Fall

08

Grey Water Systems

Engineers for a Sustainable World

Stanford University

June 8th, 2009

Prepared by:
Jonathan Glassman
Becca Kanegawa
Diane Lee
Andrew Martinez

Final Portfolio
Table of Contents
Executive Summary..............................................................3
Assessment of Current Grey Water Systems...........................5
Grey Water Content.......................................................................................... 5
Water Usage..................................................................................................... 5
System Components........................................................................................ 5
Sink.............................................................................................................. 5
Grease Trap.................................................................................................. 6
Filter............................................................................................................. 7
Terrain.............................................................................................................. 8
Objectives............................................................................9
Grey Water Quality Standards..........................................................................9
Discussion of Grease Trap Prototype....................................10
Increased Volume Capacity............................................................................11
Exterior Pipe Connections.............................................................................. 11
Inlet and Outlet Baffles.................................................................................. 11
Sludge Catcher............................................................................................... 11
Insights........................................................................................................... 12
Design Recommendations....................................................12
Sink................................................................................................................ 12
Grease Trap.................................................................................................... 14
Basic Recommendation.............................................................................. 15
Optional Recommendations.......................................................................18
Filter............................................................................................................... 20
Intermittent Sand Filter.............................................................................. 21
Rapid Multi-media Vertical Filter.................................................................24
Proposed Alternatives.........................................................27
Mulch Basin.................................................................................................... 28
Community Grey Water Treatment System....................................................29
Irrigation Application...................................................................................... 30
System Costs......................................................................30
Next Steps.......................................................................... 32
Works Cited........................................................................33
Appendix............................................................................ 35
Filter Treatment Efficiency:............................................................................. 35

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Executive Summary
Through Engineers for a Sustainable World, Stanford University students
collaborated with SARAR Transformación in an effort toward a sustainable
water and sanitation program for the community in San Miguel Suchixtepec
in Oaxaca, Mexico (population: 2,500). The overall program is broken up into
four sub-projects: water quality, grey water systems, popostero design, and
dry sanitation and hygiene. This sub-project concerns the development of
domestic grey water systems.

SARAR Transformación designed the original grey water systems while the
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Grupo Saneamiento Ecologico (SAE) installed
the systems in 38 homes in San Miguel Suchixtepec in February 2008. As a
result, kitchen and laundry water from the basin sink was no longer
untreated runoff; instead, it was typically diverted through a particle filter,
grease trap, and vertical filter, ultimately supplying water for ornamental
plants. The broader goal of removing nitrates, phosphates, pathogens, and
other constituents through grey water treatment was to reduce the risk of
health and environmental hazards. These hazards included human
contamination and eutrophication in the upper watersheds of the Copalita,
Zimatan, and Huatulco river region of Oaxaca, Mexico. One year later,
however, only 8-10 of the 38 grey water systems installed continue to be
properly and regularly maintained.

This report presents design recommendations for an updated grey water

system that is more robust, easily installed and maintained, and made of
local materials. The aim through these design recommendations is to
motivate sustained maintenance by the women in the household who
currently take on the responsibilities of the grey water system. Inaccessibility
and difficulty in cleaning factor in to the current lack of grey water system
maintenance.

To develop an understanding of both community context and technological

considerations, the team utilized the ESW April 2009 San Miguel Suchixtepec
Assessment Report and “Guía Preliminar” from SARAR Transformación, along
with other preliminary materials. The team continued to conduct
an exploration of grey water technologies both in more developed and
developing communities. Based on both cultural and terrain limitations in the
local community and through counsel from SARAR Transformación, the team
ultimately pursued design recommendations to improve the current grey
water system in lieu of proposing alternative technologies or an
educational/motivational program.

The design recommendations span over three components of the grey water
system: the basin sink, grease trap, and vertical filter. Influenced by
prototyping, existing systems, and scholarly articles, the recommendations

3
account for appropriate sizing dimensions given typical domestic water
usage flow rates, capacity volumes, and required detention times for optimal
system performance. Along with the dimensional recommendations are the
following suggested design features to promote convenient maintenance.

A colander or strainer-like particle filter is recommended for the sink. These

filters come in many different shapes and sizes to accommodate the non-
standard size of sink orifices and are available in utility stores. The in-sink
filter also removes food scraps and large particles before the grey water
passes through the system. It is also recommended if possible to build the
sink holding table at a height of 65 cm such that the grease trap tank would
be able to fit underneath it.
The grease trap capacity should be approximately 90 L to accommodate for
the flow rate of 100 L/hr. PVC Unions or flexible pipe connections can be
added to the inlet and outlet pipe to make the grease trap assembly easier
to disconnect for cleaning. A baffle lid design feature acts to dissipate the
inlet stream fluid velocity laterally as well as vertically as to not disturb the
already settled particles or grease layer. A flush drain can be added near the
bottom of the tank for convenient discharge of the contents inside. Optional
grease trap recommendations include a grease siphon, inclined sludge plane,
and sludge basket, each of which serve to minimize direct contact with grey
water when cleaning the systems.

The design recommendation for the vertical filter is to implement an

intermittent sand filter in place of the current multi-media filter. While sand
filters are used in drinking water systems and provide for a high quality of
effluent, they are also appropriate for these grey water system because of
the possibility of human excreta and pathogens being introduced into the
system. The sand filter is also easier to maintain than the existing multi-
media filter because only the top layer of sand media in the filter has to be
regularly replaced, compared to digging out and replacing all of the particle
media in the drum.

