The Water-Wise Home: How to Conserve, Capture, and Reuse Water in Your Home and Landscape

Allen, cofounder of Greywater Action, a collaborative that educates those building sustainable water culture and infrastructure, outlines the U.S. water shortfall, along with techniques for saving and reusing water for the benefits of trees, wildlife, and one’s bank account. The average American family uses 400 gallons of water a day. Homeowners who want to conserve can get their feet wet in the essentials of drought-proofing the home, understanding the failures in current municipal water systems, and installing pipes for house waste as well as rainwater. The author explains how to determine the faults in one’s home water-delivery system before immersing the reader in the less appealing aspects of water conservation (sharing bath water or converting the swimming pool into a harvesting tank). Complete instructions are offered for using rain barrels, tanks, and cisterns, before moving on to more complicated processes, such as installing an indoor gray-water greenhouse with a composting toilet. Awash with information, the beginner may feel a bit intimidated by the prospect of fertilizing with urine by book’s end, but the projects address all skill levels and degrees of commitment. (Feb.)