Grey water is non-drinkable water that can
be recycled for other purposes.
Image: Perpetual Water

A Canberra company has developed a domestic grey water recycling unit that can recycle 660 litres of water a day, reducing the amount of water purchased by a typical household by 50–60 per cent.

Perpetual Water has supplied 130 units for domestic installation, as well as units for the National Water Commission, NSW surf life-saving clubs and the ACT Prison. The company plans to launch its technology overseas later this year.

Company founder John Grimes said he thought there had to be a better way to reuse household water after he found himself carting buckets of dirty bath water to the garden during water shortages in Canberra a few summers ago.

He pulled together a team of experts in water treatment, chemistry and entrepreneurialism. Within two years they had installed their first ‘Perpetual Water – Home’ recycling unit.

Grey water from washing machines, showers and baths is collected and treated via a system of flocculation and then filtered – using Perpetual Water’s patented technology. Recycled water from the unit is suitable for flushing toilets, watering gardens, washing cars and filling water features, but not drinking.

General Manager Craig Richmond says the system is based on biological treatment methods, largely adapted from septic tank systems, which use bacteria to break down contaminants.

‘A big problem is that these systems are easily disrupted by common household chemicals and changes in water concentration,’ he says.

‘Our purification process does away with these problems – the water is sterilised, filtered and looks and smells just like tap water.’

The unit is completely automatic, and once installed requires little maintenance, except for an annual check by an authorised technician.

A smaller laundry unit will be launched later this year and a much larger one will eventually be available for use in apartment blocks and multi-residential facilities.