Finally, the report includes projected quantitative data including cost and
effective effluent quality calculations based on our design
recommendations. Based on the original designs of SARAR Transformación,
these design recommendations for retrofitting and new systems ultimately
contribute to the development of a technically appropriate and contextually
viable grey water system that promotes sustained household maintenance.

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Assessment of Current Grey Water Systems
Grey Water Content
The known content of the community grey water resulting from kitchen and
laundry activities included food particles, cooking oil and grease, various
biodegradable soaps and possible pathogen content from diaper washing
(Bulnes, 2009). Other typical constituents are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Typical constituents of grey water (Source: “Greywater Reuse in Rural Schools:
Guidance Manual”)

Water Usage
Current household water usage included both flow rate as well as capacity
data, which was relevant to the team’s study. Dishes typically produced 20L
of grey water in 30 minutes, while laundry produced approximately 100L in
one hour. Overall grey water loads ranged between 100 – 300 L per day. The
intended grey water detention time in the grease trap was 30 minutes
(Bulnes 2009). While this data varied among households, it provided a basis
for appropriate sizing requirements.

System Components
All current grey water systems incorporated gravity-flow systems. However,
the team recognized along with SARAR Transformación that the current
grease traps and vertical filters were not sized appropriately for optimal
performance. Furthermore, the team identified components of the grey water
system difficult for users to access, operate and maintain. The effluent water
quality of the treated grey water was unknown.

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Sink
The current sinks ranged in dimension, with various drainage hole sizes and
heights above the ground. This variation presented challenges for the team
to offer standard recommendations for the sink. The team observed that
sufficient height was necessary to allow proper flow of grey water from the
sink. There were no sinks observed that utilized any kind of particle filter
around the drainage hole. A few homes utilized a consolidated grey water
system design, with the grease trap located directly beneath the sink, given
an accommodating sink height.

Figure 1: Various sink set-ups. (Source: ESW Assessment 2009)

Grease Trap
The current grease trap was not large enough to accommodate the threshold
water usage flow rates and grey water volumes. The current grease trap
containers held a volume of 20 L. This capacity was insufficient to handle the
flow rate of 100L/hr (Bulnes 2009).

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Other design aspects of the grease trap discouraged sustained maintenance
due to difficulty of disassembly from the rest of the system and other tasks
that involved a user to be in frequent contact with grey water.

Through two holes in the grease trap bucket, PVC pipes connected the
grease trap to the rest of the grey water system. These pipes were typically
two inches in diameter. They were located inside the grease trap bucket and
consequently often submerged in dirty water, grease, and other grime. As a
result, they did not allow for easy disassembly and required user contact with
grey water. Due to this inconvenience, grease traps were often idle and were
not emptied out and cleaned regularly.

User contact with grey water during cleaning appeared to be the main factor
in discouraging consistent maintenance. Skimming the top layer of
accumulated grease from the grease trap before emptying the other
contents and a submerged particle filter required the user to be in contact
with grey water.

Figure 2: Current grease trap and particle filter designs. (Source: ESW Assessment 2009)

Filter
The last step in the grey water treatment system is the vertical filter. The
current vertical filter systems consisted of a typically 55-gallon drum
containing bark, pumice, gravel, and river stones constituting the filter
media. The various media aid in the removal of bacteria, viruses, turbidity,
and other grey water constituents. The removal and treatment efficiency of
the filter is dependent on the media used, the depth of each media layer,
and the flow rate entering the filter.

The effluent from the vertical filter was ideally deposited into a garden for
ornamental plants. While both vertical and horizontal filters were currently
used, vertical filters are more heavily documented in the Assessment Report
and are the focus of this report.

In some current filters, influent was disposed onto the top of the filter from a
free-flowing pipe, rather than spread out evenly across the filter in smaller,
individual loadings. To solve this problem, some filters had a perforated pipe
placed over the top. While this prevented an excessive loading on one small
area of the filter and thus limited damage due to water puncturing through

7
the top layer of the filter, the perforated pipe still did not utilize the entire
surface area of the filter.

There were several concerns regarding current media type. There appeared
to be a lack of fine particles included in the filter media to remove bacteria
and other constituents in the grey water. Additionally, there was little
information regarding the properties of pine bark used in the top layer of
current filter media. Though the bark was effective because it fostered the
growth of microorganisms that helped treat the grey water, users were
unaware that it had to be replaced frequently. Since the team could not
obtain detailed properties of the media in the current vertical filter, the
effectiveness of the effluent was unknown and could not be calculated.

The current filter design also discouraged maintenance. As a multi-media

filter with larger media at the top and smaller at the bottom, the fine
particles in the grey water got trapped throughout the entire depth of the
filter as the water trickled downwards. This required that all of the media got
cleaned out on a regular basis.

Without regular cleaning, there were not enough pore spaces to allow the
water to filter through and resulting flow rates were drastically reduced.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of the filter decreased with increase use as
less of the media surface area was available for the grey water particles to
attach. Many of the households were unaware of the maintenance
requirements of the current multi-media filters.

Figure 3: Current filter designs. (Source: ESW Assessment 2009)

Terrain
Terrain issues were a constraining factor of the current grey water
systems. Many of the households were built on steep and vertical slopes and
had extremely limited space for the grey water system components. As a
result, the placement of the current grey water systems on this terrain
hindered accessibility and consequently, convenient maintenance.

