through vertical soak pit system was
implemented in the area, under MGNREG scheme during 2018-2019.
Technology Design and Reuse of grey water: A soak pit, is a covered chamber with a porous
wall which allows water to slowly soak into the ground. Soak pit of size 5.00 m X 5.00 m X

35
 2.25 m was excavated, along with an inspection chamber. The filter media was made of locally
available materials such as red gravel. Ground water recharge through the filtered grey water
was envisaged in this project
Policy / Program Intervention: The cost of the project was about INR 1.16 lakh (NREGA.
n.d.). Under MGNREGS, 88 days of unskilled manual work was provided to the registered
people and suitable construction materials were also provided.
Driver and Barriers:
Concerns about contamination of groundwater due to use of soak pits was a major challenge
in implementation of the project. The community was mobilized by the Gram Panchayat by
spreading awareness regarding soak pit systems.
Using a simple treatment system using locally sourced materials help sustaining sanitation
projects in rural areas. Work for low cost rural sanitation system can be done readily with the
help of Government schemes such as the MGNREGS.
The use of grey water for recharging ground water can prove to be beneficial in water stressed
areas. However, the quality of treated water used for recharge should be periodically monitored
to avoid contamination of ground water sources.

9.1.4 Grey water reuse in Ketti Valley, Tamil Nadu

The Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu, India, faces frequent periods of dry weather, which affects
tea plantations, horticulture, and vegetable cultivation in the region. Under the “Securing Water
for Food” (SWFF) program, the Netherland based organization WASTE along with Rural
Development Organization, an NGO based in Tamil Nadu, implemented grey water recycling
project in Ketti Valley in 2017. The model involved treating grey water and using treated water
for irrigation in critical periods of low rainfall and in dry seasons. The other component of the
project was co-composing of fecal sludge for use in farming (Gupta, 2019).
Technology Design and Reuse of grey water: The grey water recycling system were installed
at individual household levels and at cluster levels. A DEWAT system was provided by
Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA-South Asia), wherein
grey water from the households is channelized to the treatment system. The treated water is
stored in farm ponds and then reused for irrigation.
Policy / Program Intervention: The Securing Water for Food program is supported by
USAID and the it aims to enable production of more food utilizing less water in developing
and emerging countries. The SWFF programme invests in innovations related to water-food
nexus that have high potential to be brought to scale.
Driver and Barriers: The design of grey water treatment system for Ketti Valley had to
consider technological options that will be suitable for temperature ranging from 5 to 25 degree
Celsius. The natural biological treatment system designed by BORDA served as simple, robust
system that required minimal operation and maintenance.
The reliance on grey water increased as it proved to be a reliable source of water compared to
conventional sources of irrigation like ponds and nearby river being depleted due to dry season
and changes in rainfall patterns.
Under this project, the faecal sludge co-composting units were operated by women. The project
thus, facilitated women to take the role of agri-entrepreneurs and sustain themselves financially
by selling compost farmers.

36
 Grey water treatment and reuse model for agriculture in rural region can be complemented
with faecal sludge composting. This will address the problems of treatment and disposal of
waste as well as reduce dependency of farmers on chemical fertilizers

