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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brian Sansoni, 202-662-2517 or bsansoni@cleaning101.com
Funding Available for Research on Effects of Household Graywater
SDA, WERF Issue Request for Proposals on $370,000+ Research Project
WASHINGTON, DC – May 29, 2007 – The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) wants to better understand the environmental fate and effects of household graywater on soil, human health and groundwater quality.
SDA has partnered with the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for a long-term study on landscape irrigation that uses household graywater. Nearly $375,000 has been made available in funding for the research.
Graywater is defined in this project as wastewater that originates from residential clothes washers, bathtubs, showers, and bathroom sinks. Toilets, kitchen sinks and dishwashers are not included due to the potential for high organic content that can lead to oxygen depletion and increased microbial activity of the wastewater.
The proposed study is the second phase of a collaborative effort between WERF and SDA. The first phase developed an in-depth literature review, which is one of the most definitive sources of information on graywater effects, and identified potential knowledge gaps for study in phase two.
The SDA/WERF report, issued in 2006, revealed that a number of constituents in typical graywater are known to be potentially harmful to plants singly or in combination with other chemicals in the graywater. But it remains to be documented whether or not these constituents will accumulate in the soil in sufficient quantities to harm plants or perhaps be transported below the root zone, possibly to the groundwater, during the rainy season.
A 1998 report prepared for SDA noted that graywater is reused as a means to conserve potable water and to reduce demands on wastewater treatment.
States in the Southwest have attempted to regulate graywater reuse in the absence of definitive environmental safety data. The aim of the SDA/WERF study is to provide decision- makers, water agencies, regulators, product manufacturers and consumers with scientifically sound information to help ensure the safety of household graywater reuse for landscape irrigation.
Details on the RFP are available at www.werf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Open_RFPs. Proposals must be received by July 31, 2007.
Along with SDA and WERF, other organizations funding the research include the National Decentralized Water Resources Capacity Development Project, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Los Angeles Department of Power and Water, and West Basin Municipal Water District.
For more details on the project, please contact Kathleen Stanton at 202.662.2513 or at kstanton@sdahq.org.
Weblinks:
More information on Request for Proposals - Long-term Study on Landscape Irrigation Using Household Graywater – Experimental Study - http://www.werf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Open_RFPs
2006 SDA/WERF Report: Long-Term Effects of Landscape Irrigation Using Household Graywater – Literature Review and Synthesis - http://www.cleaning101.com/files/SDA_WERF_Graywater_2006.pdf
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The Soap and Detergent Association (www.cleaning101.com), the Home of the U.S. Cleaning Product and Oleochemical IndustriesSM, is the non-profit trade association representing manufacturers of household, industrial, and institutional cleaning products, their ingredients and finished packaging; oleochemical producers; and chemical distributors to the cleaning product industry. SDA members produce more than 90 percent of the cleaning products marketed in the U.S. The SDA is located at 1500 K Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005.
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