Graywater has been touted for irrigating landscape plants. But how about plants used for human consumption?
The Texas A & M El Paso Research Center has produced a very useful document about the effects of graywater as irrigation water for vegetables and cotton, as compared to brackish irrigation water. The study, the first of its kind, is ongoing, so the results are preliminary.
Download how_gray_does_your_garden_grow.pdf
No detrimental effects on vegetable crops was discerned. The study concluded that graywater is a good irrigation alternative.
The study used only laundry water; shower water was not used because of the presence of a large number of chemicals. Furthermore, the study did not consider the human health effects of using graywater to irrigate food crops.
There is also a report on graywater at the Water Environment Reserach Federation (WERF); it is 03-CTS-18CO
"Subtract the obvious, add the meaningful." -- John Maida, MIT Media Lab
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