Innovation in water reuse – treating greywater and rainwater
Estonians have repeatedly faced water shortages during summer droughts, and the sad fact is that the situation is becoming more and more common. Water scarcity directly affects both people’s daily lives and the surrounding environment.
People have been asked to conserve water and reuse it as much as possible. Unfortunately, the solutions for doing so have been quite limited, if not non-existent.
In understanding the problem, it is important to look towards solutions that would help ease the water crisis and change people’s habits in water use.
Miridon has brought two modern and sustainable solutions to the Estonian market – the HYDRALOOP greywater treatment unit and the RAIN rainwater treatment unit. The units are a key factor in easing water problems and ensuring economical water use.
Greywater reuse
Families with children consume an average of 15 m3 of water per calendar month, of which about 45% can be reused. This means that almost half of the drinking water consumed daily can be saved, water that until now has been sent straight into the sewer.
Greywater, which arises in homes from showering, handwashing, doing laundry and other everyday activities, including the condensate water of heat pumps and air conditioners, has so far been a wasted resource. In general, this water travels through the sewer to wastewater treatment plants, where, at the cost of energy, chemicals and waste handling, it is made clean enough to be released back into nature.
HYDRALOOP collects and treats greywater and makes it possible to reuse it in various necessary household functions such as WC flushing, laundry, filling swimming pools and garden watering. The unit ensures clean, safe and disinfected water. In addition to economical water use, the unit also helps improve overall water treatment and water quality, ensuring a cleaner living environment.
In sports halls, and also in office buildings, schools, kindergartens and other public institutions where water is consumed minimally for drinking but showers are taken, hands are washed constantly and toilets are used, taking treated greywater back into circulation is even more efficient.
Rainwater treatment
In most regions of Estonia there are drinking water quality problems that require treatment processes to bring the water into compliance, and these consume both water and energy. Firm limits have been set on pumping water out of the ground, and creating a situation where people, in addition to their normal activities, also water their gardens leaves water utilities in a situation where pumping water out is dangerous to drilled wells and to drinking water quality.
Although it rains for a significant part of the year in Estonia, we also have dry periods for growing garden produce and ornamental plants, including lawns. From the homeowner’s point of view it is understandable that a drying lawn and wilting flowers do not make an attractive sight. At the same time, it has to be admitted that drinking water is not a resource that should be spent on looking after your garden.
To save drinking water, it makes every sense to use the opportunity that falls to us from the sky. The RAIN unit in Miridon’s product range is suitable for treating and reusing rainwater.
The most practical way is to collect rainwater from roofs, because they contain minimal sediment, sand and petroleum products. This valuable resource is directed into a collection tank and then goes through the treatment process. With the RAIN unit the water is thoroughly purified, removing microbes and other dirt. The treated water can then be used, for example, in WC toilets, as process water, for watering the garden or for other everyday needs (laundry, etc.). After additional treatment, the water meets drinking water standards.
Small steps lead to big changes. Adopting HYDRALOOP and/or RAIN units not only reduces water consumption but also contributes to an environmentally friendly and economical lifestyle, bringing water use down to a minimum.
The units can be designed, when needed, into both new and existing building technical systems. In finding a suitable solution the customer is advised by Miridon’s sales staff, and the company’s installation team helps with installation.
Miridon OÜ
+372 5066775
miridon@miridon.ee
www.miridon.ee