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 Figure 4: Example of local terrain. (Source: ESW Assessment 2009)

Objectives
The original team objectives were to revisit the current designs of the grease
trap and filter, research solutions to improve efficiency, offer a portfolio of
viable system recommendations and/or technological alternatives, and
develop educational/motivational materials. As a result of later information
and counsel from SARAR Transformación, the project focus shifted solely on
improving the current grease trap and vertical filter technology.

The recommendations of this report will focus on the sizing and design
features of the sink, grease trap, and vertical filter. The main focus of the
design recommendations is to improve the ease with which the system can
be maintained. The team will also provide data on the treatment efficiency
of the proposed vertical filters, as well as cost calculations for the proposed
system.

Grey Water Quality Standards

There are currently limited standards available for the quality of grey water
effluent when used for landscape purposes. The World Health Organization's
only recommendation is that there is a fecal coliform count of less than
1000CFU/100mL (Table 2). The other guidelines focus on turbidity, dissolved
oxygen, and pH levels. Hence, in the recommendations, the team has sought
to provide removal efficiencies to reduce the fecal coliform count, which
minimizes the potential health hazards of re-using grey water. To best
remove any pathogens, an appropriately designed filter is necessary.
Through this filter, fine particles on the order of micrometers, will be
removed from the effluent. This includes bacteria (0.5-10 μm), chemical
precipitates (1-1000 μm), and "turbidity" (0.1-10 μm) (CEE 271A Course
Reader).

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 Table 2: Summary of water quality standards and criteria suitable for domestic water
recycling (Salvato, 2003)

Discussion of Grease Trap Prototype

The team constructed a grease trap prototype using materials that were
purchased locally from Home Depot. The figure below is a visual comparison
of the current grease traps used in the town with the grease trap that was
constructed at Stanford.

Figure 5: Current working grease traps in

San Miguel Suchixtepec (Source: ESW Figure 6: Prototype developed at Stanford
Assessment 2009) University.

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 Inlet and
Outlet Baffles

Easy-to-disconnect
connections

Sludge
catcher

Figure 7: Grease trap prototype with key features highlighted in red.

Increased Volume Capacity

There are several changes to the original design that have been incorporated
in the prototype. One significant change is the increase in volume. SARAR
Transformación has been aware that the grease traps currently employed in
the town are too small for the expected flow rates. They requested a grease
trap with a volume of at least 90 L (approximately 23 gallons). The container
used for the grease trap prototype has a volume of 18 gallons. Though the
prototype volume is smaller than the size suggested by SARAR
Transformación, it was selected because it was a readily available container
that was significantly larger than the original current grease trap volume.

Exterior Pipe Connections

The team also incorporated features in the prototype to make the grease
trap easier to clean, especially by minimizing direct contact between the
user and grey water. One of the modifications included pipe connections on
the exterior of the grease trap container walls that were easy to remove by
twisting. The connections shown in Figure 7 illustrate the exterior union
connections. A flexible pipe fitting with clamps would also work.

Inlet and Outlet Baffles

Inlet and outlet baffles were added to replace the current T-shape pipe
connections. The purpose of the inlet baffle was to direct influent downward
so that incoming grey water does not disturb the grease layer residing on top
of the water already within the grease trap. The outlet baffle prevents grease
from exiting with the water effluent. Both of these baffles were attached to
the lid of the container so that they could be easily removed for cleaning
purposes.

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Sludge Catcher
The sludge catcher was another feature of the prototype. This design was
constructed from thick metal wires and a metal mesh. Its purpose was to
quickly remove accumulated sediment and sludge at the bottom of the
grease trap without requiring the user to completely drain the grease trap.
The catcher utilized wire handles so the user minimized contact with grey
water. The sludge catcher would not eliminate the need to periodically empty
out the contents of the grease trap, but aimed to reduce the frequency of
more rigorous cleanings.

Figure 8: Representation of the process that occurs in the grease trap. Influent enters
from the inlet pipe and is directed beneath the grease layer by the baffle. Within the
grease trap that grease is allowed to float to the top while sludge settles to the bottom.
Water is allowed to pass upwards into the outlet pipe toward the filter. The connection at
the outlet pipe prevents grease from exiting with the effluent.

Insights
Several, but not all, aspects of the prototype were incorporated in the final
design recommendations. While the baffle for the inlet pipe worked well
during the testing phase, that of the outlet pipe was difficult to construct.
The inlet pipe baffle was able to direct the influent downward below the
grease layer so that the settled grease layer was not disturbed. The outlet
baffle intended to prevent grease from leaving with the effluent, but for it to
work properly it required adhesion to the side wall of the grease trap so that
water only entered the outlet pipe from below the grease layer. This degree
of accuracy was particularly difficult to achieve in prototyping and was not
recommended.

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Design Recommendations
Sink
The sink design recommendations do not change the function of the sink but
rather work to easily integrate and improve pre-filtration for the grease trap
and vertical filter (Figure 9).

Figure 9: Recommended Sink Configuration

Colander/Strainer Particle Filter

It is recommended that a simple colander or strainer-like filter be used in the
sink to remove larger food and dirt particles (Figure 10). These types of filters
will help remove large scraps to prevent the filter from becoming clogged.
Furthermore, with the particle filter located in the sink, as opposed to inside
the grease trap, the user does not have to come in contact with settled
grease trap grey water during maintenance. Strainer-like sink filters come in
many different shapes and sizes and can be found at utility stores or even
fabricated from wire mesh and wire given a skillful hand.

