Pangea BiotectureOff-grid systems · WastewaterGreywater · Blackwater · ReuseSheet W-400

Greywater that grows food, then flushes the toilet.

Indoor planters clean greywater while producing food, and the treated water flushes the toilet. The system adds to conventional plumbing rather than replacing it.

Section W-400: an indoor botanical cell treating greywater Greywater from sinks, showers and laundry drains through a particle filter into a lined planter. It flows slowly through a gravel bed under the soil, where plant roots and microbes clean it while the plants grow food. At the far end it collects in a well, is pumped and filtered, and flushes the toilet. The toilet's blackwater then goes to a septic tank and a contained outdoor planter. Valves let the whole loop be bypassed to conventional plumbing. The animation runs through a day: water drains in from the house and the planter fills, the plants drink and the roots clean the water as it moves to the well, the toilet flushes and refills with the cleaned greywater, and over a few days the plants and their roots grow, flower, fruit and draw butterflies until harvest. The planter always holds plenty of water. 01SINKS · SHOWER · LAUNDRY 02PARTICLE FILTER 03BOTANICAL CELLlined planter · soil over gravel · grows food GRAVEL BED · ROOTS + MICROBES CLEAN THE WATER 04WELL → PUMP + FILTER 05TOILET FLUSH 06BLACKWATER →SEPTIC + OUTDOOR CELL BYPASS VALVE → CONVENTIONALPLUMBING STAYS IN PLACE MORNING · SINKS + SHOWER DRAIN IN DAY 1 · PLANTS 30% SECTION W-400 · NOT TO SCALE
Section W-400. The plumbing layout is conventional, with valves creating loops that run through the botanical cell. Close the valves and the building runs on ordinary plumbing; open them and each gallon waters food plants and then flushes the toilet.
01How it works

A wetland, brought indoors.

Wetlands have cleaned water for people and nature for thousands of years. This system uses the same idea, but treats greywater inside the building and toilet water outside it.

  1. 01Conventional layout

    The plumbing is laid out normally. Valves create loops, and the botanical treatment cells sit inside those loops.

  2. 02Botanical cells

    Greywater flows through lined, planted cells where roots and microbes clean it. The planters grow food all year.

  3. 03Toilet flush

    Treated greywater is filtered and pumped to flush the toilet, clean and clear.

  4. 04Blackwater outside

    Toilet water goes to a contained treatment cell outside the building.

  5. 05Full bypass

    Close the valves and the loops are bypassed completely. Conventional plumbing stays in place.

  6. 06Permitted locally

    Greywater is regulated by state and local governments. We design each system to the codes where it is built.

02Definitions

What counts as greywater.

“Untreated waste water which has not come into contact with toilet waste… from bathtubs, showers, bathroom wash basins, clothes washing machines, and laundry tubs.”

California Plumbing Code, greywater definition

Each state and county has its own definition. California’s, for example, excludes water from kitchen sinks, photo lab sinks, dishwashers and laundry from soiled diapers.

Why it matters

  • Less fresh water used
  • Less strain on septic tanks and treatment plants
  • Less energy and fewer chemicals
  • Nutrients reclaimed instead of wasted

All of it adds up to savings in energy and in water itself.

03Reading

From the knowledge base.

04 · Contact

Start with the site.

Tell us where it is and what you want the building to do. We design and build across the country and around the world.

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Call575-218-5583Emailinfo@pangeabuild.comMailPO Box 495, Taos, NM 87571