Chapter 2 —On-Site Wastewater Reuse

25

Table 2-2 LEED v4 Baseline for Plumbing Fixtures

use, which may consist of turbidity removal,
Fixture Baseline
storage, biological treatment, or filtering
Toilets 1.6 gpf (3.5 gpf for blowout closets)
• Disinfecting components, which may consist
Urinals 1.0 gpf
of various methods such as ozone, ultraviolet
Lavatory faucets, private a
2.2 gpm at 60 psig
irradiation, chlorine, or iodine addition
Lavatory faucets, public 0.5 gpm at 60 psig
• Treated water storage and system distribution
Lavatory faucets, metering 0.25 gallons per cycle
pressure pumps and piping
Residential kitchen faucets 2.2 gpm at 60 psig
Showerheads 2.5 gpm at 80 psig
Design Criteria for Graywater Supply and
Pre-rinse spray valves 1.6 gpm (no psig specified)
Consumption
It is estimated that two-thirds of the daily wastewater Private
a
lavatory faucets include both residential and private
commercial applications such as hotel guest rooms and hospital
discharged from a typical household is graywater. The patient rooms.
remaining wastewater is black water from water clos-
ets and kitchen fixtures. The discharge from the separate piping systems supplying the graywater system should
be sized based on the applicable plumbing code.
The following issues should be considered in the design of any graywater system:
• The design flow is based on the number of people in the home or facility.
• Lavatory use is estimated at 0.25 gallon (0.95 liter) per use.
• Men use urinals 75 percent of the time and water closets 25 percent of the time.
• The average person uses a toilet three times a day.
The LEED v4 baselines for plumbing fixtures that affect the design of reuse and water conservation systems
are shown in Table 2-2.

Design Estimates for Commercial Buildings

Graywater Supply
Estimates of graywater supply sources vary in commercial buildings. In an office building, fixtures such as lava-
tories, water coolers, mop sinks, and coffee sinks are estimated to generate 1 gallon (3.79 liters) per person per
day. Thus, for an office building with 500 employees, you could expect to recover 500 gallons (1,893 L) per day
for graywater reuse. Based on five working days per week and approximately 50 working weeks per year, 125,000
gallons (473,177 L) per year could be available for graywater reuse.

Graywater Demand
The demand for fixtures served by treated graywater in an office building is estimated based on three toilet or urinal
uses per person per day. For calculation purposes, assume that the population is 50 percent male and 50 percent
female and that men use urinals 75 percent of the time and water closets 25 percent of the time. (This assump-
tion is general and may be adjusted for any particular installation. Be sure to clearly document all assumptions.)
In shopping centers, flow rates are based on square feet (square meters) of space, not the number of persons.
The flow demand is 0.06 gallon (0.23 liter) per day per square foot (square meter).
The calculations for food service resemble those for grease interceptor sizing. The number of seats, hours of opera-
tion, single-serving utensils, and other, similar factors change the equations for graywater calculations.

Design Estimates for Residential Buildings

The number of occupants in each dwelling unit shall be calculated as follows:
• Occupants, first bedroom: Two
• Occupants, each additional bedroom: One
Chapter 8 — Private On-Site Wastewater Treatment Systems 173

After the soil evaluation and/or percolation tests are completed, the quantity of the sewage to be discharged
should be estimated to determine the size and capacity of the disposal units.

ESTIMATING SEWAGE QUANTITIES

Disposal systems typically are designed prior to the actual construction of a facility. In estimating the quantity
of sewage, the first consideration must be given to local code requirements, which usually result in design flows
that are considerably above average. If no code requirements exist, the most reliable criteria are readings from
water meters at similar existing buildings, which can be obtained from the water utility company. On existing
facilities that are not connected to public water supply systems, the installation and daily monitoring of water
meters can be invaluable. It is recommended that a safety factor of 10 percent be added to the quantity of water
obtained to account for any additional unknown requirements. However, water flows that do not pass through
the sewage system (e.g., irrigation) should be excluded.
Where codes and actual usage data are not available, it is necessary to use other methods of estimating the
amount of sewage to be discharged. For residential facilities, refer to Table 8-6 for average daily wastewater flows,
including minimum and maximum flow and frequency distribution. This data is useful for the design of systems
for apartments, mobile home parks, and similar residential facilities. Refer to Tables 8-7 through 8-9 for typical
wastewater flows from commercial, institutional, and recreational sources.
It is sometimes economically wise to construct separate disposal systems for different types of waste at a given
establishment. The decision regarding the number of disposal systems may be influenced by topography, condi-

