Exploring the potential greywater use in a typical microcosmic commercial area of South Africa

Abstract

With water scarcity looming, South Africa needs to be mindful of the way water is used, conserved, or disposed of. By investigating the biological and physical characteristics of grey water, this paper attempted to explore the potential use of grey water within a microcosmic commercial area. Through different methods, samples were tested for Conductivity, Temperature, pH, and Turbidity. Using IDEXX 2000 method, biological characteristics of the grey water (Total Coliform (TC) and E-coli) were tested. At a pH range of 5.8 to 9, Turbidity in the grey water was found to be between 20.1 and 814. The count for TC ranged between 6.83 ×105 - 3.255 ×109 MPN/100 ml, and that for E-coli ranged between 0.1046 ×104 and 0.7701 ×108 MPN/100 ml. The study found that high turbidity values may have serious implications on the perception of people on grey water use as a potential substitute for potable water. However, the low number of E-coli counts suggests that greywater in commercial areas of South Africa may not pose a major health risk to people compared to black water. This paper will contribute to the knowledge about grey water characteristics expected to be encountered when contemplating exploiting grey water in commercial areas around South Africa.