A legitimate way of dumping grey water on the street

[ziplock]

It also causes extra attention for someone playing with their RV grey water valve on the street to transfer water to a portable container.

So, I guess it must be illegal or you wouldn't worry about drawing attention.

I figure grey water is illegal dripping off the exterior of your camper, just like dumping straight to the street. But heck, you never know in California.

Do you have alot of flies in San Jose?

 

[NY_Dutch]

I wonder why there aren't more dump stations. In Canada a great many towns and municipalities set up free dump stations that just connect into the sewer lines. A lot of times they are in industrial sections of town or near a public utilities yard but at least they are free. The town I live in has a free one with rinse water and potable to fill your fresh tank back up. I've even found them in the corners of malls on the highway to entice RVs to stop by and hopefully shop. We found a bunch of Wallmarts last summer that had them set up - free for anyone stopping in for groceries on their way through town. Compared to the massive volume the area sends to the treatment plant the RV volume is a drop in the bucket and it prevents wayside dumping. Is there some sort of law or ordinance that prevents this in the USA?

There's likely more dump stations than many RV'ers realize:

RV Dump Stations – rvdumps.com

www.rvdumps.com

Sanidumps: United States of America RV Dump Stations

United States of America: RV dump station locations are sorted by city or nearest city location.

www.sanidumps.com

 

[UTTransplant]

The reason the US doesn’t have as many public dumps is because people dump things they shouldn’t resulting in excessive costs for those who operate the dumps. Our local Flying J had to put a lock on the dump and have an employee stand with you while dumping to make sure chemicals didn’t get put down the drain. They had opened up a few months before, and the local sewer treatment facility had a massive increase in things like oil showing up. City told them to lock it or remove it. I guess we are very lucky they just locked it.

 

[Joezeppy]

I wonder why there aren't more dump stations. In Canada a great many towns and municipalities set up free dump stations...

Reminds me of the time we took a ferry across from Cape Vincent, NY to Wolfe Island, and then to Kingston, ON. On the way to Kingston my wife remarked "How nice the ferry is free on this side" and then a Canadian gentleman replied in a humorously sarcastic voice "Oh, it ain't free - trust me - we pay for it."

 

[FunSteak]

I think that you'd get busted heavily in CA for dumping on the street in any way. I certainly wouldn't risk it. And, although I'm usually not the type of person to get police involved, if I saw you dumping anything in front of my house, I'd probably call it in. Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

Respectfully, I certainly empathize if it's a financial problem for you, but dumping responsibly is a crucial part of RV ownership. Please don't make it harder for the rest of us. This is the kind of thing that brings more draconian rules and laws.

 

[ziplock]

I figure grey water is illegal dripping off the exterior of your camper, just like dumping straight to the street. But heck, you never know in California.

I doubt the original poster will be back, to tell us they found a legal plan that doesn't take the simple effort of dump and move the camper up the street to higher ground.

What do you think?

 

[ziplock]

Please don't make it harder for the rest of us.

Did you read anything in the original post that was thinking of that? Maybe I missed it?

 

[Riley90]

So, I guess it must be illegal or you wouldn't worry about drawing attention.

I figure grey water is illegal dripping off the exterior of your camper, just like dumping straight to the street. But heck, you never know in California.

Do you have alot of flies in San Jose?

It is against the code to live in an RV parked on the street, which is the main reason for concern.

But I don't know yet exactly what will happen and whether there will be fines.

I am also looking into the safe parking program in san jose.

 

[Jayflight]

It sounds like to me that you need to relocate to Slab City, where everything goes, contrary to belief.

Slab City | Greetings from the Salton Sea

Greetings from the Salton Sea is a book and installation project documenting the natural and built environment of the Salton Sea in California.

www.greetingsfromsaltonsea.com

And Quartzsite is pretty close to free with facilities.

 

[8Muddypaws]

There are several RV dumps in the area. I suggest you go to www.rvparking.com and start calling RV parks in Coyote Valley - Gilroy. My preference is Maple Leaf In Morgan Hill.

 

[Tom55555]

I think this is funny.

 

[FunSteak]

Did you read anything in the original post that was thinking of that? Maybe I missed it?

What OP was proposing was essentially dumping on the street, so yes.

 

[Jeff in Ferndale Wa]

You could always move to Seattle,park on the street and declare youself homeless.Seems anything goes then

 

[1blue78]

You could always move to Seattle,park on the street and declare youself homeless.Seems anything goes then

Or try Victoria BC/Montreal Que. They both dump their raw sewage in the ocean/St Lawrence. Victoria does all the time, Montreal only occasionally (if that make it better)....

 

[Alontheway]

I'm glad a few people understood this post.
Yea, you might have found a loophole.
The issue with gray is that it sits in the tank and gets gross. The same soap and kitchen waste, if dumped straight to the ground, would be harmless. By gross I mean bacteria that might be growing in the tank and replicate in that stagnate icky place.
Dump it out in the wilderness and it won't matter much, but in a public street it might cause health problems, but that would be the least of socal issues. do police even care?
Also, get the heckles outta cali.
You could not pay me to go there right now.

 

[ziplock]

I am also looking into the safe parking program in san jose.

Did you ever figure out a plan?

 

[Larry N.]

You can also check: RV Dump Stations – rvdumps.com
and
Sanidumps: United States of America RV Dump Stations in order to find places to dump.

Edit: Oops- thought I had read the entire thread, but missed NY_Dutch's listing of these on my first pass.

 

[jackiemac]

You can also check: RV Dump Stations – rvdumps.com
and
Sanidumps: United States of America RV Dump Stations in order to find places to dump.

Edit: Oops- thought I had read the entire thread, but missed NY_Dutch's listing of these on my first pass.

I checked those too and lots in that stea are no longer there and others for residents only. Looks like options ate very limited.

 

[Tlaw123]

Beware……..I have a friend that made that mistake years ago.
He received a pretty steep fine, and they made him pay for two town employees to flush the street with water truck.
Total over five hundred bucks, ouch!!
Yes, it was grey water…..

 

[p38fln]

I have used several municipal dumping stations in the NE US. They may not be common, or even advertised, but some do exist. A call to the department of public works will usually provide an answer.

There used to be one in Menomonie, Wisconsin across the street from the wastewater treatment plant on Wisconsin 25. Can't remember the name of the cross street but the wastewater plant and Swiss miss hot chocolate factory are both on the street. Not advertised anywhere but there's a sign that says RV dump station. I haven't been by there in a few years but it's probably still there. Definitely not common, I haven't seen any others that were that easily accessible in the area.