THESIS PROPOSAL

Title

DESIGN OF SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE WATER SYSTEM USING GREYWATER AND

RAINWATER

Author:

CIRCA, JEREMY AUSTIN S.

DIMAPILIS, SHAIRA ALLEN P.

GRANADO, RAYMART C.

PANAHON, MICHAEL P.

SANTOS, ALLANA MARIE A.

AIM AND SIGNIFICANCE:

This study aims to utilize rainwater and greywater to provide a

sustainable alternative water system. Also, to develop a viable yet

effective filtering system.

This study seeks to be significant and beneficial to sectors like

the national government, the people of the province of Nueva Ecija,

the environment, and most importantly, the researchers. The system

that this study will provide will be very helpful for people who want

to reduce their water consumption and develop other uses for rainwater

and greywater.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE:

As the world’s freshwater supply becomes increasingly scarce,

increased attention towards alternative water resources has become

necessary. Water reuse is gaining significant momentum in discussions

about sustainable water resource management, green economies, and

urban planning (Albalawneh and Chang, 2015).

As stated by Rahman (2014), water is considered as an

interminable free source that can be acquired naturally. The demand

for water is projected to increase in the future while the supply may

be adversely affected by global factors such as climate change. The

Government and the water industry are encouraging the adoption of

water conservation measures. One component of these water conservation

measures, among many others, is to use rainwater and greywater as a

source of water to reduce water consumption (Leggett and Shaffer,

2015).

Rainwater harvesting can serve as an alternative source of raw

water and it can mitigate the effects of flooding. The harvested

rainwater can be used for: potable consumption if filtered and

disinfected; and non-potable consumptions if used untreated (Necesito

et al., 2013).

On a study conducted by Campisano et al. (2013), he stated that

frequent precipitation increases the performance of rainwater

harvesting and that the size of the tank is a great factor of the

water-saving efficiency of the collection system. In addition to this,

Chao-Hsien and Yu-Chuan (2014) observed that domestic rainwater

harvesting potential depends on climatic, building characteristics,

economic and ecological factors and that with respect to climatic

factors, quantity of precipitation is the most crucial factor.

The studies aforementioned infer that rainwater harvesting is not

a consistent alternative water source all-year round. However, that

could be resolved by utilizing another system of alternative water

source, greywater recycling, as asserted by several studies. Chong et

al., (2015) sees greywater reuse as a promising alternative water

source, which could be exploited on a continuous basis and treated for

non-potable uses.

Greywater is any wastewater generated from washing toilets,

laundry and bathing without the inclusion of toilet water (black

water)(Katukiza et al., 2015). In a study by incorporating

simulations, it was found that reuse of greywater for flushing toilets

and in hot showers and sinks resulted to 55-58 % energy and water

savings (Knutsson and Knutsson, 2021).

However, experiments show underlying threats surrounding the

concept of greywater recycling. According to Filali et al. (2017),

greywater comprises of pathogenic organisms, synthetic chemicals,

heavy metals, oil and grease, fats, dissolved and suspended solids and

alkaline and acidic contaminants.

To alleviate the risks surrounding greywater reuse and rainwater

harvesting in domestic water activities except drinking and food

preparation, filtration must be done. Filtration involves the use of

fine mesh, sand, gravel, pebbles, charcoal, pine bark, polyurethane

foam, bricks, coconut shell, coarse sawdust, tuff filter and mulch to

pass greywater (Juan et al., 2016

Rahman et al. (2014) in their article, “Sustainability of

Rainwater Harvesting System in terms of Water Quality “, described

rainwater harvesting as the most sustainable solution to be included

in the urban water management system. However, Oteng-Peprah et al.

(2018) in their article, “Greywater Characteristics, Treatment

Systems, Reuse Strategies and User Perception—a Review”, present a

different view. They discussed that greywater reuse has been

considered as a reliable method of ensuring water security as compared

to other methods of water capture such as rainwater harvesting which

is dependent on hydrological conditions.

 In this study, integration of greywater reuse and rainwater

harvesting is presented as a potential alternative source of water to

minimize wastewater generation and mitigate flooding. To compensate

each other’s drawbacks, the two systems; greywater recycling and

rainwater harvesting are incorporated into a single system.

OBJECTIVES:

This study aims to develop a sustainable water system that will

help to recycle water for non-portable applications in residentials

houses in Nueva Ecija. This study seeks answers to the following

questions:

1. How can rainwater and greywater be described in terms of:

1.1. Availability

1.2. Usage, and

1.3. cleanliness

2. How can the schematic diagram of the alternative water

system be described in terms of:

2.1. Physical layout

2.2. Pipe diameters or plumbing

2.3. Water turbine or pressure pumps

2.4. Water storage dimensions

2.5. Water filtration methods

2.6. Inflow and outflows of filtered water

3. Is the alternative water system economical?

4. Is the alternative water system complying with the design

criteria?
METHODOLOGY:

This study aims to design a sustainable working water system that

will use greywater and rainwater as alternative water sources. The

collected greywater and rainwater would be filtered in order to be

used for various purposes.

The study will utilize an optimization framework to consider all

key designs and identify issues in the system. The optimization

framework was chosen to determine the best system that would fit the

researchers’ objectives.

The researchers would prepare a tentative layout with details

such as the method of distribution, layout of distribution methods,

and positions and sizes of appurtenance needed. The layout would

undergo optimization until the most appropriate and realistic result

is determined.

The researchers would collect data regarding variables such as

rainfall data, demand estimates, and greywater effluent data. This

information would be used in the optimization framework to identify

the optimal water system.

 The study will make use of existing reliable literature to

develop an adequate filtration method. Parameters such as the

potability and non-potability of water will be defined.

EXPECTED OUTPUTS:

Schematic diagram of the sustainable alternative water system.

Miniature model showing the actual application of the system.