Figure 10: Prefabricated removable strainers (McMaster Carr, 2009)

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Height and Layout
The structure that the sink is on should be sized such that grease trap can be
placed underneath it to utilize space constraints. This means that the height
from the bottom of the sink to the top of the grease trap be about 10 cm.
Using the height of the prototype as a reference, the recommended height of
the bottom of the sink to the floor is 50 cm. This is would put the height of
the top of the sink at about 65 cm, which is at about hip level for a average
woman in Mexico (Osuna-Ramirez, 2006). After the sink orifice, the plumbing
pipe should increase to two inches to ensure that the pipes do not clog.

Grease Trap
The recommended grease trap design has many advantages over the
existing design and works to implement simple design components for both
existing systems and new models. The recommendations are broken up into
two categories: basic feature recommendations and optional features
(Figures 12 and 19, respectively). The basic features are the easiest and
least expensive to implement in a working system, whereas the optional
feature makes the system initially more expensive and harder to construct,
but ultimately promote user maintenance.

Figure 11: Grease trap design with representative dimensions shown.

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 Figure 12: Grease Trap with Basic Features

Basic Recommendation
Container/Holding Tank
The grease trap container should be larger based on design flow rate of
100L/hr and capacity of 300L/d. For a grease trap to properly function the
fluid requires a 30 minute retention time to settle out the particles and
grease. As seen in the table and figure below, the container should be
approximately 90L. This size is based on an empirical fit of current
commercial grease traps (Figure 13) and should be viewed as a fairly
conservative number and allows for a safety factor with regards to inflow
rate. An appropriately sized system is imperative for proper functioning of
the entire system. Current systems are undersized (see “Current Grey Water
Systems” section) which leads to ineffective performance when grease and
particles bypass the grease trap and clog the subsequent filter.

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Figure 13: Polynomial fit to existing system volume requirements vs. inflow rate. Data from
(Zurn Plumbing Inc.)

Table 3: Recommended grease trap container volume for a given design flow rate

L/hr Fluid Volume Min (L)

20 53.15
40 62.90
60 72.61
80 82.29
100 91.92
120 101.52
140 111.08
160 120.61
180 130.09
Quick Disconnect for Inlet/Outlet pipes
There are two quick disconnection methods, with the first method being
advantageous to the second. The first method consists of a simple flexible
pipe fitting with either screw type or butterfly clamps. The fitting can be
found in most utility stores and are widely used in plumbing applications. The
second is a screw type PVC (recommendation for PET) union (Figure 14). The
unions may be more difficult to find in larger sizes but are easy to connect
and disconnect and do not require tools. Both methods allow the user to
disconnect the grease trap container from the plumbing, thus making
cleaning the system easier. The user must no longer reach into the tank to
disconnect the pipes, reducing the possibility of contact with the fluid.

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Figure 14: Inlet and outlet connection recommendations, PVC Union type and flexible pipe
coupling type

Bottom Flush Drain

A flush drain can be added near the bottom of the holding tank to make the
process of discharging the holding water during a cleaning cycle easier. The
most challenging parts of installing a bottom drain are ensuring a seal as
well as a flush finish on the inside of the tank. Figure 5 shows one method,
which uses PVC bushings and female to pipe connection to create a force
seal between inner and outer surface. This seal can be improved by the use
of a silicon sealer.

The flush drain will only be used when a cleaning cycle is required. The user
would situate the tank so that a smaller more manageable bucket can be
placed underneath the drain. This is accomplished by propping the grease
trap up using a brick, wood slap, or even a natural feature such as a mound
of dirt. The user would drain a portion of the tank fluid into the smaller
bucket and then dispose of the bucket into a mulch basin or infiltrating soil.
The system could also be set up to have the flush drain plumbed to an
appropriate disposal location so the user would only have to open the valve
to drain most of the fluid out of the system.

Figure 15: PVC bushing to female to pipe connection

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 Figure 16: Possible caps for the bottom drain, valve type or screw type

Baffle Lid
The purpose of the baffle lid is to dissipate the inlet flow velocity horizontally
and vertically to minimize disturbance to the grease layer and settled
particles (Figure 17 and 18). The baffle can be made of a PVC bucket,
laterally cut and adhered to the lid. It also allows for easier access when
trying to skim off the grease because the user would not have to navigate
around a T-connection. It should be noted that the T-connection is still
needed at the outlet to prevent the top grease layer from exiting with the
effluent (see “Insights” section).

Figure 17: Grease trap top view. Inlet baffle diffuses flow laterally and vertically

Figure 18: Baffle is fixed to the lid for easy removal and to allow for space for the fluid to
go under the baffle

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Optional Recommendations
The following recommendations are optional to implement as each would
add cost to the system, but would lessen user contact with grey water
(Figure 19). These designs should be prototyped first and integrated on a
trial basis before mass implementation.

Figure 19: Grease trap with all the options

Grease Siphon
The grease siphon design requires grease to be in a
liquid state, which may not necessarily the case. The
user would first plug the inlet and outlet pipes as to
isolate the holding tank. Then water would be added
slowly directly to the tank to raise the water level. The
water level would continue to rise as water is added
until it reaches the level of the grease siphon which
would then pull the top liquid grease layer down into
the pipe (Figure 20) and into another bucket that can
be carried away for proper disposal, such as in a
mulch basin.