Table 8-7 Typical Wastewater Flow Rates from Commercial Sourcesa,b

Facility Unit Flow, gal (L)/unit/day
Range Typical
Airport Passenger 2–4 (8–15) 3 (11)
Apartment house Person 40–80 (150–300) 50 (190)
Automobile service station c
Vehicle served 8–15 (30–57) 12 (45)
Employee 9–15 (34–57) 13 (49)
Bar Customer 1–5 (4–19) 3 (11)
Employee 10–16 (38–61) 13 (49)
Boarding house Person 25–60 (95–230) 40 (150)
Department store Toilet room 400–600 (1,500–2,300) 500 (1,900)
Employee 8–15 (30–57) 10 (38)
Hotel Guest 40–60 (150–230) 50 (190)
Employee 8–13 (30–49) 10 (38)
Industrial building (sanitary only) Employee 7–16 (26–61) 13 (49)
Laundry (self-service) Machine 450–650 (1,700–2,500) 550 (2,100)
Wash 45–55 (170–210) 50 (190)
Office Employee 7–16 (26–61) 13 (49)
Public lavatory User 3–6 (11–23) 5 (19)
Restaurant (with toilet) Meal 2–4 (8–15) 3 (11)
Conventional Customer 8–10 (30–38) 9 (34)
Short order Customer 3–8 (11–30) 6 (23)
Bar/cocktail lounge Customer 2–4 (8–15) 3 (11)
Shopping center Employee 7–13 (26–49) 10 (38)
Parking space 1–3 (4–11) 2 (8)
Theater Seat 2–4 (8–15) 3 (11)
Some systems serving more than 20 people might be regulated under USEPA’s Class V Underground Injection Control Program.
a

This data incorporates the effect of fixtures complying with the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 1994.
b

Disposal of automotive wastes via subsurface wastewater infiltration systems is banned by Class V UIC regulations to protect groundwater.
c

Source: U.S. EPA Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Manual

Chapter 8 — Private On-Site Wastewater Treatment Systems 175

tions of terrain, and the locations of the buildings contributing to the waste. For example, at large camps and
some resorts, the kitchen and central dining facilities may be located at appreciable distances from the living
quarters, cottages, and cabins. Under such circumstances, the kitchens may be provided with separate disposal
systems designed specifically for kitchen waste (especially grease interception).
Also, while many authorities discourage the use of garbage disposal units or disposals for occupancies served by
onsite disposal systems, such disposers are still used. For such occupancies where disposers are used and for food
processing and poultry or animal slaughtering establishments and other units producing special types of liquid waste,
separate interceptors and pretreatment should be designed to meet the particular requirements of the establishment.
The local AHJ will typically have specific regulations or guidelines related to high-strength waste facilities.
Separate systems also may be used for community bathhouses. When this is done, the total per-capita flow
must be broken down into its component parts, and some allowance should be made for the amount of sewage
tributary from the different disposal systems. Table 8-10 illustrates how this may be done where no definite data
regarding exact distribution flow is available.
For a certain number of new establishments, you may not be able to obtain from the client accurate estimates
of the number of patrons to be served by the disposal system. This is particularly true in the case of restaurants
and recreational facilities, such as picnic areas and country clubs. In such cases, the following data should be
considered. For restaurants, seating capacity, type of menu, hours of operation per day, and all available data can
be considered in calculating wastewater quantities and characteristics. For recreational facilities such as picnic
areas and country clubs, a review of all proposed buildings, campsites, and methods of operation can provide
valuable data. Computations and estimates can be made from the number and types of fixtures installed, with
data from similar facilities elsewhere.
Estimates of sewage quantities from golf clubs should be verified, and calculations should be based on the
weekend population. Allowances of 10 gallons (37.9 L) per person for showers and 7 gallons (26.5 L) per person
for toilet and kitchen wastes, both for the average weekend population, have been found reasonable.
Figure 8-5, taken from the Manual of Septic Tank Practice, has long been used to estimate the allowable rate
of sewage application to a soil absorption system. Where all pertinent factors are suitable for conventional soil
absorption systems, Figure 8-5 and Table 8-11 may be used for sizing systems where the percolation test is required
by the AHJ as the primary design factor. However, where local experience, soil analysis results, and other data
are available, such data should be taken into consideration in the final design.

Table 8-10 Estimated Sources of Sewage Flowsa,

Fixture/use Gallons/Use Uses/Person/Day Gallons/Person/Dayb % Total
Toilet 3.5 5.05 18.5 26.7
Shower 17.2 c
0.75 c
11.6 16.8
Bath See shower See shower 1.2 1.7
Clothes washer 40.5 0.37 15.0 21.7
Dishwasher 10.0 0.10 1.0 1.4
Faucet 1.4d 8.1e 10.9 15.7
Leak N/A N/A 9.5 13.7
Other domestic N/A N/A 1.6 2.3
a
Results from AWWARF REUWS at 1,18 homes in 12 metropolitan areas. Homes surveyed were served by public water supplies, which operate at higher pressures than private
water sources. Leakage rates might be lower for homes on private water supplies.
b
Gallons/person/day might not equal gallons/use multiplied by uses/person/day because of differences in he number of data points used to calculate means.
c
Includes shower and bath.
d
Gallons per minute
e
Minutes of use per person per day
Source: U.S. EPA Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Manual