grey water disposal? (1 Viewer)

2dogs

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Evening all,

question on legal side of grey water disposal,

can you discharge grey water into roadside/car park drainage?

I only ask as the other day I saw a couple of vans manoeuvring over a
drain cover in a car park to dump the grey waste.

Cheers
2dogs
 
Apr 27, 2008
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Evening all,

question on legal side of grey water disposal,

can you discharge grey water into roadside/car park drainage?

I only ask as the other day I saw a couple of vans manoeuvring over a
drain cover in a car park to dump the grey waste.

Cheers
2dogs

No you can't as these are often just rainwater drains not connected to a sewer. In the summer they will stink.
 
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JeanLuc

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Legally - no, they are storm drains and should not have anything like fat or detergents put into them. But people do. It gets motorhomers a bad name so should be resisted.

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2dogs

2dogs

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Thanks for that,

I must admit I was ready to shout about a couple of wars and a footy match and sod off back home but not being sure didn't::bigsmile:

won't say what nationality but the weren't local,

very nice large vans though ... very jealous

Cheers
2dogs
 
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JJ

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Well...

I have been giving you all a bad name for years...:cry:

My "grey" water goes straight down a "storm" drain at the Studio... has been doing so for years and years...

Never had the slightest "whiff" even in the height of a Portuguese summer...

...and let's all be honest here... have you never sometimes just let your grey water out to water some dry, road side plants?

JJ :Cool:

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laneside

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Well for all that get paranoid regarding the disposal of grey water answer me one question



When you wash your van do you collect all that grey water??
 
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Munchie

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We wipe all our pots n pans with kitchen towel so the grey is pretty clean. Many folks use "grey" to water their garden it is environmentally friendly.
Many CL/CS's we have been on ask us to dump the grey "in the hedge" :thumb:
 
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scotjimland

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Well for all that get paranoid regarding the disposal of grey water answer me one question



When you wash your van do you collect all that grey water??

It's not illegal to wash your car in the street, however, the Environment Agency give this advice

Pollution prevention guidelines
Vehicle washing and cleaning: PPG13
These guidelines are jointly produced by the Environment Agency

It doesn’t cover household activities but our good practice advice would be to use a
commercial facility (car wash) that re-uses water, or hand wash with a bucketful of water and a sponge without
using detergent, traffic film removers, degreasants or other proprietary cleaners. We discourage the use of
hose-pipes or high pressure cleaners for car washing at home.

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scotjimland

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A tip for those wilding, use the grey to flush the toilet.
I don't mean fill the toilet flush tank.... :roflmto:
use a jug with some grey water .. ... saves fresh.

If you have an RV with black and grey tanks it's possible to move grey into the black and visa versa by opening both dump valves but keeping the main outlet valve closed..

this will depend on how the discharge pipework is configured.. .. it may not be possible with some pipework setups... don't blame me if you dump black on the carpark .. :Eeek:
 
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vwalan

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hi . i would say dont use grey in the black tank . dont put any bleach soap or washing water in the black tank it kills the good bacteria and can cause smells . and never use sea water . that lethal. gives off a real deadly gas and stink.
you have to keep the black tank chemical free . use just enough water to let it work . if you flood it it again kills the bacteria .
takes practice .

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scotjimland

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hi .[HI] i would say dont use grey in the black tank .[/HI] dont put any bleach soap or washing water in the black tank it kills the good bacteria and can cause smells ........ .

Hi Alan

not possible in my RV.. the shower drain went to the black tank .. that's how it was designed..
I agree, never use chemicals in the black .. never had an issue in three years full time.. :thumb:

my tip about moving grey into black would be used only in an emergency
 
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vwalan

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hi its just i know from emptying cesspits the ones that are puely sewage work for ever .once a new family move in and plumb the grey waste in to the sewage it soon becomes just a holding tank and we had to go in regularly and empty it for a fee . all the bacteria is washed away.
i,m carefull with my porta potty . never wash the inside only the outside . and never really empty it.
thats not good to have shower going into black .bad design in my book.
never mind .
 
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2dogs

2dogs

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Thanks for the replies,

I don't particularly want to put chemicals down rain water drains.

Cheers
2dogs

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Last 2 CL's I've been on recommended we dump 'GREY' water in ditches around their sites, you as an individual KNOW whats in your grey water and should act responsibly.:RollEyes:
 
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John & Joan

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We are on a CL at present that has drainage on every site . I was talking to the owner yesterday and he told me it is not a drain as such. The pipe he provides goes into a bed of dolomite and it then filters/drains into a field drain that is much deeper. This links with his other land drains and finishes up in a local stream. This setup has been approved by the local water authority.

If water is spread widely over grass that people will not be walking over then it will filter as it soaks into the soil. Along hedge footings is also a good place and with impending drought it could help save some of the vegitation.

Don't dump into ditches as this may not filter before reaching a watercourse.

John
 
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The solution to polution is dilution
When traveling along a road open the tap (on a rainy day) this spreads the water over miles and is washed away.

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John & Joan

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The solution to polution is dilution
When traveling along a road open the tap (on a rainy day) this spreads the water over miles and is washed away.

Your solution does not give a good impresion of Motor Caravan users to the vehicles that may be following behind you.

You know that it is relatively clean water you are leaking out, but to an uninformed person in a vehicle behind you or that you pass, the discharge could well be toilet waste.

I have followed a motor caravan doing just this type of discharging on the A68 near Jedburgh on a dry day. He was in a field entrance and had opened his tap, then drove off as I approached. I was also in my Motorhome and those behind may well have thought the discharge was coming from my vehicle.

It is just as easy to get a bucket and stop somewhere quiet as he had done and dispose of it along a hedge line or spread it widely over a unused grass area.

John
 
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Terry

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What's wrong with leaving the tap cracked open ::bigsmile::winky::reel:
terry

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What's wrong with leaving the tap cracked open ::bigsmile::winky::reel:
terry

Apart from anything else any suspended crud which tends to be in washing up water will build up behind the valve and eventually block the outlet. It works best if you let it out with a whoosh, in an appropriate place of course.
 
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As a newcomer to M/H I have kept the the waste barrels used when we caravaned so will put the tap in the barrel open and empty where the CL owners says. No Problem.
Mike:rollonfloor:
 
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darklord

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I would like a quid for every mh i saw leaving Lincoln last year with the valve open,.......

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