Sediment Collector
The sediment collector design is also optional and
could be implemented (Figure 21). The sediment
collector can be made out of many different materials
but some sort of corrosive- resistant metal or plastic is
Figure 20: Grease siphon
recommended. The mesh material should be fine
in action. Fluid level
rises until the top layer
is siphoned into the
down pipe. 19
enough to trap most sediment but not necessarily all of it. Any sort of
mosquito netting should be adequate as it is as a particle filter in many
applications in the developing world. The intent of the sediment collector is
to be able to quickly clean the grease trap without emptying the tank. This
could prolong the time between intensive cleanings.

Figure 21: Sediment Collector

Inclined Sludge Plane

The purpose of the inclined sludge plane is to reduce the size of the
sediment collector by focusing the sediment to one area (Figure 22). By
concentrating the sediment and sludge to one area the collection and
removal process becomes easier. Care must be taken in installing this. If the
plate is not adhered properly and securely to the tank, then particles may fall
between the plate and sides of the tank. This would cause a large problem
and complicate user-maintenance.

Figure 22: Inclined Sludge Plane

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Filter
The design recommendations focus on improving two main concerns with the
current filter: treatment efficiency and ease of maintenance.

The treatment efficiency is based off of the ability to remove particles of

different sizes (mainly in the micrometer scale). This is called the collection
efficiency. The removal of uniformly sized particles in filter is due to diffusion,
interception, and sedimentation processes. Please see the appendix for
equations and parameters chosen for both vertical filter computations.

The ease of maintenance was qualified according to how often and difficult it
is to clean. The filters recommended require anywhere from weekly to no
maintenance.

Intermittent Sand Filter

In order to provide an effective and easy-to-maintain system, the team
recommends that an intermittent sand filter be installed. An intermittent
sand filter treats the water to a very high standard. Unlike rapid (multi-
media) filtration, which depends on physical removal of particles, this bio-
filter fosters microorganism growth to absorb and remove pathogens and
other fine colloids. The layer of microorganisms, the “schmutzdecke” or
biofilm, forms at the top few centimeters of the filter and takes two to three
weeks to fully develop.

The intermittent sand filter is designed to foster the growth of the biofilm.
Like any living organism, the microorganisms need food, water, and oxygen.
There are many rich nutrients in grey water which serves as food for the
microorganisms. To provide adequate water, a constant water level is
required (figure 19). This is why the outlet is 3 cm above the top of the sand
layer. The 3 cm of water is also shallow enough to keep the system aerobic
(with oxygen). The air vent is necessary to keep an adequate flow of oxygen
into the system.

The biofilm should not be disturbed. It must be allowed to have sufficient

contact time with the grey water. To do this, an overflow bucket is needed on
top of the filter to hold the water and slowly release it through a 0.05”
diameter hole at the bottom (refer to appendix for calculations). The 5 gal
bucket is sufficient to hold enough water for a flow rate up to 300L/d. A
diffuser plate, such as an aluminum or plastic sheet with holes in it, will let
the water sprinkle down onto the biofilm. To prevent overloading during the
rainy season, a top lid is necessary to keep the rainwater from entering the
system.

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 Figure 23: Sketch of critical components of the intermittent sand filter

After the grey water passes through the biofilm layer, it will enter the sand
media. The low filtration rates allow for long detention times in the sand
media. The remaining particles in the grey water are removed in the top
portion of the sand layer. Three different media will be used for the filter
(Table 4). Near the outlet pipe, the media may need to be larger than 15cm
to prevent clogging.
Table 4: Details of the media used in the intermittent sand filter

Grain
Porosi Lengt
Media Diameter
ty h (m)
(m)

First layer FINE SAND 3.0E-04 0.8 0.65

Second COARSE
Layer SAND 4.0E-03 0.8 0.05

Third Layer GRAVEL 1.5E-02 0.5 0.05

Treatment Efficiency
This system will treat the water up to drinking water quality standards, thus
meeting the grey water effluent standards documented earlier. The removal

22
efficiency for two particles, 0.5 and 1.0 μm, is over 99% (Table 5 and Figure
24).
Table 5: Collection and overall removal efficiency for two particle sizes in the intermittent
sand filter

Particle Size (μm)

Media
0.5 1.0

First layer FINE SAND 3.89E-03 2.74E-03

Second
Layer COARSE SAND 7.58E-04 7.51E-04

Third
Layer GRAVEL 2.26E-04 3.13E-04

Overall Filter Removal

Efficiency (%) 99.9 99.3

Figure 24: Particle removal efficiency for the Intermittent Sand Filter

According to a study done for a flow rate of 0.3m/hr and media size of
0.35mm sand, the removal efficiencies of fecal and total coliforms, turbidity,
and color are all above 88% (Table 6).

