Grey Water is the washing water from baths, showers, sinks, washing machines, and dish washers. Waste water from flush toilets and urinals is usually regarded as Black water.

Grey Water can contain low levels of pathogens from excrement E.g. when nappies, etc are washed and from showers and baths. With this in mind we must be very careful how we handle and dispose of Grey Water. Due to the undigested nature of the organic material in grey water the micro-organisms can grow rapidly during storage and go septic in 24 hours.

All devices used to treat domestic waste water require approval from the NSW Health Department. There is currently no system that has been approved that allows disconnection of sewer drainage and enables direct discharge of grey water onto plants. E.g. spray irrigation onto lawns, landscaping, etc.

Property owners can apply to Council for approval to discharge grey water subsurface, however this is subject to plumbing and drainage requirements and has the same constraints as septic systems regarding soil types, environment, aspect, available area, etc. You will need to engage a licensed plumber for this type of work.

Council will require both an installation approval and operating approval with all grey water systems. Please contact Mr David Couture, Council's Technical Officer Waste Services on telephone 4325 8259 for advice on the requirements for submitting applications.

Further information can be obtained from the NSW Health document entitled: Grey Water Reuse in Sewered Single Domestic Premises (PDF file, 78kb).

Gosford City Council's greywater brochure (PDF File, 420kb) is also available for customers to download and view.