Disposing of grey water

[eddie]

BTW, cut and pasted from Campervan & Motorhome Professional association.

Waste Disposal - Campa

Whether travelling in your own campervan or motorhome, or in a hire vehicle, it is your responsibility to ensure you leave no trace of your travel and dispose

www.campa.org.uk

A small self interest group, wild camping in Scotland, isn't an Authority on anything to be fair.

 

[hja]

But surely there is also a difference between emptying out a whole tank full and having a pipe connected to waste tap which takes water off pitch and into hedge etc? That way there is no huge amount, but a small flow. Most CLs we have ever stayed at have said feed grey water into hedge.

 

[Eggs]

But surely there is also a difference between emptying out a whole tank full and having a pipe connected to waste tap which takes water off pitch and into hedge etc? That way there is no huge amount, but a small flow. Most CLs we have ever stayed at have said feed grey water into hedge.

Yeah. But what about the frogs? I don't think I've heard such nonsense for years. Grey water as always gone in the hedgerow on small sites.

 

[bigtwin]

BTW, cut and pasted from Campervan & Motorhome Professional association.

Hmm! The bullets that you quoted may have come from the CAMPA website but I could see no reference to BS 8525. Your post suggested/implied that you were referencing the BS.

BS 8525-1:2010 Greywater systems. Code of practice

On-site collection and use of greywater is an alternative to public mains or private potable water supply. Greywater has a variety of non-potable water uses in the home, workplace and garden.​

As greywater systems become more popular, there is a need for standardization to protect the public and to ensure that reliable systems are designed, installed and maintained.​

Doesn’t sound as though the quoted standard has much of a link to MHs but rather is associated with designing systems to treat grey water to enable its use for certain purposes.

Ian

 

[pandas]

But surely there is also a difference between emptying out a whole tank full and having a pipe connected to waste tap which takes water off pitch and into hedge etc? That way there is no huge amount, but a small flow. Most CLs we have ever stayed at have said feed grey water into hedge.

There is but too many variables; different levels, how long a waste pipe you have (I suspect in most cases the pipe would not throw the waste more than 2m), where does the water feed into. How often waste is deposited in one spot. Better to put a bit more effort in and collect the waste and then pour it somewhere away from a pitch and not onto a single spot. If you want hard plumbing best to live in a house maybe?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[JJ]

I leave my waste tank tap open when I'm parked on my (small) orchard (aka Quinta Majay). Been doing so for years and years and years.

A strange thing seems to happen... the 'grey' water disappears as if by magic.

No smells, no stunted plant growth, no problems.

I've just left Parque Do Rio (in Silves) after two months. I cunningly parked very near the hedge that surrounds the gravel/grass covered site. My drain tap was open most of the time. Didn't seem to cause any problems.

The hedge still lives.

I'm not judging folk who choose to only empty their grey water in disposal drains... just don't try to make me do it when I am parked on suitable surfaces.


JJ

PS. I would take any 'advice' from an organisation which entitled itself as "Campervan and Motorhome Professional association" with a huge fist full of salt.

 

[peterc10]

We normally arrive back home with the last couple of days waste still in our grey tank. Some will be shocked to hear that I just open the tap and let it drain onto the porous gravel surface the motorhome stands on. Soaks in quickly and waters the adjacent hedge. Been doing it for about 8 years now and no smell and nothing harmful has happened. Other than the next door's cat growing a 5th leg

 

[sparkyvanman]

After we have left the site I open the tap just a little bit so there is slow dribble, by the time we get to the next site it’s empty

 

[movan]

After we have left the site I open the tap just a little bit so there is slow dribble, by the time we get to the next site it’s empty

 

[Howard B]

Currently at Lincoln Hartsolme Park, the two vans next to us both have their waste water draining to ground. Same when we arrived on Tuesday with another van.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Northernraider]

Currently at Lincoln Hartsolme Park, the two vans next to us both have their waste water draining to ground. Same when we arrived on Tuesday with another van.

Is it raining ?

Ive been draining my grey waste on to the same spot of ground everyday for the last 6 months



No one has died

 

[Ian Bosman]

Is it raining ?

Ive been draining my grey waste on to the same spot of ground everyday for the last 6 months



No one has died

Must be getting a bit smelly? I realised last time we were out that I had mistakenly left the valve open wondering why the tank was still empty! Clod, thinks I

 

[Catpirate]

I use a wastemaster as I cant be bothered driving over a drain and not all sites have them. this article by the RHS may be of interest.

what is grey water: expert RHS advice on using grey water in gardens / RHS

Recycled or 'grey' water should be used with care, but can be useful in times of water shortages

www.rhs.org.uk

 

[Riverbankannie]

Must be getting a bit smelly? I realised last time we were out that I had mistakenly left the valve open wondering why the tank was still empty! Clod, thinks I

The waste tank water only gets smelly if it is left in there to stew the bacteria. Fresh grey waste should be no problem. The RHS article above, says that the build up of salt can be a problem in a domestic setting with dishwasher discharge but I doubt Northernraider has one in his abode.

