greywater management

[stephanie longParticipant]

For Design Area 5.5, are grey water trenches already implemented or is this just a suggested solution?

[Luke BarbagalloKeymaster]

They are implemented, but the cost of installation and maintenance can be very inhibitive if these works are reliant on machinery such as backhoes or bobcats.

Cheers,

luke

[tara butlerParticipant]

roughly how many litres of greywater runoff is there daily?

[Grace RobertsKeymaster]

Hi Tara,

We don’t have an approximate number for this, but you should be able to estimate this – you can assume there could be a range of 5-20 people on the site at any time. You could research the global average use of water per day online then use this, or Griffith University did some research in remote communities and found in this The Conversation article: “The data revealed an average daily use of 900 litres per person, rising to more than 4,000L per person per day in some cases. (The average southeast Queensland household daily use is around 180L per person.)” However keep in mind I believe this is household use so quite different to camping on Country where water is sparse, and perhaps rainwater tanks are used.

You will need to make some assumptions about water usage based off figures like this, so check out our FAQs document for guidance on making assumptions like this in your project where more accurate figures aren’t available.

Best of luck with your project,
Grace

[Joshua GrahamParticipant]

Hi,

When a greywater trench is not available, what do groups camping on Country do with the greywater they produce?

Thanks,

Josh

[Rachel AlfordKeymaster]

Hi Josh,

Thanks for your question!

This is one of the key concerns for the community that has led to the identification of this as a design area. In places where there are no greywater trenches available, the greywater can be released into the environment which can have negative impacts and is illegal in National Park areas. This means that groups, such as rangers, are unable to travel too far from a location with greywater management facilities.

As greywater trenches can be expensive based on the ground conditions at many sites, the interest in alternative design options will enable the appropriate management of greywater runoff so any negative environmental impacts are avoided or mitigated, and can have the flow on effect of enabling longer access to certain areas on Country.

I hope this helps, please reach out with any further questions!

Thanks,
Rachel

[Peter OrtigasParticipant]

Hi,

What type of greywater is mostly produced in Cape York? Do they mostly come from showers/laundries or do they come from kitchen sinks, etc.?

[Luke BarbagalloKeymaster]

Hi Peter,

You can assume generic domestic waste water production on the cape; normal dishwashing soaps, hand soaps, kitchen sink detritus and run off from washing machines and showers and bathroom sinks.

Luke

[Allqa Ashna AliParticipant]

Hello,

Are there specific locations where groups on Country camp? (i.e. name of the campsites, National Parks, etc.)

Thank you!

Kind regards,
Allqa

[Rachel AlfordKeymaster]

Hi Allqa,

Thanks for your question!

Unfortunately we can’t provide you with specific locations where rangers camp on Country as we have agreed to protect the anonymity of the groups we are working with.

However, even without this specific knowledge, there are a few ways you could progress with your design choice. For example, you may want to look at this resource from the QLD government which outlines different ranger groups in operation on the Cape. From there, you could research some of those ranger groups further as a case study and learn about their on Country activities which could give a broad idea of where they may camp, if that information is publicly available, and make some assumptions based on what you find.

However, it’s important to note that there are a variety of different locations that groups would camp on Country, so ideally your design should be flexible and adaptable to enable its deployment in a variety of locations.

I recommend taking a look at our FAQs: Big Tricky Questions document (found in the Resources section) which gives some tips about working without specific information and making assumptions. 

Please reach out with any further questions!

Thanks,
Rachel

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