In our endless attempts to collect and reuse water, BIF has come up with a very creative way to capture the most water wasteful item in any house. The washer or maybe the shower. In our case it is the washer as the Planner is constantly reminding; ever so gently; to turn off the water between soaping. His current thinking is that 2.5 gallons of water per people is too much. We need to reduce, reduce, reduce. With the exception of cutting my hair off there is little left to reduce. I am barely wet enough to lathe, shaving is done afterwards from the sink or not at all in the Planners case, and my hair is only washed once a week unless it is summer. What else is left? Dry washing my hair? Gross. No shower? Doubly gross.

The washer on the other hand has never been a point of contention because we have never had a washer. But now, now there will be a washer and even the most water efficient of models still use more than five gallons at a time. Washing at home will collect more water than I have ever collected before. Yes, it will have laundry soap and will be dirty and should not be used for gardening. Since there are no gardens right now and only ill watered oak trees, let the collection start. I will even let the shower watering monitor remarks slide if it means gallons and gallons of water from the shower.

There are all kinds of ways to collect water from the shower, the easiest being a garden hose that runs into the yard. This is what we had growing up and it worked perfectly. However, unlike my childhood washing machine, my adult washing machine is located inside the house and I am not running a garden house out the front door. Too much work, too much risk for a mess, too many mosquitos coming in an open door. Sitting in storage for the last seven year was the perfect means for water collection from the Doubter’s travel trailer. Harvey took lots of things but before the trailer was fully demoed the couch cushions, the fresh water tank, and the toilet were saved. Travel trailer toilets are stupid expensive and the Doubter’s was in perfect working order.

The modifications were simple and easy. A water line in and a water line out. It took longer to build the aluminum housing that it did to dig out the tank from the Storage Box, retro fit the holes, spray paint all but a strip black to keep the algae growing, and to test for leaks. An opaque collection station where the water usage can be monitored and recorded. Good grief, get the tape measure ready and let the gripping commence. And to think this collection station was my idea. Ugh.

And guess what? This great inspiration of water collection requires yet again more trench digging. Why you ask? Because the Planner is never simple. He over thinks all steps and plans for things that might never come to be. Instead of the shower and washer water running directly into the holding tank, the two drains need to have the option of running straight into the sewer line in case the collection water is not needed or wanted. There also needed to be an overflow line in the collection tank that self drained into the sewer line. All lines needed to be able to open and close directing the flow of water. Oh, and while designing, the water line from the kitchen had to be taken into consideration as well. This water was never to be collected but needed to tee into the main sewer line just below the point where the shower and washer line joined. So many valve, so many options for water flow, so much water to collect.

So much sand. Crawling around under the boxes even when on a cardboard or plywood sheet is still messy work. Add in sweltering hot summer heat and now there is sand sticking to every possible skin contact point. The sand gets in your hair, your shoes, your pants. The sand blows across your legs, up the backside of your shirt, and blows in your face. Sand works it way into the contact cement, into the grooves and textures of the tools, and into closed cup of water. Sand is brutal.

Modifications made and then made again the Planner was finally happy with the end product. The shower and washer collection system as a water inlet port that can be turned off and on, a water over flow port that drains directly into the shower, a drain at the bottom of the tank with a service port incase hair and what not needs cleaning that feeds a bucket for easy collection (not pictured), and a port that can be open or closed as needed that can accept a standard hose bib incase I want to just gravity feed the trees behind the dwelling. All ports and valves are easily accessible and all water collection lines can easily be drained for the occasional deep freezers. Now we just need water to the dwelling.