Greywater Webinar Recordings

View the recording and download the pdfs for any of the 11 public webinars Greywater Action hosted in 2015/2016 here.

2015 Webinar List

2016 Webinar List

Greywater 101

Recorded on October 14th, 2015. Download pdf of presentation: greywater101.

Learn about common and popular greywater systems, design considerations, water saving potential, costs, regulations, health and safety, soaps and products, and how to choose a system that is a good match for your home and landscape.

Presenter Laura Allen: Laura is a founding member of Greywater Action and has spent the past 15 years exploring low-tech, urban,sustainable water solutions. She is the lead author of the San Francisco Graywater Design Guidelines for Outdoor Irrigation, and authored The Water-Wise Home: How to Conserve and Reuse Water in Your Home and Landscape (Storey Press, 2015).

Plumbing 101 for Greywater Installers

Recorded on October 28th, 2015. Download pdf of presentation: pumbing-101.

Installing a greywater system from a sink or shower requires altering your household plumbing. Learn the basics of a home plumbing system, how to identify a greywater drain, how to install a diverter valve, and proper installation techniques.

Presenter Christina Bertea: Christina Bertea has been a plumbing contractor since 1996 and was the first woman admitted into Local 159, Plumbers and Steamfitters Union. She is a Greywater Action instructor and Eco Artist.

Design and Install Your Own Laundry-to-Landscape Greywater System

Recorded on November 18th, 2015.  Download the pdf: L2L-webinar.

Laundry-to-landscape (L2L) greywater systems are simple, affordable, and easy to maintain. With your own L2L system you can irrigate your landscape each time you do laundry, saving you water, time, and resources. This system is legal to install without a permit in CA if you follow 12 basic guidelines. This presentation will walk you through the design and construction steps for your own L2L system.

Presenter: Laura Allen

Gravity-Flow, Branched Drain Systems and Greywater Irrigation in Arid Climates

Recorded on December 2nd, 2016. Download the pdf: branched-drain-systems.

A gravity-based, branched drain system delivers shower or sink water to the plants via a set of rigid, branching pipes. This system requires the landscape to be lower than the plumbing, and is best suited to irrigate large plants, like trees and shrubs. Though time consuming to install, once finished a branched drain system is extremely robust; it requires no energy to operate, has no moving parts to break, and needs very little maintenance. This presentation will also cover best practices for greywater irrigation in an arid climate.

Presenter Nicholas Holmes: Nicholas is an ecological designer-builder with degrees in architecture and sustainable development from Cal Poly SLO. Nicholas installs greywater systems in Joshua Tree and surrounding desert areas and is the co-founder and director of The Nourishing Tree, a small mixed-use center for healthy and sustainable living.

Southern CA Fruit Trees 101- How to Irrigate Your Home Orchard with Greywater

Recorded on December 16th, 2015. Download pdf: Irrigating-Fruit-Trees

Fruit trees and greywater, a perfect combination. Learn how you can irrigate a delicious home orchard with greywater and maintain this productive landscape without potable water irrigation. This presentation will focus on fruit trees of Southern California, but the principals and greywater systems information is applicable to a wide geographic region.

Presenter Ty Teissere: Ty specializes in backyard orchard care, from building the soil life to pruning the canopy, and the irrigation systems in between. He is a Greywater Action instructor and installer as well as a a certified arborist (#WE-10547-A), rainwater harvester (Watershed Management Group), and has his horticulture certificate from Long Beach City College.

Installing Simple Pumped Greywater Systems

Recorded on January 20th, 2016. Download pdf: simple-pumped-greywater-systems

Is your landscape uphill from your plants? Or across a flat patio? If so, you may need to you a pump to deliver greywater to the plants. The most simple pumped system (most affordable and least amount of maintenance) uses an effluent pump with larger irrigation tubing to prevent clogs. Learn how to design and install your own pumped system.

Presenter: Leigh Jerrard is the principal of Greywater Corps, a company that designs, installs, and teaches about residential greywater systems as a solution to California’s water crisis.  He has installed numerous greywater systems ranging from simple gravity-flow systems to 1000 gallon-per-day fully automated systems.  Leigh also works with nonprofits, water companies and city agencies to facilitate broader implementation of greywater use; he recently worked with the city of Los Angeles to create a streamlined permitting process for simple greywater systems.  He is a licensed architect and a LEED accredited professional.

Greywater Irrigation and Plant Health

Recorded on February 3rd, 2016. Download pdf: plants-and-greywater.