9.2 International Case Studies

9.2.1 Case Study from Tannoura, Lebanon

Tannoura is a remote, rural region of Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, which faces severe water
shortage. The only source of fresh water in the area was the spring, which was polluted due to
sewage contamination. For domestic usage, residents of Tannoura had to buy water by the
truckload, costing around 10$ per load of 2000 liters. About four such loads were required
every month, which proved to be very expensive for the families. To make optimum use of
available water, households directly reuse greywater from kitchen, laundry and floor washing
multiple times before discharging the water. Grey water treatment project was implemented in
the area to treat the greywater of the households so that it can be reused for irrigation
Technology Design and Reuse of Grey Water: The grey water treatment kit consisted of four
plastic (PE) barrels, lined up and interconnected with PVC pipes. The first barrel is a grease,
oil and solids separator, where the solid matter from influent greywater settles and the floating
components, such as grease and soap foam floats. This barrel has a large cover to allow
cleaning the floating and settled material. In the next two barrels, anaerobic bacteria break
down organic matter present in the grey water. The last barrel acts as a storage tank for treated
greywater. As soon as it is filled, the electric pump gets activated which then delivers the
treated water through the drip irrigation network to water the plants. About 20-30 trees can be
irrigated with grey water produced from families of 6-8 members. (IDRC, 2007)
Policy/Program Intervention: The “Grey Water Treatment and Use” project, funded by the
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) was implemented in Tannoura, in 2006.
It equipped the households with grey water treatment kits, in which the collected grey water is
treated anaerobically and then pump it to irrigate vegetables and fruits in gardens of the
household. Seedlings and fruit plants were also distributed under the project, which will be
irrigated by the treated Grey Water.
Driver and Barriers: The project made irrigation water available for the households who
could grow crops in their backyards. It also reduced the health risk posed by repeated use of
untreated grey water. The volume of greywater being disposed to the cess pits was reduced,
thus the problem of cess pit overflow was also reduced. As households had to depend on pump
trucks to empty the cess pits, cost savings were also incurred due to the project.
Prior to implementation of the project, a social and gender survey was conducted where it was
realized that the women of the households were responsible for fetching and managing water.
Thereafter, the project included women in the local grey water committee, empowering them
to take part in key decision making process. Thus women became the key supporters of the
project (El-Hajj, 2010).
Grey water has a large potential for reducing water stress in areas which face acute water
shortage. By treating grey water to safe levels and using it for irrigation of consumables,
additional food security can be achieved in rural areas. Conducting a social and gender analysis
prior to implementation of projects can help the project team obtain key information regarding
the social dimension of water access and management in the project area, thus enabling them
to identify key stakeholders for sustaining the project.

37
9.2.2 Case Study from Arba Minch, Ethiopia
The Arba Minch town of Ethiopia has a total population of 75000. About 45.7 litre of grey
water is produced daily by each household. A baseline study carried out by the ROSA project
(Resource-Oriented Sanitation concepts for peri-urban areas in Africa) in 2007 revealed that
94% of the households discharge the greywater they produce and only 6% use greywater for
gardening. To initiate reuse of grey water, individual household level greywater towers were
installed for a community of 9 households covering 45 inhabitants. Grey water was used to
grow vegetables in these towers.
Technology Design and Reuse of Grey Water: The greywater tower is a circular bag
containing a mixture of ash and compost, with a gravel column at the center. Available grey
water from household is collected and poured to the gravel column. Leafy plants or vegetables
are planted in holes cut in the sides of the bag.
Policy/Program Intervention: The EU-funded project ROSA aims at presenting resources-
oriented sustainable sanitation concepts. After conducting a baseline study and demand
assessment on sanitation in Arba Minch, options for safe reuse and disposal of greywater was
identified, through research conducted by Arba Minch University and other international
partners working on the ROSA project. The construction costs of first two units were covered
by the ROSA project budget. The other seven units were built with cost sharing whereby 75%
of the cost borne by the households and the remaining 25% was covered by the ROSA project
budget.
Driver and Barriers: The acceptability for the grey water towers were observed amongst the
households as the units could be easily managed by the users. There is no waste emission
caused by the unit. After one year strengthening the unit and planting new leafy plant seedlings
is required, which can be done by the household.
The total cost of implementing the water towers was 180 Euro. Investment for each unit was
thus 20 Euro. Hence, the households could afford to bear the 75% cost to avail the treatment
system.
Provision of low cost innovative technologies can help in management of greywater from
individual households.

