Compliance Models for Off-Grid Wastewater Treatment and Reuse

• Date: 01 May 2020

5-2020 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 50 ELR 10375

COMMENT

by Avital Li and Taylor Lilley

COMPLIANCE MODELS FOR OFF-GRID

WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND REUSE

Throughout the world, people strugg le to gain acces s

to stable sources of clean water. According to

United Nations Water, more than two billion peo-

ple currently live in countrieazs experiencing high water

stress.1 In these countries, more than 70% of available

water resources are being withdrawn for use by all sectors.2

While this statistic is troubling enough on its own, cur-

rent science suggests that the impacts of climate change

and environmental degradation will only exacerbate the

problem.3 Wh ile there are incre asingly innovat ive solutions

being developed, many communities simply do not have

access to ecient, centraliz ed wastewater management sys-

tems, and as a result, face di culty nding reliable sources

of water for daily use.

In light of this, there is a great need to implement novel

systems that can  ll the gap, especially for isolated or “o-

grid” communities. One particu lar system that exhibits

particular potential in alleviating access chal lenges is grey-

water reclamation. “Grey water” is dened as a ny water

that drains from a household, excluding toilet water.4 is

1. United Nations Water, Water Scarcity, https://www.unwater.org/water-

facts/scarcity/ (last visited Mar. 22, 2020).

2. F  A O   U S, C

W W S: A A F  A 

F S 1-2 (2012).

3. See P B  ., W F  S: F T I-

 3 (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Working

Paper No. 16-006, 2016), http://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/13008/1/WP-

16-006.pdf.

4. e Law Dictionary, Graywater, https://thelawdictionary.org/gray-water/

(last visited Mar. 22, 2020).

includes water used for bathing, washing dishes, or laun-

dering clothes. After simple ltration, grey water can be

safely recycled for reuse in agricu lture and irrigation, and is

a promising option for water-stressed communities that are

not on a centralized water grid.5

In order to gain a better understanding of these systems

and their application in o-grid contexts, the International

Network for Environmental C ompliance and E nforcement

(INECE) organized a Compliance Conversation on the

topic. Held across two sessions on February 15 and March

1, 2019, this conversation brought together policymakers,

practitioners, and stakeholders to discu ss what oppor tuni-

ties and obstacles are involved in the implementation of

greywater reclamation systems in o-grid communities.

e audience included participants from 21 countries. In

bringing these entities together, INECE hoped to create a

forum to share experiences and collaborate on evaluating

solutions to current challenges in the eld. is Comment

synthesizes the resu lts of this collaboration, and oers a

comparative look at greywater systems in California.

e Compliance Conversation focused particularly on

the case of introducing grey water reclamation systems into

o-grid communities in the West Bank. ough the lega l

circumstances surround ing Pales tine and Israel provide a

unique context, the case also oers va luable and exportable

insights on greywater recla mation and its usefulness to iso-

lated communities at large.

e Comment rst frames the discu ssion by exploring

common governance considerations for o-grid, decen-

tralized water sy stems and examining the roles of key

stakeholders. It then d iscusses the unique cha llenges a nd

opportunities for greywater recla mation systems in the

West Bank. Finally, it includes important considerations

for implementing greywater systems in o-grid commu-

nities. Examples of greywater regulations and codes in

California provide a model of comparison for Palestine,

contrasting a more developed regulatory model in a U.S.

state that has simila r pressing needs for water conservation.

5. Greywater Action, About Greywater Reuse, https://greywateraction.org/

greywater-reuse/ (last visited Mar. 22, 2020).

Authors’ Note: We thank the expert panelists who partici-

pated in the Compliance Conversation, namely Dr. Clive

Lipchin, Sarah Allard, Rhett Larson, William Piermattei, and

José A. Rivera-Gómez. We would also like to recognize the

tremendous efforts of the several volunteers who worked on

this project, and to thank them for their substantial support

in research, drafting, and writing. We extend our gratitude

to these volunteers—Shehla Chowdhury, Mary Crowell,

Marisa Heiling, and Rachel Lerner—for their assistance in

f‌inalizing this Comment.

Avital Li is a Research Associate at the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and a Program Off‌icer

for the INECE Secretariat. Taylor Lilley served as ELI’s 2018-2019 Public Interest Law Fellow, and

currently is the Environmental Justice Staff Attorney for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Copyright © 2020 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.