Are you ready to set up your greywater system but are still wondering how to best use it to irrigate your landscape? This presentation will teach you the basics of system design, how much water to direct to your plants, and how to choose appropriate plants for greywater irrigation. Instructor Regina Hirsch will also share the results of multi-year monitoring program of  simple greywater systems at Evergreen Lodge, a resort in the Sierra Nevada mountains, where her company installed four variations of localized irrigation systems for 1.8 million gallons/year of greywater over the past seven years.  Quarterly and annual monitoring for plant biomass rates (TPI), mulch integrity, soil and water conductivity, water pH, water temperature and soil decompaction rates (compression/lbs/inch) will also be discussed in relation to fire effects, occupancy rates and plant success.

Presenter: Regina Hirsch has over 18 years’ experience delivering water conservation solutions to private, public and commercial entities.  These projects focus on applying site specific best management practices such as Low Impact Development, water conservation techniques, and water reuse in public and commercial demonstration areas that solve critical management problems while rehydrating watersheds for multiple beneficial uses.

After monitoring watershed health and water quality parameters at the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Board and the Morro Bay National Estuary Program, Regina founded a “design/build” firm, Sierra Watershed Progressive (SWP) focusing on best management practices aimed at rehydrating watersheds and promoting outreach and education.  Since 2010, Sierra Watershed Progressive has helped plan, design, install and monitor projects restoring acres of habitat and while increasing watershed recharge. SWP has projects throughout stretching from Mono Counties west to the bay area, from Ventura County to Humboldt County.

Incorporating Greywater Installations into Your Landscaping Business

Recording date: February 17th, 2016. Download pdf of presentation: GW-landscapecontractors-business-AlanHackler

Landscape professionals working in the residential sector are uniquely positioned to offer greywater irrigation systems to their clients. Landscape contractor Alan Hackler will share his experience of how to incorporate greywater systems into a landscape business, including info on contracts, client expectations, and marketing. He’ll discuss how he began with simple washing machine systems and expanded to complex systems over time, he’ll share challenges and lessons learned, success stories, and how greywater has benefited his business.

Presenter: Alan Hackler is a passionate gardener and licensed landscape contractor from San Jose, Ca. He has been a certified greywater installer since 2010 and has installed over 50 systems in the bay area. Alan is also LEED accredited, an ARCSA member, and has also completed training in Permaculture design, and natural building techniques.

Commercial-Scale Greywater Systems: Case studies from Orenco Systems and ReWater


Recorded on March 2nd, 2016. Download presentation: Commercial-GW.pdf

Orenco’s AdvanTex Greywater Recycling Systems treat greywater to levels that allow it to be used for toilet flushing, cooling towers, water features, and landscape irrigation. Learn more about how these systems work and where you can use them.

ReWater has designed and installed high-end residential and commercial greywater irrigation systems since 1990. Founder Steve Bilson will discuss the technical details of a ReWater System, costs, installation skills needed, water savings, and maintenance needs with the case study of a systems installed in Santa Monica at the NRDC headquarters.

Whole-House Residential Greywater Systems

Recorded on March 16th, 2016. Download pdf: Whole-House-GW-Systems

Whole house greywater systems collect greywater from showers, sinks, and washing machines, filter it and distribute it through drip irrigation. Systems like Nexus E-Water treat the water so it can be used for toilet flushing or spray irrigation (NSF 350 certified), IrriGRAY systems can be monitored on your smartphone, and GreyFlo’s filter is cleaned with compressed air (bypassing a common concern from regulators regarding potential cross-connection issues). Learn about these three different whole house greywater systems in this informative webinar, with founders of the companies presenting on their products. We’ll cover costs, maintenance, installation requirements, water savings, and general pros and cons of the systems.

Understanding the California Plumbing Code for Greywater

Recorded on March 30, 2016. Download pdf: GW-Code

This presentation will take an in-depth look at the California greywater code, how to get a permit, and learn about efforts across the state to make legal installations easier for residents.

Presenter: Laura Allen is a founding member of Greywater Action and has spent the past 15 years exploring low-tech, urban,sustainable water solutions. She is the lead author of the San Francisco Graywater Design Guidelines for Outdoor Irrigation, and authored The Water-Wise Home: How to Conserve and Reuse Water in Your Home and Landscape (Storey Press, 2015). She has a BA in environmental science, a teaching credential, and a master’s degree in education. Laura leads classes and workshops on rainwater harvesting, greywater reuse, and composting toilets. Laura has presented widely on greywater reuse, including at the Water Smart Innovations Conference, Bioneers, California Environmental Health Association conference, and California Landscape Contractors Association conference. She’s participated in state greywater code developments in California and Washington State and was on a committee to write a draft composting toilet code for IAPMO. Laura was featured in an Ask This Old House episode on greywater and was the 2014 recipient of the Silicon Valley Water Conservation Award of Water Champion.