38
10. Conclusions & Recommendations

Wastewater management needs to be given bigger impetus for sustainability of water resources
and overall water security. The typical approach of wastewater management requires a shift
from being considered a ‘waste’, to be treated as a valuable resource that can be beneficially
reused and can serve as an alternative source of water. The idea should be to go beyond
pollution abatement to fully utilise the potential of wastewater as a valuable resource.
Greywater management offers a significant opportunity to reduce the burden of untreated
wastewater discharge responsible for pollution of water bodies and associated risks to human
health and the environment.
There exists a wide range of low cost, simple to implement technologies that are widely suited
for application at different levels of rural areas viz, household, community and village level.
Establishing an integrated framework for application of such technologies with engagement of
all the relevant stakeholders, backed by adequate training and awareness programs, innovative
financial mechanisms and conducive policies can bring about a significant impact and success
to wastewater management in rural areas.
In light of this and the discussions in the various sections of this document, following
recommendations are being made

10.1 Policy & Regulatory

• With increasing water demand & use and subsequently increasing wastewater discharge &
pollution load to water bodies, decentralised wastewater treatment options need to be
aggressively promoted since they offer considerably low cost treatment options over
centralised treatment with the flexibility of size, and ease of implementation specially in
the rural areas.
• The policies and programs in India related to sanitation has traditionally focused on
construction of toilets and treatment & disposal of sewage and industrial wastewater. For
a comprehensive and sustainable decentralised wastewater and sanitation system it is
important that besides the toilet facilities, the greywater management systems finds a
widescale integration within the sanitation schemes and programs at national and state
level.
• For effective implementation and practical uptake of greywater treatment and reuse
systems, dedicated policies need to be framed with specific fit-for-purpose treatment and
reuse standards developed for various applications.

10.2 Technological
• There exists a wide array of technological options for greywater treatment and reuse across
the world. A review of such options suggests that in the rural context, several of such
technologies can be suitably used and promoted at different levels. These for example
includes Soak Pits, Leach Pits & Kitchen Gardens at household level as well as Community
Leach Pit, Community Soak Pit & Community Kitchen garden at community level with a
small group of households; while technologies such as Waste Stabilization Pond (WSP),
Duckweed Ponds, Constructed Wetlands (HFCWs & VFCWs), Reed Bed/Phytorid etc. at
the village level.
• Some of the most important factors that must be considered while choosing the
technologies include the capital and O&M costs, physical and geographical environment,

39
 local availability of manpower and material, socio-economic circumstances, legal
framework, characteristics/quality and quantities of greywater, effluent disposal or reuse
priorities etc.
• For off-site treatment technologies it is critical to consider the distance of treatment site
(long distance are costly), availability of land (Government land availability), reliability
of electricity (for technologies requiring electricity), neighbourhood (treatment site to be
away from residential areas), geological conditions (Soil type, groundwater table).

10.3 Financial
• A typical design of greywater treatment system should consider, (a) the software
component (involving funds for support/IEC activities such as demand creation and
behaviour change, capacity building of stakeholders, monitoring, etc.), (b) hardware
component (involving capital expenditure for greywater treatment and reuse
infrastructure); and (c) O&M Component (involving funds for O&M for infrastructure
sustainability).
• Financial planning for greywater systems must include the investment costs of land,
construction, material transportation, lab testing of greywater, running cost (including
personnel cost for O&M, de-slugging etc.)
• Greywater must be considered an economics resource. Although the economic potential
comes from the possible water savings or income from the by-products (e.g. irrigation
water, biogas, nutrients as well etc.), it is difficult to comprehend as the pricing of water
remains irrational in most part of the country.
• Water supply system in water stressed rural areas can be augmented through reuse of
treated grey water. The funds under various Government programs aimed at sanitation and
hygiene can be utilized to establish treatment systems, while involving the stakeholders for
its operation and maintenance can help in long term sustainability of these systems

10.4 Stakeholder Engagement

• Regular stakeholder engagement is one of the key factors for success of decentralised
options for greywater treatment and reuse. It is imperative to engage with the local
communities, households, the GPs (Gram Panchayats) as well as block and district level
authorities to design options for treatment and reuse. This is critical factor for long term
sustainability of the identified interventions.
• One of the major bottlenecks in rural areas is the behavioural barriers on reuse of
wastewater. Coordinated engagement for awareness and capacity building programs of
local communities is must to overcome such barriers. Full awareness should be created
regarding the relevant schemes/programs at household & community level.