23
Table 6: Average percent removal of fecal and total coliform, turbidity, and color given flow
rate of 0.3m/h and media diameter of 0.35mm (Source: (Muhammad, Ellis, Parr, & Smith,
1996))

Average % Removal

FC TC Turbidity Color

98.0 97.3 88.9 88.2

Ease of Maintenance
With regards to maintenance, this system
is very simple to upkeep. Unlike the rapid
filters, this system should only be cleaned
when effluent flow rates become
unacceptably low. To clean the filter, a
process called “wet harrowing” should be
used. This is done by first closing the
effluent pipe and removing the lid and
diffuser plate. Using a bucket of clean
water, slowly pour the water into the filter. Figure 25: Decanting process in a
Being careful not to disturb or touch the filter (Source: (Lukacs, 2002))
biofilm and sand layers, swirl the water as
it is being poured in. This will loosen the dirt and other particles that have
accumulated in the filter such that they will be re-suspended in the water.
Then, using a cup, decant the dirt and water from the filter (Figure 25). If the
top of the filter becomes in great disrepair, then the top few centimeters of
sand could be removed. This is not recommended for common maintenance,
as this will destroy the biofilm layer, which takes two to three weeks to grow
again.

Rapid Multi-media Vertical Filter

This type of filter is currently implemented in the household’s grey water
systems. Unlike the intermittent sand filter, there is no biofilm layer. To
encourage microorganism growth, a layer of mulch (bark) could be used. The
team is recommending six different media layers that go from a large grain
diameter to a smaller one at the bottom (Figure 26 and Table 7). This will
allow the particles in the grey water to get trapped throughout the length of
the filter. The bottom two layers increase in diameter to prevent clogging of
the effluent pipe.

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 Figure 26: Sketch of the proposed multi-media filter

Table 7: Details of the media used in the multi-media filter.

Grain
Porosi Length
Media Diameter
ty (m)
(m)

First layer MULCH 7.5E-02 0.5 0.25

Second
Layer MED. GRAVEL 1.5E-02 0.5 0.10

Third Layer PEA GRAVEL 4.0E-03 0.5 0.10

Fourth
Layer FINE SAND 3.0E-04 0.8 0.20

Fifth Layer COARSE SAND 4.0E-03 0.8 0.10

Sixth Layer COARSE GRAVEL 2.0E-02 0.5 0.05

Care should be taken to evenly distribute the flow across the entire top
surface area of the filter. This could be done using the same diffuser plate as
described above. A splash plate could also be used. This is a square piece of
durable material that is placed on the top media layer directly under the inlet
pipe. When water hits the splash plate, the water will slowly fall over the
edges of the plate, thus decreasing velocity and spreading it out over a
larger area.

25
A T-connection at the inlet pipe could also help distribute the flow. It should
be rotated often so as not to wear down the same two locations. This last
method is not as highly recommended as the above two.

Treatment Efficiency
This filter does not remove pathogens and other small particles as well as
the intermittent sand filter (Table 8 and Figure 27).
Table 8: Collection and overall removal efficiency for two particle sizes in the multi-media
filter.

Particle Size (μm)

Media
0.5 1.0

First layer MULCH 6.55E-05 1.31E-04

Second
Layer MED. GRAVEL 1.40E-04 1.78E-04

Third
Layer PEA GRAVEL 3.01E-04 2.79E-04

Fourth
Layer FINE SAND 2.52E-03 1.74E-03

Fifth Layer COARSE SAND 4.82E-04 4.47E-04

Sixth
Layer COARSE GRAVEL 1.21E-04 1.65E-04

Overall Filter Removal

Efficiency (%) 75.5 62.4

26
 Figure 2: Particle removal efficiency for the Multi-media Filter.

Ease of Maintenance
The rapid multi-media filter requires regular maintenance. Since the particles
are trapped throughout the depth of the filter, all of the media will need to be
removed and thoroughly cleaned. This should be done on a monthly basis or
when effluent flow rates become unacceptably slow. The mulch layer will
need to be replaced on a weekly basis, depending on use. If not regularly
replaced, the mulch layer will begin to degrade and clog up the filter.

If available, this system could be adapted to be in the form of a dresser or

stacked tray system. Each layer of media would be placed in a separate
drawer. This will greatly increase the ease of maintenance, as it would not be
necessary to reach into a large 1m-high filter to remove all of the media.

The top of the tray system could be open to the atmosphere. This would
allow plants to be grown in the filter. Since components in soap, including
sodium, are harmful to most plants, there is a chance that the plants will not
survive.

Proposed Alternatives
The team developed several alternatives to the current grey water treatment
system in San Miguel Suchixtepec. These ideas have been discussed with
SARAR Transformación and are included in this section to illustrate ideas that
the team feels may be beneficial to the town in the future if space and other
issues can be resolved.

27
Mulch Basin
Mulch basins are a low-cost, effective, and easy way of treating grey water.
If space permits, the team highly recommends that a mulch basin be used
since it requires the least amount of maintenance and treats the grey water
to the appropriate level. They not only take the place of the filter, but also
make the grease trap and particle filter unnecessary. A major advantage of
the mulch basin is that it does not require any extensive engineering, unlike
the other proposed systems. The only engineering that is necessary is the
construction of the pipes and/or trenches that will carry the grey water from
the source to the basin itself.

The mulch basin should have an infiltration area of 20m2 (Figure8). This is the
area required for 376L/d (Ludwig, 2006). The pipe could be placed at the
same level as the top of the mulch basin. Grease and particles such as food
scraps rest on the top of the mulch and are allowed to compost. The water is
filtered through the mulch material and eventually flows towards a tree at
the center of the basin. If there is concern about having the pipe above
ground, then a flat stone could be placed on top of the pipe to cover it. Also,
the pipe could be placed 6” below the mulch surface and surrounded with
stones, creating a small cave. The only problem with the latter method is
that the inlet should be checked on a monthly basis to make sure that it has
not become clogged.

