Is it OK to dump "gray water" on the ground?

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Gary RV_Wizard

Gary RV_Wizard

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I came across this blog on the dumping gray water issue.  The author managed to get a fairly definitive answer, at least as far as the US Bureau of Land Management is concerned, and it may be of interest to those who will go to Quartzite this winter.  As has been stated here in the past, governments generally use a different definition of "gray water" than the RV industry. Water from a kitchen sink or dishwasher is considered "sewage" and the equivalent of "black water" from a disposal point of view.  Gray water is wash water from a bathroom sink, shower or clotheswasher.

In a nutshell, the BLM has no basic regulation against the practice of dumping "wash water", as long as it does not contain food wastes. The State of Arizona, however, has more restrictive rules.  See the brief article in Boondocking News here:

http://www.rvboondockingnews.com/2010/10/clarifying-gray-water-dumping-issue.html
 
A couple days ago, was parked in a field and a stiif breeze blowing away from anyone. Dumped the gray and in about 15 minutes, the smell was oxidized. Ernie- in Ohio
 
Gary [RV Roamer] said:
In a nutshell, the BLM has no basic regulation against the practice of dumping "wash water", as long as it does not contain food wastes. The State of Arizona, however, has more restrictive rules.  See the brief article in Boondocking News here:

http://www.rvboondockingnews.com/2010/10/clarifying-gray-water-dumping-issue.html
Click to expand...

To me this is the critical part of the whole question, the food wastes, I was boondocking a month and a half ago and the folks next door, (about 40-50 yards away), dumped their gray water tank, even in the heat of the sun the rotting stinky water smell hung around our camp all day, enough to make you want to retch, (we had arrived first) and if their intention was to grab our spot it worked, because we couldn't stand the stink, and once everyone was back at camp, we pulled up our stumps and moved out.

I've heard raccoons and other critta's out where folks have dumped theirs in the past, why bring more pests into the campgrounds... there are enough with 2 legs, why bring in more with 4 legs? ;)

just my 2 cents.

 
In a campground? Absolutely not. Most (but not all) of the campgroounds around here have grey water dumping stations. These are just dry-wells placed at various points around the campground. I carry an accessory tank with me to drain grey water into, should the need arrise. It has wheels and then is wheeled to a grey water dumping station. At home, however, I occasionally dump grey water into our flower beds. Plants love it.
 
That would seem to preclude the dumping of any gray water as most kitchen sinks are plumbed to the gray water tank.
 
I believe you will find that food wastes are no longer officially allowed in those "gray water stations" either.  That was their original intent, of course, but health regulations and acceptable practice have changed over the years.  I suspect the park management looks the other way when tenters and other low volume users empty dish water in those, but at some point dumping a tank full of RV graywater, including food wastes, will likely come under close scrutiny.
 
Some RVs, typically a rear kitchen 5W, have a separate tank for galley waste. Most, however, mix food waste with wash water in the gray tank and thus would be disqualified from using graywater dry wells or a simple hole-in-the-ground.
 
Seems to me like the safest thing to do is keep your grey water in the tank and dump it when you dump the black at the appropriate facility. Although I have been known to use a dishpan when washing my hair and then watering a cactus when I'm done.

Wendy
 
Thanks.. My rig has two gray tanks.. One does the kitchen sink and front half-bath, the other does the main bath (Shower and sinks) only.  That could be handy as that is all "Wash water"

I am wondering though.. Is "Tyson's Wash" one of those "long term visitor's areas outside of Yuma"

I mean the road I take to get to the big tent is "Old Yuma Road"
 
I don't know where this will lead....

Who puts a lot of food waste into the gray tank? All my plates are scraped clean into the garbage bag before we wash anything in the sink. After that all that goes into the sink is a bit of soap.. which by the way contains nitrates and is beneficial to plant growth. In other words - fertilizer-.

A little beer waste will probably enhance the environment.

  Have we all become so PC that we believe everything that is printed the ecological press.?

  I don't condone dumping gray water anywhere but there is a limit where this hysteria has to stop.

Feed a bit of gray water into the bushes and they will be happy.

Have a go at this with some proof.

carson FL
 
My parents were RVers and I remember when we had a tent trailer, my dad commonly screwed on a hose in the bib drain that was on the outside and let our "sink" water drain on the ground.....everyone did it, and even as early as 1981 when we owned our first tent trailer, we did the same.  The little bit of sink water soaked into the ground and everything around "it" was green.  ;)

I am glad now that this practice has been mostly prohibited everywhere, but I would have to agree with Carson on that the sink water really doesn't contain much if any food and isn't any more "black" that shower water or washer water.  Shower water and washer water should be considered "black" instead of gray. 

 
Water from the galley tank smells as bad and sometimes even worst then water from the black tank (pooper).
 
I am wondering though.. Is "Tyson's Wash" one of those "long term visitor's areas outside of Yuma"
Click to expand...

Yes - the areas around Quartzsite are administered by the Yuma BLM office.

They also have supplemental rules against emptying any water on the ground.
 
Just this Sat. in Tucson, AZ at tailgating/student parking lot on UofA campus there was a large Jayco who was dumping his gray water onto the pavement of the parking lot.  Dan mentioned he was leaking water and he said it is just gray water.  Hummmm.  I have not seen that motorhome before and hope not to again.  He was not really considerate based on some other stuff too.

Jennifer
 
I don't think gray water should ever be dumped in a camp site. Never....period.  What if everyone did that? Can you imagine what a stinky mess that would be if everyone was allowed to just open their valves in the campgrounds? Outside of a campsite, like in the wilderness or even on the side of a road, I don't think gray water would hurt much.
 
Would you dump it next to your house? I'll admit I've cracked open the gray tank to make a little room to get to the next day. I've never opened it completely anywhere other than a dump station.
 
I've occasionally dumped gray water in my yard. Have sandy soil and it really soaks the stuff up.  It can leave a greasy spot, though, if there is a lot of soap and such. As 1carguy says, if everybody did it on a campsite, it would soon be a stinky mess.
 
One of my kids has a farm in West Virginia and we park in the back yard. The gray water valve is open all the time. The gray water does not have time to smell bad as it drains as it enters the tank. There is absolutely no odor and the grass loves it.
 
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