10.5 Implementation Strategy

• The guiding principle for implementation of greywater treatment and reuse systems must
include the identification of appropriate & feasible technologies at different levels viz. -
household, community, and the village-level; It must have adequate planning for
operations & maintenance (O&M); It must also have adequate stakeholder engagement,
awareness & capacity building; It should develop innovative financing and viable business
models for greywater treatment and reuse; & It must ensure regulatory compliance and
adequate monitoring & evaluation.

40
 • The interventions and initiatives must be monitored in a planned manners involving the
District and Panchayat level stakeholders. At GP level, Panchayat or Ward members can
monitor different wards or hamlets, while at district level District Water and Sanitation
Mission can facilitate the process.
• Regular monitoring should be done for soft activities, waste management behaviour.
Construction of hardware (infrastructure) as per norms and quality, functioning of O&M
etc.

10.6 Options for Treated Greywater Reuse

The key identified reuse options for treated greywater include
• Residential reuse: Main reuse options include flushing of toilets, cleaning, gardening,
plantation etc.). However care needs to be given for proper O&M and functioning of the
chosen technological options for reuse.
• Irrigation Reuse: Most significant reuse potential of treated greywater is for irrigation in
agricultural areas. Many greywater treatment technologies provide a good option for reuse
in irrigation. One of the main concerns though is potential risk to crops (decrease in crop
yield) and land degradation due to excess salts accumulated in water and soils.
Suitability of irrigation, salinity management, salt tolerance of the cultivated crop and
characteristics of the irrigated soil must be evaluated for irrigation water reuse.
• Groundwater recharge: Recharge feasibility of subsurface infiltration depends
significantly on the type and structure of recipient soil in the region. Sandy or loamy soils
are best suited for infiltration while coarse sand, gravel or clayey soils are not suited for
greywater infiltration.
The use of grey water for recharging ground water can be beneficial in water stressed areas.
However, the quality of treated water used for recharge should be periodically monitored
to avoid contamination of ground water sources.

10.7 Health & Precautions

• Greywater reuse comes with potential risk to human health due to microbial and chemical
contamination from greywater that can transmit diseases. Direct human contact with
greywater must be avoided and cross connection with potable water supply must be
prevented.
• Greywater must be adequately disinfected and other advanced treatment should be applied
for it to meet the desired standard before its use in toilet flushing or for washing.
• Greywater contains high salt content (sodium and chloride), that are harmful to some plant
species and cause a high sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) in soil resulting in degradation and
reduction in permeability and aeration of soil
• Applicable guideline and standards (set by CPCB) for discharge of treated effluent must
be followed and met before wastewater is used for irrigation
Overall thus, successful greywater management necessitates a combination of interventions
including use of efficient & affordable technologies, wider dissemination of technological
know-how & best practices, conducive policy implementation, sustainable finance
mechanisms as well as inclusive water management with involvement, awareness and capacity
building of the relevant stakeholders and local communities.

41
References
• Morel A., Diener S. 2006. Greywater Management in Low and Middle-Income Countries,
Review of different treatment systems for households or neighbourhoods. Swiss Federal
Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). Dübendorf, Switzerland
• EAWAG, SANDEC, ETH DUWIS. 2005. Greywater Treatment on Household Level In
Developing Countries - A State Of The Art Review; 2005. EAWAG, SANDEC, ETH
DUWIS. 2005.
• Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation. From ODF To ODF Plus Rural Sanitation
Strategy: 2019–2029. Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Ministry of Jal
Shakti, Government of India.
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