 

[Brains]

I have a policy of always draining my water tank on return to storage.

Whilst I'm unpacking the van I leave the taps running to empty the water tank and fill the waste tank
Once the water tank is down to under 20 litres I switch off the tap and then open the drain on both water tank and waste tank.
That way the waste tank gets a bit a wash out each time.

I also tend to leave my waste tank drain 'open' all the time unless there is a reason to close it, such as being on a site that has a waste water drain facility.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Northernraider]

Must be getting a bit smelly? I realised last time we were out that I had mistakenly left the valve open wondering why the tank was still empty! Clod, thinks I

Nope no smell and no visible sign of water draining there. I think it only smells if you store it in the tank

 

[Howard B]

Is it raining ?

Ive been draining my grey waste on to the same spot of ground everyday for the last 6 months



No one has died

Not raining. Not sure about you, but i would prefer not to pitch where someone has dumpedthier washing up and washing water.

 

[Ian Bosman]

Not raining. Not sure about you, but i would prefer not to pitch where someone has dumpedthier washing up and washing water.

I wonder what the sites you stop on require, are they happy to have the grey waste drained onto there grass/gravel/etc or do they require input their dedicated waste disposal. So although we may have or preferences we are surely required to do whatever the site we are on says.

 

[peterc10]

Not raining. Not sure about you, but i would prefer not to pitch where someone has dumpedthier washing up and washing water.

You wouldn't even know. The evidence will disappear in 5 minutes

 

[hja]

Currently at Lincoln Hartsolme Park, the two vans next to us both have their waste water draining to ground. Same when we arrived on Tuesday with another van.

When we stopped here we were told quite definitely that we couldn’t pipe the grey water into the hedge at the back of the pitch. There is an open drain grid in the car park area outside the site itself for draining into, which is small and not easy to aim into! Or use containers to the caravan disposal point.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Howard B]

I wonder what the sites you stop on require, are they happy to have the grey waste drained onto there grass/gravel/etc or do they require input their dedicated waste disposal. So although we may have or preferences we are surely required to do whatever the site we are on says.

Site rules stated dispose of at disposal points. Not been anywhere yet that has said just dump it on the ground under the van. Maybe i need to get out more.

 

[Eggs]

Site rules stated dispose of at disposal points. Not been anywhere yet that has said just dump it on the ground under the van. Maybe i need to get out more.

You'd be surprised how many CS and CL's tell you to dump grey water into the hedgerows.

 

[Howard B]

You'd be surprised how many CS and CL's tell you to dump grey water into the hedgerows.

Thats not the same as dumping it on the pitch.

 

[Eggs]

Thats not the same as dumping it on the pitch.

No, but if the hedgerow is behind the pitches your just as close to where the water is dumped.

 

[huck999]

My pet hate is seeing people leaving a site with the drain open so that at the first (and probably more) roundabout they come to, slippery, slimy, water is dumped on the road, just waiting for an unsuspecting cyclist or motorcyclist.
"Ooops! I forgot to close it!" - yeah right!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Northernraider]

My pet hate is seeing people leaving a site with the drain open so that at the first (and probably more) roundabout they come to, slippery, slimy, water is dumped on the road, just waiting for an unsuspecting cyclist or motorcyclist.
"Ooops! I forgot to close it!" - yeah right!

I know ...ive lost count of how many accidents have been in the news lately of cyclists and motorcyclists falling off because they slipped on some dishwater ..

Its a disgrace

 

[phase3begins]

Excellent. Having sKim read 235 posts I now understand.
it is OK to dump grey waste anywhere but it isn’t OK to dump grey waste anywhere.
glad we got that sorted.

 

[Northernraider]

Not raining. Not sure about you, but i would prefer not to pitch where someone has dumpedthier washing up and washing water.

You probably did to be honest ... probably several have dumped their grey waste on your pitch. The fact you can't tell only strengthens the point

 

[cyberyacht]

It should, IMHO, be directed away from any pitch, assuming the policy is not down a specified drain. Getting overly exercised about it is a bit OTT. It's a bit of soapy water not nuclear waste.

 

[gpat]

I have been known to dispose of some in the ditch, but then we very rarely wash up in the van. I would only ever ditch her ladyship's shower water and never washing up water. Too attractive to rodents and is a very bad habit.

I would not do the trickle it out on the road as, as others have said, that is very naughty.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}