U.S. greywater workshops- San Francisco area and Olympia, WA

For anyone interested in using small greywater systems to process
biodiesel wash water- these folks are pioneers in simple, robust systems
for residential use (I've lived with a few of their systems at various
times and they work REALLY well for residential use, and can tolerate
some biodiesel wash water). These teachers are not biodieselers and are
not on the biodiesel lists, so contact them through the links below.
They're also not biodiesel producers so don't send them questions about
processing biodiesel wash water (they may not understand methanol's
biodegradability, by the way)- but the systems should be the same
regardless of what they're processing.


 The additional changes needed to process biodiesel wash water through a
greywater system include:
-get any extra oils (trapped biodiesel) out of the water using a simple
grease trap (their workshops teach you how to build one)
-neutralize the soaps in the water using acids (bring the water to a pH
4.5 with sulfuric or phosphoric acid to break up the soap, then
neutralize with lime or other alkali back to pH 7- I"ve never done the
second step (the lime part) so I can't tell you how well it works. If
you're lazy like me just neutralize to pH 7 rather than 4.5)
-Piedmont Biofuels uses a system similar to the Greywater Guerillas,
with the addition of an aquarium aerator in the first greywater tank,
which I've done at home for shower water as well, and it can help with
the high BOD of biodiesel wash water.

Mark

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Fall 2007: Upcoming Workshops with the Greywater Guerrillas!

Sep. 22nd San Francisco, California- Presentation
Sep. 25th Berkeley, California -Presentation
Oct. 7th Olympia, Washington -Greywater Installation and Design Workshop
Oct. 13th Berkeley, California  – Greywater design workshop

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9/22 San Francisco, CA
Greywater, Rainwater, and Composting Toilets- Reconnecting Your Home to
the Water Cycle
Part of West Coast Green: Residential Building Conference and Expo
2-3pm
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Room 414.  99 Grove Street, San Francisco, CA
http://www.westcoastgreen.com/ <http://www.westcoastgreen.com/>

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Tuesday 9/25 Berkeley, CA
Home Water Conservation Solutions:
Greywater systems, Constructed Wetlands, and Composting Toilets
A joint presentation with Laura Allen from the Greywater Guerrillas and
Babak Jacinto Tondre of the EcoHouse/ Ecology Center

This workshop will overview pressing water issues and  focus on a variety of
inexpensive and tangible household water conservation strategies.

Green City Gallery
1950 Shattuck Ave. (Downtown Berkeley)
6:30-8:00 pm.
$15 no one turned away
http://www.digcity.coop/greencitygallery
For more info contact;
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

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10/7 Olympia, WA
Greywater system design and installation workshop
10 am -5 pm
 Location tba
For more info contact:
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

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Saturday 10/13 Berkeley, CA
Greywater Design Workshop

Interested in installing a greywater system? Need some advice on how to
get started? Come to our Greywater Design Workshop!

This workshop will start with an overview of design options, then switch
to small groups helping participants design their own system. Everyone
must RSVP! Once registered, we'll send you a worksheet to fill out at
home preparing you for the workshop. The small groups will be led by
experienced greywater teachers to help you create a design for your own
home.

Oct. 13th at the Green City Gallery
1950 Shattuck Ave. (Downtown Berkeley)
11:00am to 1:00 pm
$15-20 sliding scale, no one turned away.
For more info contact;
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>