Figure 28: Mulch basin design sketch (Adapted from: (Ludwig, 2006))

A typical home in San Miguel Suchixtepec may require multiple mulch basins.
Space can be limited depending upon where the house is located in the
town, thus mulch basins can only be recommended on a case-by-case basis.
Instead of using mulch basins as the primary grey water treatment option,
the team recommends that where space is available, a mulch basin can be
constructed to handle overflow from the grease trap should this be a concern
for a particular grey water system.

Treatment Efficiency
There are no quantitative methods available to calculate the treatment
efficiency of the mulch basin. It is known that soil and mulch are excellent

28
natural methods for cleaning grey water. The living microorganisms in the
ground remove most harmful constituents of grey water and make the water
ready for ornamental application.

Ease of Maintenance
This system is by far the easiest to maintain, requiring the user to
occasionally remove particles that may be blocking the pipe and rearranging
the mulch material with a shovel. If a layer of scum forms at the pipe outlet,
it can be removed if desired. This is not vital to the effectiveness of the
mulch basin since the water will simply flow over the layer of solidified scum
and infiltrate at another location. If many large food scraps are present in the
effluent, then it may be necessary to remove them to ensure that these
particles do not block the pipe opening.

Community Grey Water Treatment System

Another option considered was to develop a centralized community grey
water treatment system. The benefits of a large-scale system are that
treatment is consolidated at an off-site location, thus no longer requiring
each resident to deal with cleaning and maintaining individual grey water
systems.

The image below (Figure 29) shows a bird’s eye view of the town. San Miguel
Suchixtepec is situated on top of a mountain ridge. The town can be divided
into separate zones where residences within each zone would have their
grey water delivered to a centralized location. These zones depend on the
geography of the town. Since the centralized grey water system would be
entirely gravity-controlled, it would be very difficult and costly to route pipes
from all homes to one centralized location. Instead, multiple treatment
locations can be utilized to service the needs of a particular town area. Grey
water can be treated downhill from the production source and the treated
water can then be used to irrigate gardens at the bottom of the hill and along
the slope, or can be released to the environment.

29
 Figure 29: Bird’s eye view of San Miguel Suchixtepec (Google Inc. , 2009)

There are two concerns with this type of system. One concern set forth by
SARAR Transformación is that neighbors may not want to work together to
install a collective grey water system. This type of system requires
collaboration from all participants and the fear is that not everyone will work
well together. Another concern is that additional land is required for this
collective grey water treatment system. To obtain this land, the government
must donate subplots for the town to use – this can be a timely and
uncertain process, one in which can be avoided by using individual
household grey water treatment systems.

Irrigation Application
Once the grey water has passed through the entire system, it is ready to be
applied to a household’s garden. Plants that would most likely do well with
grey water application are: oleander, rose, rosemary, bermuda grass,
honeysuckle, oaks, cottonwood, olive, ice plants, many native plants, and
juniper. Rhododendrons, hydrangeas, azaleas, violets, inpatients, begonias,
ferns, gardenias, camellias, and primroses may also survive, but are more
susceptible to high sodium and chloride levels. Plants that are very
susceptible and not recommended are: crape myrtle, redwoods, star jasmine,
holly, and deodar cedar. (Kennedy, 1995)

System Costs
This section provides an estimate of the costs to construct a grease trap and
intermittent sand filter. The price per piece of material was found in the list
of materials provided by SARAR Transformación. The table below shows the
costs for the proposed grease trap.

30
Table 9: Cost to construct a grease trap

per piece (US Quantity

Material Total Cost
dollars) Needed

Tote (18 gal) $3.88 1 $3.88

Bucket (5 gal) $4.00 1 $4.00

PVC Pipe (20ft) $7.60 1 $7.60

PVC Elbow $0.42 2 $0.84

PVC Tee $0.79 2 $1.58

Flexible Pipe
$4.21 2 $8.42
Connection
PVC Male Bushing $12.27 1 $12.27

PVC Cap $10.73 1 $10.73

PVC Female Adapt $17.39 1 $17.39

PVC Cement $5.54 1 $5.54

Silicon $3.70 1 $3.70

Wire (16-18 gauge) $4.28 1 $4.28

total $80.23

For the filter, the majority of the cost is due to the container itself (Table 10).
Since households with grey water systems currently installed already have
this, the cost is dramatically reduced.

Table 10: Cost to construct an intermittent sand filter.

per piece (US Quantity

Material Total Cost
dollars) Needed

Plastic Tub (200L) $94.40 1 $94.40

Lid for Tub $5.00 2 $10.00

Bucket w/lid (5 gal) $8.00 1 $8.00

Filter Media (sand) $17.85 0.17 $3.03

31
(m3)

Filter Media (gravel)

$11.13 0.03 $0.33
(m3)

Filter Media (course

$11.13 0.03 $0.33
gravel)

PVC Elbow $0.42 4 $1.68

Connection Pipes $7.60 1 $7.60

total $125.38

Next Steps
Given the proposed design recommendations in this document, SARAR
Transformación can determine if any features should be implemented. The
team’s recommendations focused on providing adequately sized components
to handle the threshold capacities, ensuring that the components would
adequately and reliably treat the grey water, and designing the components
to provide convenient, sustained maintenance.

