Groundbreaking idea saves plenty

By Jerd Smith, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 13, 2007 at midnight

Text size

More Local News

LOUISVILLE - In a small house, just off main street, a tiny in-house recycling system that cost $1,500 gathers water from the showers and redistributes it to the home's four toilets.

The result: a reduction in home water use of as much as 30 percent.

It's a groundbreaking idea in Colorado, a state where the use of so-called gray water has long been controversial.

Dave Kreutzman, chief executive officer of New Generation Energy, said he's been able to win permits for 12 home systems in cities such as Louisville, Boulder and Fort Collins, but it's an uphill, house-by-house battle.

Kreutzman said the systems are widely used in Canada and in other Western states, such as Montana and New Mexico.

But not in Colorado, at least not yet.

Many cities, including Denver, have yet to approve their use, either because of health concerns or because of concerns about how the systems could affect the state's complicated water rights system.

Dave Akers, a water quality specialist for the Colorado Department of Public and Environment, said the systems don't raise any red flags from a waste disposal or water quality perspective, but he said cities and counties may have a different take on the devices.

"Part of the issue is the quality of the water," Akers said. "Where you're normally putting potable water to use, now you're using non-potable water. Even though it's treated with chlorine, it's a different level of risk that decision makers have to assess and that's different for every community."

Most conservation activists have long argued that using fresh, clean drinking water in toilets is wasteful.

This system, manufactured by Canada's Brac Systems, eliminates some of that waste by gathering bath water, running it through small filters, treating it with chlorine, and then distributing it to home toilet tanks.

Whether these systems will become widely used is anyone's guess.

"Everyone wants to say they're illegal," Kreutzman said. "But no one wants to say here's the statute that shows why they're illegal. It's unbelievable. All we're doing is taking water that's being used for your bath tub and shower and re-using it in your toilet. If that's illegal, then so are hot tubs and so are swimming pools (which also use recirculating systems)."

Mike Jones, Louisville's chief building officer, said his town decided to approve the systems because, for indoor use in toilets, they pose few if any problems and they save water.

"I think it's important to look at these kinds of systems because of the conservation issue," Jones said. "This is essentially a recirculating system that is totally self-contained. We feel very comfortable with that."

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News