As the Stanford ESW interns leave for San Miguel Suchixtepec for this
Summer 2009, the team hopes that they will be able to build a full-scale
working prototype incorporating some or all of the recommended features.
The ten weeks that they are there will provide them with enough time to use
the system and try performing the required maintenance duties. Since the
success of the grey water system greatly depends on household’s willingness
and ability to maintain the system, the interns should conduct a survey with
the households that have the proposed system installed to gauge preference
for the new design features. It should focus on aesthetics and any comments
on maintenance duties. As with any project, there are always ways to further
improve systems and make them more appealing. Hence, the survey will
allow future work to focus on the household’s needs and wants.

The water quality team has prepared a GPS system to map out the water
system in San Miguel. If time permits, while the interns map this out, it would
be helpful to locate where all the current grey water systems are. This will
help in future decisions in determining if shared household grey water
systems should be considered.

Works Cited
Bulnes, M. and Garduño, F. (2009, May 20). Conference Call with SARAR
Transformación.

32
Ellis, K. (1987). Slow Sand Filtration. WEDC J. Developing World Water , 2,
196-198.

Google Inc. . (2009, May). Google Maps. Retrieved May 2009, from
maps.google.com

Grace, P. L. (2009). Whole Filter Models Information Sheet. In P. L. Grace.

"Greywater Reuse in Rural Schools: Guidance Manual.” National

Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and UNICEF.
<http://ddws.gov.in/documents/SSHE/Guidance%20Manual%20on
%20Greywater %20Reuse%20in%20Rural%20Schools-English.pdf>.

Huisman, L., & Wood, W. (. (1974). Slow Sand Filtration. Geneva.

Kennedy, D. (1995). Using Greywater in your landscape: Greywater Guide.

State of California, Department of Water Resources.

Ludwig, A. (2006). Create an Oasis with Greywater. Oasis Design.

Lukacs, H. (2002). rom Design to Implementation: Innovative Slow Sand

Filtration for Use in Developing Countries. MSc Thesis. Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, USA.

McMaster Carr. (2009, May). McMaster Carr Online Catalogue. Retrieved May
2009, from www.mcmaster.com

Milena, J. E. (2009). Assessment Trip. Stanford University, Stanford.

Muhammad, N., Ellis, K., Parr, J., & Smith, M. (1996). Optimization of slow
sand filtration. Reaching the unreached: challenges for the 21st century.
22nd WEDC Conference, (pp. 283-285). New Delhi.

National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). (1982). Slow

sand filtration. Final project report, Nagpur, India.

Osuna-Ramirez, I. H.-P. (2006). Indice de masa corporal y percepcion de la

imagen corporal en una poblacion adulta mexicana. Salud Publica de Mexico
, 48 (2).

Salvato, J. N. (2003). Environmental Engineering. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley

and Sons, Inc.

SARAR Transformación. (n.d.). Guía Preliminar de Filtros de Aguas Grises.

Van der Ryn, S. (1978). The Toilet Papers: Recycling Waste and Conserving
Water. Sausalito, California: Ecological Design Press.

Water for the World. Constructing a Household Sand Filter, Technical Note
RWS. 3.C.1.

33
Yao, K. H. (1971). Water and Waste Water Filtration: Concepts and
Applications. Environ. Sci. Technol. , 5 (11), 1105-1112.

Zurn Plumbing Inc. (n.d.). Grease Traps. Retrieved May 2009, from Zurn
Plumbing Products: http://www.zurn.com/pages/catalog.asp?
ProductGroupID=73&OperationID=7#

34
Appendix
Filter Treatment Efficiency:
The particle removal efficiencies for the intermittent sand filter and rapid
multi-media filter, are based on diffusion, interception, and sedimentation
processes (Figure 30). Straining processes are where particles that are larger
than the spaces between the media become stuck and hence removed from
the water.

Figure 30: Basic transport mechanisms in filtration (Source: (Yao, 1971)).

Interception is where the water flow streamlines are close enough to the
collector (the media in the filter) to attach to the media. Sedimentation is
due to the gravitational forces and allows the particles to move across
streamlines and attach to the media. Lastly, diffusion is due to random
Brownian movements that brings particles near the media.

Combining these processes allows the computation of the removal efficiency

of a uniformly sized particle. Table 10 shows the parameters used for this
analysis.

35
Table 1: Parameters for filter analysis (Adapted from: (Grace, 2009))

According to Yao et al. (1971), the equations for a single media filter are:

Diffusion Contact Efficiency:

Interception Contact Efficiency:

Sedimentation Contact Efficiency:

The sum of the above processes yield the contact efficiency for a single
grain:

36
Thus, the collection efficiency for the entire media of a filter is:

Using the following equations, the performance of a packed bed and hence
the removal efficiency is related to the efficiency of a single spherical
collector:

For a multiple media filter, the overall ratio of the filter effluent to filter
influent is:

The results have been documented in the Filter section.

Acknowledgements:

Models were adapted from Grace, P., Luthy, R. “Whole Filter Models
Information Sheet,” Feb. 2009. Original models from Yao, K.M., Habibian,
M.T., O’Melia, C.R.: Water and Waste Water Filtration: Concepts and
Applications. Environ. Sci. Technol., Vol 5, No. 11, pp 1105-1112, 1971, Dept.
of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514. Reprinted in CEE 271A Course Reader, section 11-A,
Winter 2009.

37